70 years on and UK is still mistakenly looking for economic miracle cure | Larry Elliott

During Queen's reign, country has tended to move quickly from national gloom to premature belief that it has finally cracked it'

In her 70 years on the throne the Queen has been served by 14 prime ministers and 22 chancellors of the exchequer. She has seen the country become wealthier and healthier despite five significant recessions. In 1952, the economy was dominated by manufacturing and powered by coal. Seven decades later, the pits have all closed and Britain is primarily a service-sector economy.

The past 15 years have been the toughest of the Queen's reign. Two deep recessions have provided the bookends to a period of extremely weak growth and flatlining living standards. Inflation is the highest it has been in four decades and the immediate prospects for the economy are poor.