The authors argue that Britain’s national character has long balanced preservation with bold construction – and that the spirit of industrial and civic ambition exemplified by Victorian engineers like Brunel and post-war public housing has largely faded. They critique modern Britain’s reliance on inherited infrastructure – much of our housing stock predates 1945 – and a distorted economy where wealth accrues through rent seeking in housing and land rather than productive creation. The piece warns that underinvestment in public goods, mass housing, and infrastructure not only stifles economic dynamism but also restricts social mobility, isolates talent, and deepens inequality. Ultimately, it advocates a return to collective investment and ambitious building as essential to renewing British progress, fostering opportunity, and reactivating the ‘dignity of shared life’.