OBR risks being ‘unreasonably pessimistic’ as Reeves set to be given leeway October 10, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) risks being “unreasonably pessimistic” if it decides to downgrade productivity growth trends by more than 0.1 percentage point, fresh analysis has indicated, in what could hand Chancellor Rachel Reeves some extra leeway at this year’s Budget. The fiscal watchdog is widely expected to downgrade productivity forecasts as part of [...]
Reeves must reject this finger-wagging, fun-sapping, tax-loving nonsense October 8, 2025 The Chancellor may have felt in need of a stiff drink after absorbing the latest productivity figures handed to her by the Office for Budget Responsibility, and who could blame her? The OBR is widely expected to have significantly downgraded its productivity forecasts while at the same time conceding that it’s been overestimating productivity growth [...]
Doing business in Britain is too difficult, too expensive and too uncertain September 30, 2025 Business confidence is at a three-year low and productivity has not improved for 15 years. It is businesses that policymakers must turn to – and fast – to get growth back on track, writes ICAEW chief executive Alan Vallance Whatever your political leanings, we can all agree that the UK faces a challenging economic context. Weak [...]
The Debate: Should workers be entitled to ‘digital downtime’? September 3, 2025 Would periods of 'digital silence' in the working week help make workers more productive? Two writers battle it out.
Business investment falls as alarm bells rung on low productivity August 14, 2025 Business investment fell by four per cent in the second quarter of the year despite moderate growth of 0.3 per cent, official data has shown, as top economists are ringing alarm bells on low productivity levels across the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was a dramatic fall in investment compared [...]
The Debate: Should UK businesses follow Europe’s August shutdown tradition? July 30, 2025 The French (supposedly) do it, so why not us? We get two writers to weigh up the pros and cons of the August shutdown in this week's debate.
Switch off? Here’s the books to read to stay switched on this summer July 25, 2025 Hate to switch off? Fear not, How To Make A Billion book author Richard Harpin gives his holiday reading guide to stay switched on.
Enough with black-hole blaming, Reeves is ignoring low hanging fruit July 15, 2025 Raising taxes and plugging black holes, Reeves's discourse ignores proven (and easier) methods to boost productivity, says Paul Ormerod.
Tax hikes dragging investment to worst level since pandemic, CBI says June 18, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ dramatic tax hike on employment has helped push firms’ investment plans down to the worst level in five years, contributing to a downgrade in the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s latest economic outlook. The CBI now believe that the UK economy will only grow 1.2 per cent this year and slow down [...]
The productivity puzzle: Why Britain has plenty of capital but no capital spending June 17, 2025 Despite holding £1.9 trillion in financial wealth, the UK has failed to invest in its future, leaving a generation stuck with 20-year-old productivity and pay, say Andrew Allum and Jack Duckworth When Warren Buffett announced his retirement last month, he had created many billions, and many memorable quotes such as “Someone’s sitting in the shade [...]