Two hours...

That was how long the Chancellor’s message of reassurance to market investors lasted today.

George Osborne resurfaced at the Treasury just after 7am to tell investors that the UK economy remains strong, to assure them and households that he would take all necessary contingency plans to deal with the instability following the Brexit vote.

And for a little while, the plan seemed to go pretty well. The main London stock markets did not start the day quite as low as had been expected. The pound even rose, for a bit. Moreover, there has been no sudden stop, where investors abandon a government’s debt. In fact the UK government can now borrow at the lowest rate since 1703 – less than 1% for 10 year debt.

But a little after 9am the effect wore off and the market misery that characterised Friday’s trading was back.

London shares slumped back towards the 6,000 mark, with bank shares and a few of those most affected by Brexit doing disastrously: RBS (still 73% owned by the taxpayer, lest we forget) was at one stage down by 25%; Easyjet was down by a fifth. Having risen briefly after Mr Osborne’s appearance, the pound then dropped again to the lowest level in 31 years.

Credit Suisse said that based on leading indicators, the UK is probably already in recession. Indeed, the way investors are behaving – piling money into “defensive” stocks such as utilities and consumer staples – suggests they are gearing up for a slump. The Institute of Directors warned that businesses were actively considering pulling investment and cutting jobs from the UK. Investors are now betting that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in the coming months, perhaps more than once.

Moreover, looked at from another angle, those record low gilt yields could equally be taken to imply that UK growth will be weaker for longer.

Ugh. And, frankly, the bad news is likely to outnumber the good for some time – and for a simple reason. Investors demand stability: stability of taxes, of trade arrangements, of regulation, of immigration policy, of exchange rates. They all play a part in determining whether a company will build that new factory or hire new workers. And the problem with the way Brexit has manifested itself is that, having won the referendum, the Leave campaign is looking towards the Treasury for a plan, who in turn are looking back towards the Leave camp for a plan.

The Chancellor’s appearance this morning illustrated the problem perfectly. There is, he said, a short term plan for stabilising the markets. What there isn’t is a long-term plan for the kind of relationship the UK wants with the EU and other trading nations. And one presumes there won’t be such a plan until there is a new Conservative leader and, perhaps, until after a general election. And even that might not provide a clear guide, since there may not be a clear majority winner.

You get the idea. As long as there is no plan, instability will reign. Investors will continue to be wary of the UK economy, and the economy will be sluggish. The only question is how long the sluggishness, or indeed the potential recession, will last. Another way of putting it: how long until the politicians get their act together, stop squabbling and start leading?