The reality is that a large part of the UK's so-called service industry is based exactly on the creation and maintenance of offshore schemes of all kinds, and much of the wealth of Cameron's party backers would evaporate if the schemes were made public.

Voters are mostly too uninformed to know much about this world. But public exposure plays very badly with them, because Cameron famously said "We're all in this together" while promoting austerity at the start of the first Coalition term.

Now, even the most unaware British voters are beginning to wonder if perhaps he was being less than entirely honest.

Conveniently, it would be the easiest thing in the world to throw Cameron overboard, leave Europe - so the scams can continue - and carry on with someone fresh, new, shiny, and untainted by association, who can guarantee business as usual behind the scenes.

It's still surprising how limited the revelations have been in the UK. It's very hard to believe that more household names aren't involved - but so far we've had a hit list of minor Lords hardly anyone has heard of, some former MPs no one cares about, and Lord Ashcroft, who may not be Cameron's favourite person after he offered some unexpected insights into Cameron's hobbies as a student earlier in the year.