Commentary

Should we really conclude that, while there may be some lessons from the 1960s, there is nothing to be learned from the last Labour Government because the instability of 1974-79 was supposedly too exceptional? And should we also conclude that economic stability, even if it can’t be a panacea, must at least be the overriding goal and measure of success? This may be a mistake. As my old friend Harold Lever used to say: ‘Anyone who wants to live in a stable economic climate should first find another world in which to live.’ Remember that in 1992 there had not been a devaluation within the ERM since 1987 – a more or less stable five years. Then we had 1992 and 1993 and so on. Now, who knows whether things are going to be stable or not? We certainly should not rely on it: instability may well be a fact of life for the new Labour Government as it was for many of its predecessors.