We've been stealing from Peter to pay Paul since the 1970s, or rather the UK was in a mess in the 70s, so we raised money by selling off state-owned assets such as British Telecom, British Gas, the water board, and so on, to build the economy whilst dropping taxes (though the Laffer curve helped immensely), then we deregulated further to allow foreign ownership and investment in companies which resulted in things like the closure and hollowing out of British Steel, arguably a national security industry, and brands like Rowntrees, to pick one, now owned by Nestle and manufactured abroad. All we're left with is service industries and call centres. Perhaps that's harsh.

And now we're here in 2025, and the UK is running to stay still.