Last week, I accused the government of building an economic platform made of jelly. And constantly sticking its spoon in it. This week, it was not so much a spoon as a giant ladle, wielded, mace-like, by one Michael Heseltine.

The Tory grandee has been drafted in by a government looking for answers. He wasn’t found wanting. But how is this government to respond to his 180-odd proposals? The problem is not a lack of ideas. It’s the lack of decisiveness over which one it should pull. And that’s partly because there are too many.

It’s no different on the retail side. Mary Portas made 28 recommendations last December. Most were dismissed. Little action was taken - over and above some tokenist pilots. It was all talk. Another spoon pointlessly stirred. Now, the Distressed Retail Property Taskforce, a motley assembly of vested interests mired in negative equity and steeped in rose-tinted high-street history, is promising… to write a report… in six months’ time. Six months? Is there a track in this dark forest we are in that hasn’t been trampled to bare earth 100 times?

” What we need is decisive action. What we’ve got is an Agglomeration of Multiple Distractions”

Adam Leyland, Editor

You can blame British Cycling god David Brailsford if you like. Amongst the sports-mad Cabinet, his ‘Agglomeration of Multiple Gains’ is doubtless seen as a bible. In government, however, we have an Agglomeration of Multiple Distractions. When what we need is decisive action. Making some simple bets. And following them through with single-minded purpose.

Last week, we spoke of the admirable simplicity of Booker CEO Charles Wilson’s Makro mystery tour to turn around Makro. But Wilson has been a master in the art of simplicity since Booker was a basket case back in 2005, and is still today chanting the same mantras - to ‘Focus, Drive and Broaden’ by offering customers ‘Choice, Price and Service’.

A similar clarity is instructing Michael Clarke’s focus on power brands at Premier. Or the ‘global sweet snacking strategy of his old muckers at Mondelez. Or 2 Sisters boss Ranjit Boparan’s relentless customer service.

Let’s ditch the jelly. Throw away the spoons. And make concrete plans. And not in six months time, either.