Growth· Investment· Technology· Cities and regions Growth Mais-day Resolution Foundation response to the Chancellor’s 2026 Mais Lecture 18 March 2026 by Sophie Hale The Chancellor’s reaffirmation of her commitment to focusing on the UK’s miserable growth rate is welcome and reflects the scale of the UK’s challenge: a decade of exceptionally weak growth and a fragile outlook shaped by global risks. The Chancellor evolved her approach slightly and set out three new priorities: regional growth, innovation and closer … Continued READ MORE
Growth· Investment Mountain climbing Making progress on the UK’s growth policy challenge 19 January 2026 by Elliott Christensen and Nye Cominetti and Sophie Hale and Greg Thwaites Despite recent green shoots,the UK’s growth problem remains severe. This report assesses the Government’s progress on growth policy and suggests bolder action on trade, housebuilding and employment is essential to raise productivity, incomes and living standards. READ MORE
Public services· Public finances· Investment Capital gains Public investment priorities for the 2025 Spending Review 29 April 2025 by Zachary Leather and Felicia Odamtten and Cara Pacitti and James Smith This report assesses the UK’s public investment challenges ahead of the 2025 Spending Review, highlighting legacy weaknesses in social infrastructure spending and setting out how targeted investment can boost growth and raise living standards. READ MORE
Growth· Investment· Technology Yanked away Accounting for the post-pandemic productivity divergence between Britain and America 8 April 2025 by Simon Pittaway Britain’s record of productivity growth in the 2010s was dismal. But halfway through the 2020s things appear to have got worse not better, with official data likely understating the scale of Britain’s ongoing productivity crisis. America has been on a different track so far this decade. It is the only G7 economy where productivity growth … Continued READ MORE
Growth· Investment How to do industrial strategy A guide for practitioners 7 April 2025 by David Willetts This paper sets out a practical approach to industrial strategy in the UK, focused on boosting private investment and productivity. It proposes twenty policy tools spanning sectors, technologies, places, funding and state capability, with a clear roadmap for policymakers. READ MORE
Growth· Investment The growth mindset Sizing up the Government’s growth agenda 19 September 2024 by Emily Fry and Greg Thwaites This report evaluates the UK government’s growth agenda, focusing on policies in infrastructure, housing, and trade. It highlights potential productivity gains and suggests broader reforms to meet ambitious growth targets, aiming to position the UK as the fastest-growing G7 economy. READ MORE
Growth· Investment· Technology· Economy 2030 Ready for change How and why to make the UK economy more dynamic 25 September 2023 by Richard Davies and Nadim Hamdan and Greg Thwaites Britain’s productivity shortfall is its foundational economic problem. Debate about this gap and how to fix it typically focus on raising productivity of existing firms, via two routes. First, innovation: investment, R&D and patenting as ways to inject new ideas into pre-existing firms. Second, diffusion: the cascading of those new technologies and improved management practices … Continued READ MORE
Growth· Investment· Technology· Economy 2030 Beyond Boosterism Realigning the policy ecosystem to unleash private investment for sustainable growth 22 June 2023 by Paul Brandily and Mimosa Distefano and Krishan Shah and Greg Thwaites and Anna Valero The UK is a low investment nation. Low business investment is a big driver of this. Low investment is one reason behind the UK’s weak productivity growth, which in turn is the main reason behind the stagnation in UK living standards. Policy makers understand this and have made attempts to fix it. This paper, part … Continued READ MORE
