In every country of the UK, the most deprived 20-30 per cent are far less likely to be self-employed. For the poorest 10 per cent, the level is about half the national average, with just five entrepreneurs for every hundred people. Britain has a shocking 1.5 million people who are entirely financially excluded.

That is three times the population of Edinburgh. People with no bank account. No sort code. At least a third of the financially excluded are stuck on welfare. And the financially excluded are only the worst-off.

There has been much attention paid recently, for example, to the plight of the just about managing. These are six million households of working age, sitting in the bottom half of the nation's income distribution, on low to middle incomes. They are not reliant on benefits but struggle to live modestly whilst spending almost everything they earn just to get through the month. They lack savings and disposable income, thus investing to secure their future is a luxury they can't afford.