The innocence of that summer is touching to recall now. In a far-off past called 2024, when Britain elected a Labour government, optimists made the bull case for the country. Emmanuel Macron had budget troubles in France and Germany a recession, so the UK struck them as a relative haven. (As though there were three countries on Earth to invest in.)
Instead of constant Tory paranoia about a bond market revolt, there would be people in charge willing at last to borrow to spend. (There soon followed a bond market revolt.) “Britain is back, and the world wants a piece” is one of the headlines that have aged like milk.
Bull, indeed. We now know that British output shrank in January….