Yesterday, I blogged about how alliterative pairs create the impression of balance and order, which is why they feature so frequently in Budget statements.

George Osborne’s statement did not disappoint. The climactic soundbite was an alliterative pair - ‘The March of the Makers’ - and they were generally scattered throughout the whole of the text: from rescue to reform, reform to recovery, radically reduced, credible and comprehensive, country must compete, deal directly, important investment, fair fuel, face facts and - last, but not least - a Budget for Britain.

As Toby Ziegler said in the West Wing, too many alliterative pairs and you need ‘an avalanche of Advil’.

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