Sebastian Charleton is Digital and Communications Manager at the Adam Smith Institute.
For the UK, 2024 marked yet another year of stagnation. The latest figures show a GDP increase of a measly 0.1 per cent. And 2025 isn’t looking much better. Just this week, we’ve seen the cost of borrowing soar as gilt yields rise to their highest levels in a quarter of a century.
Unfortunately, this gloomy outlook is something we have come to expect. Since 2007, the British economy has fallen into decline – our GDP per capita has shrunk from $50,397 to $48,866 and we’ve gone from having some of the fastest growing working-age incomes to some of the slowest.
The shadow front bench, who have been forcefully arguing against the new taxes on businesses and jobs, have clearly got the right instincts on what will absolutely not get us out of this mess. But if the Conservatives want to win again they must suggest alternatives to the Government’s manageralist agenda, rather than simply opposing it.
Fixing the UK’s sluggish economy begins with dismantling our (effectively nationalised) planning system. Whilst MPs may feel that opposing new developments boost their popularity, it is fundamentally an electoral dead end: over three-quarters of people in England agree that there is a national housing crisis.
In any case, it’s in the self-interest of the centre-right to create a generation of homeowners – depriving an entire cohort of the trappings of maturity is unlikely to instill them with a more conservative outlook.
We desperately need a dependable system that empowers the market to meet consumer demand – and that will require a serious attempt at planning reform. But in the meantime, there are already some oven-ready policies that the Conservatives could adopt to boost our housing stock.
Scrapping restrictions on intensive agricultural land within 10 minutes’ walk from a railway station would be transformative, allowing for the construction of one million more homes in the Green Belt surrounding London alone. Vitally, it would also mean that homes are being built where people want to live (unlike under the current Government’s plans, which have included the slashing of housing targets in our most productive cities).
Nonetheless, for those wary of any wholesale change to the planning regime, increasing the use of Development Orders represents a more expedient option, avoiding the inevitable political hassle that comes with full-fat legislative reform. These allow politicians to grant planning permission to a specific project or to any project in a defined area.
Like housing, our energy supply is struggling to meet growing demand. Again, we must liberalise our planning laws – particularly for nuclear energy. This means supporting developers to deliver full fleets of reactors, rather than subjecting them to a piecemeal approval process. Similarly, introducing a mutual recognition of standards for Advanced Modular Reactors would allow us to quickly adopt technologies already in use in other countries.
Of course, these reforms will take time to take effect. To secure our energy supply in the short term, we must reverse the ban on fracking.
What makes these reforms so attractive, especially to a cash-strapped politician, is that they cost next to nothing. They simply require the government to step aside and allow the market to do its job.
Of course, this deregulatory agenda doesn’t just apply to housing and infrastructure. With clubs and pubs shutting at an alarming rate, Britain’s nightlife sector is also on the decline. Like so many of our economy, it’s a victim of pointless state interference that serves to undermine what should be a thriving industry.
As things stand, a whopping 33 per cent of the price of a pint evaporates into the hands of the taxman with high operating costs consuming the rest. Meanwhile, local councils wield their planning and licensing powers with impunity, penalising already struggling venues over trivial complaints.
The ability to unwind and enjoy oneself after a hard day’s work is vitally important. Any centre-right party that seeks to govern must be bold in its defence of fun. To ease the financial pressure on small venues, politicians must take material action: cutting VAT, slashing beer duties, and scrapping local alcohol levies.
As I mentioned, they are right to vigorously oppose the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions. But they must go further, advocating for the removal of existing taxes as well as opposing new ones.
Similarly, the right must double down on its commitment to cutting red tape – an essential step in empowering venues to operate more flexibly.
This means ministerial intervention is required to shut down local puritanism from a vocal minority. Conservatives should conduct a full review of restrictive planning and licensing rules in London, where the sector is being hit particularly hard, and decide which policies should be overturned.
Adam Smith once said that “little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism, but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice.” His insights still apply today. To get Britain growing, we must cut back the managerialist state and focus on delivering the essential duties of government. Doing less and doing it better is the key to any future centre-right resurgence.
Sebastian Charleton is Digital and Communications Manager at the Adam Smith Institute.
For the UK, 2024 marked yet another year of stagnation. The latest figures show a GDP increase of a measly 0.1 per cent. And 2025 isn’t looking much better. Just this week, we’ve seen the cost of borrowing soar as gilt yields rise to their highest levels in a quarter of a century.
Unfortunately, this gloomy outlook is something we have come to expect. Since 2007, the British economy has fallen into decline – our GDP per capita has shrunk from $50,397 to $48,866 and we’ve gone from having some of the fastest growing working-age incomes to some of the slowest.
The shadow front bench, who have been forcefully arguing against the new taxes on businesses and jobs, have clearly got the right instincts on what will absolutely not get us out of this mess. But if the Conservatives want to win again they must suggest alternatives to the Government’s manageralist agenda, rather than simply opposing it.
Fixing the UK’s sluggish economy begins with dismantling our (effectively nationalised) planning system. Whilst MPs may feel that opposing new developments boost their popularity, it is fundamentally an electoral dead end: over three-quarters of people in England agree that there is a national housing crisis.
In any case, it’s in the self-interest of the centre-right to create a generation of homeowners – depriving an entire cohort of the trappings of maturity is unlikely to instill them with a more conservative outlook.
We desperately need a dependable system that empowers the market to meet consumer demand – and that will require a serious attempt at planning reform. But in the meantime, there are already some oven-ready policies that the Conservatives could adopt to boost our housing stock.
Scrapping restrictions on intensive agricultural land within 10 minutes’ walk from a railway station would be transformative, allowing for the construction of one million more homes in the Green Belt surrounding London alone. Vitally, it would also mean that homes are being built where people want to live (unlike under the current Government’s plans, which have included the slashing of housing targets in our most productive cities).
Nonetheless, for those wary of any wholesale change to the planning regime, increasing the use of Development Orders represents a more expedient option, avoiding the inevitable political hassle that comes with full-fat legislative reform. These allow politicians to grant planning permission to a specific project or to any project in a defined area.
Like housing, our energy supply is struggling to meet growing demand. Again, we must liberalise our planning laws – particularly for nuclear energy. This means supporting developers to deliver full fleets of reactors, rather than subjecting them to a piecemeal approval process. Similarly, introducing a mutual recognition of standards for Advanced Modular Reactors would allow us to quickly adopt technologies already in use in other countries.
Of course, these reforms will take time to take effect. To secure our energy supply in the short term, we must reverse the ban on fracking.
What makes these reforms so attractive, especially to a cash-strapped politician, is that they cost next to nothing. They simply require the government to step aside and allow the market to do its job.
Of course, this deregulatory agenda doesn’t just apply to housing and infrastructure. With clubs and pubs shutting at an alarming rate, Britain’s nightlife sector is also on the decline. Like so many of our economy, it’s a victim of pointless state interference that serves to undermine what should be a thriving industry.
As things stand, a whopping 33 per cent of the price of a pint evaporates into the hands of the taxman with high operating costs consuming the rest. Meanwhile, local councils wield their planning and licensing powers with impunity, penalising already struggling venues over trivial complaints.
The ability to unwind and enjoy oneself after a hard day’s work is vitally important. Any centre-right party that seeks to govern must be bold in its defence of fun. To ease the financial pressure on small venues, politicians must take material action: cutting VAT, slashing beer duties, and scrapping local alcohol levies.
As I mentioned, they are right to vigorously oppose the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions. But they must go further, advocating for the removal of existing taxes as well as opposing new ones.
Similarly, the right must double down on its commitment to cutting red tape – an essential step in empowering venues to operate more flexibly.
This means ministerial intervention is required to shut down local puritanism from a vocal minority. Conservatives should conduct a full review of restrictive planning and licensing rules in London, where the sector is being hit particularly hard, and decide which policies should be overturned.
Adam Smith once said that “little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism, but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice.” His insights still apply today. To get Britain growing, we must cut back the managerialist state and focus on delivering the essential duties of government. Doing less and doing it better is the key to any future centre-right resurgence.