While on the subject of growing optimism, there’s no better place to go for a dollop of that than the Saltaire global base of Pace plc.

The company has come back from the near-dead four years ago to be officially confirmed as the world’s number one supplier of set-top boxes to digital pay TV operators.

That’s a great achievement and something we should celebrate.

The news came in the same week that Prime Minister David Cameron chose the venue to launch the new coalition government’s economic strategy, accompanied by Business Secretary Vince Cable.

The pair were given an enthusiastic reception by a hastily-mustered audience of business people and other notaries (these stage-managed events are always last-minute for security reasons).

Pace boss Neil Gaydon, who must take a large amount of the credit for the firm’s turnaround, said: “We were pleased to welcome Prime Minister David Cameron to Pace. We wholeheartedly support any plan to revitalise enterprise in the UK and help the businesses across all regions of the country that are the lifeblood of the British economy.

“It is vital that entrepreneurs and businesses have the incentives and regulatory framework that rewards innovation, ambition and expertise, which in turn will get our economy growing.

“As a global technology leader based in Yorkshire, we hope we are doing our bit to keep Britain’s high-tech pioneers motivated and positive about the future. I firmly believe UK business can – with a collective focus on staying ahead of the market and being just that bit more courageous and visionary – come through this downturn in great shape, delivering exciting products and services that consumers will love.”

After the VIP visitors and media circus had left, Pace’s 450 staff at Saltaire partied on to celebrate the firm’s achievement.