Don’t be fooled – the UK economy is not having a rerun of the 1970s | Larry Elliott

A Brexit and Covid-induced pay boom won't last long while employers hold all the the cards

The past few days have had a hint of the late 1970s about them. A shortage of lorry drivers has led to fears of food shortages. Nurses are thinking about taking industrial action over pay. The Bank of England has been fretting about rising inflation.

Holed up in Chequers, the self-isolating Boris Johnson has been as unconvincing as a bronzed Jim Callaghan was on his return from Guadeloupe in January 1979, when he was misquoted as saying, Crisis? What crisis?".

Related: UK recovery slows amid weakening consumer demand and staff shortages