It looks as though we will be spending the next few years debating once again the merits of capitalism versus socialism. Most of us thought this was a done deal; that the argument had been well and truly won in the UK and elsewhere throughout the seventies and eighties. But here we are thirty years later about to go around the same Mulberry bush.
I welcome this because the arguments, for most people, result in a clear winner: that imperfect though it is capitalism, well regulated, brings much greater freedom and prosperity to the people in that country than socialism, no matter how well meaning. The evidence is all around us and has been gathered by different people groups throughout the last one hundred and forty years.
However, we now have a rising generation of young citizens who do not remember our country being the sick man of Europe, do not realise the painful consequences of spending and borrowing more than you can afford, especially for the most vulnerable and do not remember the brutal excesses of the Soviet regimes or the central grip that socialism always ushers in. So it is game on: the arguments need to be made all over again.
When I first felt called into politics in 1985, one of the excitements about that unexpected change of direction for my life, was the realisation that in politics you never arrive. There is always a new twist around the corner, to keep you on your toes. So it has proved to be.
Six months ago the Conservative party was united under Theresa May and Labour looked like a rag-tag army with the hard left under the banner of Momentum trying to take over, resisted by the moderates. This has all been turned on its head. Although many things including the economy and Brexit negotiations are actually going well, we look shambolic.
Labour by contrast look united behind their fascinating leader. Momentum has won, and their policy prescription will increasingly become a socialist agenda, with much more state spending and borrowing and the re-nationalisation of rail, energy, water and the Royal Mail.
We have to spell out the benefits of capitalism in creating wealth that can then be used to support the most vulnerable. We are back to two party politics with a chasm between us. It means there is once again a real choice for voters in the UK. So let the debate be joined.