For good measure, our investigation² of what goes on in Britain's bedrooms indicates that a third of the nation does not have sex at all in a typical month, a rise in abstinence of eight percentage points since 2008. Only 1% say they have sex more than 30 times a month, an average of at least once a day.

 

After six years of recession, and four years of a Tory-led coalition³, it would seem that when it comes to sex we have never had it so infrequently.

 

It is also clear that men suffered the greater blow to their sexual self-esteem as the recession took its grip. In 2008, more than half of the sexually active men who took part in our survey rated themselves as above average in terms of their prowess as lovers. This year, that figure had shrunk to a less than a third.

 

And there is further bad news for men. Fewer are happy with the size of their penis. An admittedly sizeable proportion – 79% – are still content with their organ's dimensions, against 86% six years ago. Intriguingly⁴, 90% of those from higher social grades report satisfaction with their size, while Scottish men (88%) are also more likely to be happy with their penis.

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