Inflation levels may have been similar, but the UK was a very different place in March 1982 - the last time the cost of living was estimated to be rising as fast as it now. The unemployment rate stood at 10.4%, the highest for 50 years, compared with 3.7% today.
The basic rate of income tax was 30%, 10 percentage points higher than where it is now, while the standard rate of VAT was 15%, five points lower than the current rate. Tackling inflation was the one of the top priorities of the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher, with levels in spring 1980 having reached the equivalent by today's standards (as estimated by the Office for National Statistics) of nearly 18%.
The Government hoped to reduce the amount of money in circulation by simultaneously cutting spending and raising indirect taxes.
Inflation did start to come down, but not before the UK economy spent the whole of 1980 and early 1981 in recession. These events led to a drop in support for the Conservatives.
