How do we get Sid — and his grandchildren — buying UK shares again?

If you see Sid, tell him not to bother. Rather than buying shares, as the vintage advertising slogan encouraged people to do when British Gas was privatised in 1986, these days they are more likely to be snapping up cryptocurrency or lottery tickets.

Data this week from the Office for National Statistics showed that the proportion of UK shares held by individual UK residents fell to 10.8% last year, close to an all-time low.

While it is possible to quibble with what the numbers tell