Britain’s £800bn investment pile that isn’t being used Opinion Britain's 'mainstream investors' hold more than £800bn in net financial wealth, an investment sum large enough to meaningfully address the capital gap.
Productivity growth twitchy in wake-up call for OBR and Reeves Economics Productivity levels stuttered in the third quarter of the year, an initial estimate has shown, subverting the Chancellor’s hopes of boosting output in the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday morning that quarterly growth in output per hour rates was 0.7 per cent, the highest level since the end of [...]
Rachel Reeves set for £20bn OBR productivity downgrade Economics Rachel Reeves’ ballooning fiscal black hole is set to deepen as the fiscal watchdog hands the Chancellor its final productivity forecast on Friday. The Treasury is already battling to contain public finances after a U-turn on welfare reforms ruined hopes of £5bn in savings, and a £190bn spending splurge on government departments helped erode the Chancellor’s wafer-thin [...]
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.
UK firms turn to AI and automation as they struggle to find skilled workers June 4, 2025 Nearly three-quarters of British firms are struggling to find talented workers in fears that productivity levels are unlikely to rebound after a bumpy recovery from the pandemic, fresh research has found. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on firms to prioritise hiring British workers over sponsoring foreign nationals as part of his plans to boost [...]
The Debate: Should the UK have more bank holidays? May 28, 2025 With not another bank holiday until the end of August, are Brits in need of more time off? Two writers go head to head in this week's Debate.
From rare bees to miners’ pensions, money is now no object in parliament May 28, 2025 Miners' pensions, indigenous rights, the shrill carder bee - parliament and the public have lost touch with the reality of public spending.
If the ONS can’t measure productivity, how are we meant to improve it? April 23, 2025 The ONS's shortcomings are far from trivial, its bad maths is holding back the UK economy, writes Paul Ormerod.
The Debate: Has Britain lost its work ethic? February 5, 2025 Chris Philp has told Brits to pull up their bootstraps, but have we really lost our work ethic? We let two writers hash it out.
Office for Value for Money: Can more bureaucracy really improve productivity? November 13, 2024 Public sector productivity has remained the same for 25 years. Can more bureaucracy help it, Paul Ormerod asks.