The Chancellor’s latest speech is exactly what we’ve come to expect from British politicians: soundbites and vague promises. There is no real analysis, no complex argument—just the usual clichés about “unleashing growth” and “backing British business.”
We are told that the government will “go further and faster to grow our economy.” What does this mean in practice? A radical reduction in the tax burden? The abolition of regulations that strangle small businesses? The scrapping of Net Zero policies that make energy unaffordable? No. It means more taxpayer-funded schemes, more meaningless assurances that “we have a plan.”
If the government actually wanted growth, it wouldn’t need a speech. It would cut taxes and abandon the fantasy of Net Zero. Growth is not something ministers can conjure by announcing “investment zones” or picking winners. It happens when businesses are left alone to innovate and keep their earnings.
The Chancellor’s Empty Rhetoric
The speech is written in the standard style of modern British politics: a sequence of short, simplistic sentences designed for headlines rather than thought. “We will drive growth in the sectors of the future.” Which sectors? How? “We will remove planning red tape.” In what way? To what extent? The only thing the Chancellor offers with certainty is that the government will be spending more of our money.
She boasts of “spending £4.5 billion to unlock investment” and “£1 billion to supercharge our most innovative sectors.” This sounds impressive until you realise what it actually means: politicians taking money from the productive parts of the economy and handing it to the firms they favour. If government spending created growth, we’d already be booming.
Net Zero: The Growth Killer
You won’t find the Chancellor admitting that Net Zero is a straightjacket on growth, but that’s the truth. So long as British industry is burdened with soaring energy costs and green mandates, investment will go elsewhere. China and India have no intention of sabotaging their economies for climate targets. Why are we?
She speaks of “removing barriers to investment.” But what could be a greater barrier than forcing businesses to adopt inefficient, costly “green” technologies? What company wants to expand in a country where energy policy is dictated by activists rather than economic sense? Growth will not come while we shackle the economy to the Net Zero agenda.
The Same Old Waste
The Chancellor promises a “new plan” for productivity and growth. But government intervention is the problem, not the solution. Every previous attempt at industrial strategy has resulted in wasted money and economic stagnation. There is no reason to think this time will be different.
Get Out of the Way
The economy doesn’t need another speech. It needs government to step back. Growth will come when taxes are cut, regulations are binned, and businesses are freed from Net Zero lunacy. Until then, we can expect more of the same: grand announcements, empty promises, and no results.
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From Hugo Miller
“If government spending created growth, we’d already be booming.”
Actually it does. I believe I am correct in saying that government spending is included in the government’s GDP figures. Just one mor reason to ignore any government statistics.