In the 1980s, during much of which Heseltine was a senior if sometimes semi-detached Cabinet minister, thinking about the proper role of government in the economy changed. It was restricted to setting a framework. Government held the ring. It was not a player. Decisions on prices, wages, jobs, incomes, profits and investment were made through markets, not committees. Despite difficulties, and the occasional political upheaval from such as Heseltine, this strategy revived Britain's economy and revolutionised its prospects.

The question remains: why did David Cameron and George Osborne commission the report? One can see why the modernisers like the idea of promoting the man who brought down Margaret Thatcher. But were they wise to do so now? The Heseltine proposals will not—most cannot—be implemented, which will annoy him. Embarassingly, they fit far more easily into the Labour party's analysis. But there is another risk. By commissioning such a report the Prime Minister and the Chancellor suggest that they either reject or simply do not understand the economics of the free market. They may yet regret that-even if Heseltine does not.