The Queen’s reign oversaw seismic change. What will another 70 years bring?

There are five things that seem likely to have happened by the time the UK has, perhaps, a King George VII on the throne, writes Hamish McRae

If the UK is so different now, the changes here are dwarfed by those that have taken place elsewhere in the world (AP)

The past 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign have seen extraordinary change in the UK economy, but even larger changes in that of the world as a whole. This time of national mourning is an opportunity for reflection, but it is also a chance to think about the next 70 years and what they might hold.

The story of the UK economy since the Second World War has been told so many times that it is just worth noting the key features. The narrower economic issues include the decline of manufacturing, the long shadow of the massive debts accumulated during the war, the transformation into a service economy, the end of empire, the entry into and exit from the European Union, and so on.

The rise in life expectancy, the growth in the number of women in the workforce, the advance of higher education, and social attitudes more generally make up the wider socioeconomic changes.