Asking 'does aid work?' is as absurd a question as 'do schools work?' or 'is government good?' Some aid works well and some doesn't. Sometimes schools fail. Sometimes governments get things wrong.

We could be the generation to end poverty. For many that statement seems a little unbelievable at least in part because we've heard it all before. But it really is possible - the problem is maybe that we've tended to get too bogged down in the past and thinking that the problem of global poverty is just too big to solve.

In the days of pre-announcements, leaks, 24 hour news speculation and focus grouped policy proposals, it's rare to get anything close to a surprise in the big set piece Westminster events such as the state opening of parliament.