I clearly remember the euphoria of that night in May 1997 when Tony Blair won his landslide election victory, sweeping away 18 years of Conservative government to the strains of D:Ream's “Things Can Only Get Better”.
And for about 10 years, things really did seem to get better, at least for the UK construction industry. These were the days of “Constructing the Team”, “Rethinking Construction”, partnering, open-book accounting and the end of payment abuse.
The euphoria accompanying Keir Starmer's victory in July's general election was more muted, although expectations were high and Starmer's repeated promise to “get Britain building” provided grounds for optimism.
Starmer has promised to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. But what he means is that he would help the private sector build these homes by reforming the planning system; British governments don't build houses.
But they do build infrastructure and one of the first things the Labour government has done is tighten the purse strings and axe major infrastructure projects, including the A303 Stonehenge tunnel and the A27 Arundel bypass.
A million-and-a-half new homes are certainly needed but so is the infrastructure that will be used by the residents of these homes.
Blair's government gave the UK construction industry 10 good years. Then the global financial crisis hit and the party was over.
The Starmer party hasn't even started – but the bunting is already beginning to fade.