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In 1975, a Labor government with a wafer-thin majority was struggling in vain against rampant inflation. Trade union officials seemed more powerful than the politicians who had been elected through the democratic process, while Londoners considered themselves to be on the front line of a terrorist campaign which originated in Northern Ireland. Behind all this lay a fear of a devastating nuclear war that could break out at any time whether or not a majority of British people agreed with the cause of conflict. More than 30 years later, it is easy to see why commentators thought that Britain was becoming "ungovernable” in the mid-1970s. Yet evidence suggests that the British people were happier in those days than they have been in the early years of the 21st century, as well as much more inclined to cast votes in general elections. During the 1980s Britain was certainly affected by the "Thatcherite,” consumerist ethos. But on closer inspection, it turns out that Britons are just as "angry” today as they were in...