The shocks that hit Liverpool in the late 20th century paralysed its economy. Britain’s trade shifted from the west coast and its colonies to the south-east and Europe. Container ships arrived, requiring far fewer dockers and ending much of the processing work on which the onshore economy depended. Passengers deserted the big cruise ships for airlines – all this in a city where a fifth of the workforce relied on casual labour when the boat came in, a contrast to the mill towns around it where work was tough but regular.

The recovery is just beginning to bear fruit after an astonishing building programme. Since 2000, almost 300 different projects worth £7.3bn ($13.3bn) have been built or begun, according to the Mersey Partnership (TMP), the economic development agency.