It is the nature of politics, however ironic, that the 20th anniversary of Labour's win in 1997, which ushered in 13 years of Labour governments, should coincide with an election likely to usher in a decade or more of Conservative administrations.

There is however an interlocking theme to both periods, namely the long tail of the 2007/8 recession that connects the high spending years of Labour and the austerity that followed. The fiscal crash gave the Conservatives a stick to beat Labour, arguing to this day and certainly in this General Election that the latter was to blame for the recession. It is of course inaccurate.