There is nothing revolutionary about McDonnell's economic plans | Larry Elliott

Before Thatcher, capital and labour had an even share - Labour merely plans to rebalance a skewed relationship

Margaret Thatcher knew what she wanted to do when she came to power in 1979. She planned to tackle inflation, cut taxes, roll back the state, and give employers the right to manage by reducing the power of trade unions.

By the time Thatcher left office in 1990 inflation was still a headache for the government and there had been no real change in the size of the state. But by the mid-1980s, a combination of mass unemployment, the defeat of the miners in their year-long strike and a raft of tougher labour laws had fundamentally changed the balance of power in the workplace.