A Labour government that comes to power after a prolonged period of unbroken Conservative rule. A sense in the country that something has gone seriously wrong with the economy and that change is needed. A backdrop of rapid technological change. For 2024, read 1964. For Sir Keir Starmer, read Harold Wilson.

Wilson came to power with a national plan to grow the economy by 25% by the end of the 1960s. Starmer has a national mission to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7. We’ve been here before, but there is a chance – no more than that – that things may turn out better for Starmer than they did for Wilson.

The 1964 Labour government was hamstrung from the start by Wilson’s determination to defend an overvalued pound – a decision that eventually led to devaluation, austerity and defeat at the 1970 election.

Last week, the financial markets greeted Labour’s landslide victory with a big yawn. The pound was unmoved, shares rose and there was absolutely no sign of international investors heading for the exit.

In her first press conference as chancellor, Rachel Reeves said she had looked at the books over the weekend and found the public finances to be in just as a big a mess as she had assumed while in opposition. Labour was saddled with the worst inheritance of any government since the second world........

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