A storm has been whipped up by two senior members of the cabinet, Ben Bradshaw and Chris Bryant, after they accused the Tories of 'not coming out of the closet'.

The ministers suggested that despite suggestions to the contrary, many conservatives are still 'in the closet about their orientation towards sexual orientation.'

When asked whether they would actually like the Tories to come out of the closet, the Labour ministers responded resolutely, "Of course not. We are the only gays in the Westminster Village."

Further signs of optimism about the economy are apparent today as the Financial Times shows its continuing committment to the 'How to Spend it' magazine.

The publication which emerged during the boom years, and which is famous for its advertisments for eighteen thousand pound watches and Sunseeker yachts clearly proves that the good times are back.

A spokesman for the FT said today, "This is not only about the rich and the super-rich. There is mounting evidence that the middle classes, the merely 'comfortably-off', pick the magazine up with relish, suggesting that they too share in this optimism and goodwill."

The eyes of the nation, of a packed centre court were once again fixed on the Wimbledon semi-final yesterday despite the implicit assumption that the last great British hope would crash out at some point.

In a ritual that is repeated every year, the buzz about the 'reaching the final' was inevitably extinguished after four nail-biting sets.

A Wimbledon official said: "If you asked any one of these people before the match whether they might be in denial, they would look blankly at you. But as they stream out of centre court, they mutter - 'I just knew it was too good to be true'.