The last recession in 1990/1991

The Middle East: Then, as now, British and American troops were in Iraq. 1991 began with Operation Desert Storm, as Britain and America launched a ground invasion, following Saddam Hussein’s refusal to withdraw from Kuwait. The conflict lasted until March, when armed forces withdrew. This time, getting out will take much longer Photograph: David Longstreath/AP

British Politics: Margaret Thatcher resigned in November 1990 and was replaced by John Major. Despite the downturn, he pulled off a surprise election win the next year. Today Gordon Brown, another chancellor turned prime minister, will also have to overturn the opinion polls before he can win a second term in No 10 Photograph: Terry O'Neill/Getty Images

Business: The Bank of Credit and Commerce International went bust in 1991, with billions of pounds unaccounted for. The resulting legal action lasted for years. In November 1991, Robert Maxwell fell off his yacht and his business empire collapsed, marking the end of an era Photograph: Jim James/PA

Taxation: The poll tax – widely blamed for Thatcher’s downfall – was abandoned. Michael Heseltine replaced it with the council tax after riots in March 1990 and widespread refusal to pay. This time around, Alistair Darling is cutting taxes to try to avoid recession turning into depression Photograph: PA

Sport: 1990 was the last time Liverpool won the football league. It was also England’s greatest chance to lift the World Cup, in Italy, since 1966. Italia 90 was memorable for Gazza’s tears after he was booked in England’s semi-final defeat against West Germany Photograph: John Giles/PA

Music: World in Motion was the New Order song for the World Cup, the band’s first and only single to reach number one in the UK Top 40. And “shoegazer” music reached its zenith Photograph: Bob Berg/Getty

Literature: Douglas Coupland published Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, coining a term that defined a generation. Bret Easton Ellis wrote American Psycho, the classic tale of a psychopathic US banker, while John Grisham published his legal thriller The Firm Photograph: Matthew Mcvay/Corbis

The Superpowers: 1991 saw the end of the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev survived a coup in the summer, but the Soviet Union quickly disintegrated. In America, President George Bush Sr was struggling with a huge budget deficit, as Bill Clinton lined up another run at the Democratic presidential ticket Photograph: Georges de Keerle/ Sygma/Corbis

Barack Obama: The new president of the United States was then busy graduating from Harvard Law School, where he had already made headlines by becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review Photograph: Joe Wrinn/Harvard University/AP