I WAS there on Monday for the most important economic statement made by a government to the House of Commons in living memory – and it was very worrying indeed.

Of course I want the policies announced in the Chancellor’s statement to work, but they are much more of a gamble than they should have been because of the debt Gordon Brown built up when he was Chancellor.

These are dark times indeed – and the Arsonist, the Drunkard, the Gambler that is our Prime Minister has made them darker.

As Shakespeare remarked, a man in his time plays many parts.

Monday’s pre-budget report – designed by Gordon Brown – revealed the three roles of our Prime Minister: the Arsonist, the Drunkard and the Gambler.

None of these roles are comic – certainly they mean tragedy for the rest of us.

First he was the Arsonist who wanted credit for trying to put out the fire he himself helped to start. This recession didn’t just start in the USA as he is fond of claiming.

At very least, his policies – poor regulation, excessive government borrowing and unsustainable consumer credit – poured petrol on the flames. And his policies also mean we are now the least well prepared of the major economies to deal with the consequences.

Secondly, he is the Drunkard who pleads for just one more drink to help him sober up. It was his policies on debt, both public and private, that got us into this mess, and now his answer is more debt. Just as that extra drink makes the hangover even worse in the end, so this wildly excessive borrowing will make for even worse problems in the future.

And now, after the pre-budget report, we have the Gambler. And it is our money he is gambling with. So far his gambling expertise has looked pretty shaky – selling our gold at the bottom of the market doesn’t fill you with confidence. But this is a massively bigger gamble. It wouldn’t matter so much if we had the money to gamble with, but we haven’t.

So this is the Prime Minister that we are supposed to applaud.

Excuse me if I don’t join in. That’s because of the misery and the pain that his actions are going to cause hard working families in Worcestershire and the rest of the country.