Most would say that the split-up of the FSA was no more or less than the Tories had clearly trailed fully a year before the general election. True, but a little simplistic. The Chancellor’s announcement at the Mansion House, while not a shock, was a surprise. To me, anyway.

Even to Tory supporters, the Osborne plan to abolish the FSA and to produce two or even three successors did not look like his master stroke. Indeed it had the hallmark of a policy that was rushed out to catch the mood of that time. Then it started to get embedded and Tories were increasingly unable to back away from a plan which was beginning to look like a lot more trouble than it was worth. So the coalition seemed to be a gift, enabling the Chancellor not only to get off the hook but even to trade an unwanted policy for concessions from the Lib-Dems. How wrong can you be? Now we know, they meant it all along.

Instead of debating whether the FSA has “utterly failed” – it has not – we now need to determine how we want this new structure to work. The Chancellor has prescribed the shape of the frame, but there is a lot of canvas inside that still looks very blank. Adair Turner has announced how he looks forward to working with the government to flesh out the plan. What he should have said was that he looked forward to working with the industry; that is where the practical thinking needs to come from.