“I’m not quite a Luddite, but tech’s not quite my bag, so I’m glad it’s not me,” jokes Mark Gifford as Housing Today scrambles with the mic settings on Teams.

The Luddites’ machine-smashing protest movement is widely understood to have started in Nottingham, spreading as far north as Greater Manchester, where the chief executive of First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) is sat in an office, blue skies visible through the wide windows behind him.

“If I look that way, I can see the moors and Saddlworth – 10 minutes’ drive. And if I look that way, I can see the ‘New York’ skyline of Manchester,” he points out in subtle Mancunian cadence.