In the recent elections the dog that not only did not bark but seemed to have got lost completely was the state of the public finances. Where in the General Elections of 2010 and 2015 the deficit, the debt and the scale of public spending dominated the battles and debates, they were largely ignored in 2017.

There was no traditional Tory attack on Labour promises, with a big round number in billions calculated, turned into a pounds per household number and plastered all over the billboards of Britain. There was little time spent in telling us that we would emulate the economic and social crisis of Greece unless austerity continued. There was not much even on the need to reduce the debt to avoid placing today's bills in the laps of future generations. Whatever one thinks of these policies economically, they were undoubtedly effective politics in previous elections.