There are obviously gargantuan differences between the Tory and Labour manifestos, but there is also similarity in the direction of travel. Call me a party pooper, but I’m worried that in order to win this election by the biggest majority imaginable, the Tories have conceded certain fundamental arguments that will make it easier for Labour to win the next one.

The contrast was articulated well by ITV’s Robert Peston at the Conservative manifesto launch in the Midlands. During questions to Boris Johnson, Mr Peston said: “You’re proposing £3 billion a year of extra public service spending compared to Labour’s promise of £83 billion ... So anyone who wants to see a definitive end to austerity and improvements in public services, they’re going to vote for Labour aren’t they?” The PM replied: “I couldn’t disagree with you more. [This is] a radical agenda ... We will be investing the biggest ever cash boost to the NHS ... It’s our job as One Nation Conservatives to support a step change in funding to our public services.”

No words on reform. No belt-tightening. No individual responsibility. Thatcherism is dead; long live the nanny state.

Now, as Mr Johnson went on to say, there is a galaxy-sized difference between the way Labour and the Tories will roll back austerity. Under New Labour, the centre-Left wanted to milk capitalism to finance social reform: now the goal is to reform capitalism itself, to build a new kind of society via a mix of nationalisation, union power and taxation. This isn’t just about helping the very poorest. If it were, Labour wouldn’t propose taxing the wealthy in order to create universal benefits that even billionaires can enjoy, such as free internet and free tuition fees. It aims to become the first government in history to steal from the rich to give to the rich.