“Public opinion research shows that the vast bulk of the population are more progressive and ambitious than what political parties present as being in the centre.” This is one of the conclusions of the Common Sense Policy Group (including Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, whose classic study of equality and wellbeing, The Spirit Level, first published in 2009, is still both admired and ignored by policymakers), at the end of its 2024 collection of “manifesto” essays, Act Now.

It would appear that Rachel Reeves would rather put growth ahead of protecting our children’s future with net zero policies (Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow could add £40 to airline ticket, 23 January). Yet in the acres of coverage about this government’s growth mantra, three crucial questions are never asked, let alone answered.