Among the accusations hurled by Daniel Hannan, the Conservative MEP for South East England, in a speech at the European parliament attacking Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, was “sounding like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line”.

Today’s political leaders rarely seem to stray too far from the closed world of politics before they assume power. This was not always the case in the UK. Tory MPs often had business or military backgrounds. Many Labour MPs could match them, and others had been union organisers. They had hobbies. They had professional achievements outside public policy. They brought informed perspectives to bear on the great issues of the day. In short, they had experience of the world beyond politics.