Most of the insurers then introduced the arbitrary cut-off dates in an attempt to put a time limit on their own financial liability for mis-selling.

Third, it creates arbitrary cut-off points for categorisation, just as historians used to classify the reigns of monarchs.

Now investors who have already exceeded that arbitrary cut-off point, including your humble correspondent, find our longterm savings seem destined to be sacrificed to short-term political expediency.

However, this table currently has an arbitrary cut-off limit for inclusion of 300 patent families.