The old battle lines in British politics evaporated this week as MPs of all shades lined up to welcome the emergency capital injection into Britain’s banks.

In 1983, Michael Foot – then Labour leader – was castigated for an election manifesto that included plans to nationalise part of the banking system. A Labour government, it pledged, would “stand ready to take one or more of them [banks] into public ownership”. Sir Gerald Kaufman, then shadow cabinet member, dubbed the document the longest suicide note in history and it helped mark Mr Foot down as one of politics’ greatest failures.