If Tory hopes rest on the UK economy, they could go the way of the monasteries

The monasteries went from being a mighty presence across the British Isles in 1536 to near-extinction in 1540. Something similar could be happening to the Tory party today. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Tory MPs have been busy this past week and probably not found the time to watch Shardlake, the adaptation of CJ Sansom’s book set during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, but once the dust has settled from last week’s elections they might want to take a look.

This was a turbulent period. Having forced through his own version of Brexit through the break with Rome, Henry VIII then in effect nationalised the assets of religious houses dotted around England, Wales and Ireland. It was a seminal moment in the development of British capitalism and the nation state.