This Labour government has inherited what might politely be described as a challenging economic legacy. Fourteen years of sluggish growth and falling incomes, a public realm creaking under years of neglect, and five Conservative prime ministers in rapid succession, oscillating wildly from austerity’s bleak belt-tightening to bouts of equally dizzying spending and borrowing.

Brexit? Its benefits remain as elusive as ever. Beyond abolishing the VAT exemption for private schools – a move that may quietly dent the income of architecture firms long sustained by elite school commissions – the UK’s accomplishments here remain sparse. The previous government failed to attract long-promised major investment or deliver significant benefits from leaving the EU, despite years of promises.

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