An era of rampant inflation, endemic labour unrest, the “Social Contract”, monolithic nationalised industries and questionably high taxes on the wealthy, all punctuated by gut-wrenching sterling crises. That was the mid-1970s – when I began to study economics.

It was also when I cut my political teeth as a moderate Labour Party member, fighting a desperate rearguard action against Tony Benn's cadre on the left of the party and the "Alternative Economic Strategy", a hotchpotch of untrammelled public spending promises, expanded public ownership, "planning agreements" with private sector firms, and a plethora of controls on everything from imports to prices, plus a pledge to leave the European Economic Community (as the European Union then was).