Duncan Barkes Apathy rules, Citizen Smiths are long gone...

Fed up? Undoubtedly. Prepared to do anything about it? I doubt it.

Since George outlined his Comprehensive Spending Review it has become abundantly clear there are rough times ahead. One way or another, it will affect all of us.

Even if you’re minted, possible cuts to locally-provided public services will still hit you, and nothing irritates middle-class West Sussex more than their bins not getting emptied properly and on time.

I have sympathy with Dave and George. Cuts had to be made and they are damned if they do and stuffed if they don’t.

Some say there should be greater tax slapped on banks, but all this would do is send the banking giants fleeing the UK, leading to more unemployment and/or the additional tax being passed on to us. Like it or not, the banks have a role in generating more money.

Since last week I have heard plenty of outrage about the cuts. Some suggest there will be riots and a repeat of the poll tax protests of 1990. Poppycock!

Our country was a very different place 20 years ago. Back then the flame of the donkey-jacket mentality burned brightly, plus the activists of the 1960s and 1970s were still knocking around.

But now, of course, those passionate protesters are retired and the nearest they get to a ruck is shouting at the telly when they beat a contestant to the Countdown conundrum.

Today’s society is apathetic about the cuts. Sure, they will be affected by them, but they do not care enough to be galvanised into protesting.

We will grumble, but do nothing. So long as there are a couple of pizzas in the oven, Sky TV is still pumping and we can sit on our increasingly-large backsides watching X-Factor on a Saturday night, then there’s little danger of our disgruntlement developing into anything animated.

In the UK, the only thing that seems to make the masses angry is a Premiership footballer threatening to leave his club, or some chirpy bird being unfairly booted off the latest reality TV show.