What may now doom the species is a concession made in the small print of Gordon Brown's budget.

ECONOMIST: The Lloyd's insurance market

Or, you could criticise Mr Osborne for being too flexible, for allowing past borrowing targets to be missed and appealing, in Gordon Brown fashion, to the fiscal mandate's fine print.

BBC: Mr Osborne's unwelcome statement

While Mr Blair, never one to trouble himself too much with the fine print, was quite partial to the constitution, Mr Brown's endorsement was far more grudging.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot