What ever happened to levelling up?
Levelling up has all but disappeared from the government’s agenda. That’s a big mistake for growth, writes Paul Ormerod Later this month Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement. It seems to be waited on more in fear than hope. But one area of policy appears to have more or less disappeared from the […]
The West has been free riding on US defence spending
Western nations have been free riders on American defence spending for decades. We shouldn’t be surprised Trump is now calling us to account, writes Paul Ormerod Keir Starmer has announced an increase in defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP ahead of his crucial summit with Donald Trump on Thursday. But even this hasty announcement falls short […]
I’m sorry Ed Miliband, your big green energy plan is all fantasy
Ed Miliband’s green vision is admirable, but the history of energy consumption shows it is all but a fantasy, writes Paul Ormerod The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has attracted criticism in large sections of the media. But he has, unlike some of his Cabinet colleagues, a clear vision about what he wants to do while […]
Yes, AI will wipe out some jobs. But this is the story of progress
AI will inevitably make some jobs redundant, but the benefits to society are far worth it, writes Paul Ormerod The world of AI has gone through exciting times in the last couple of weeks. The main event of course was the launch of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek. It looks very much like ChatGPT and almost […]
Starmer must remember humans respond to incentives, not rules
Rules are important to any civilised society, but Starmer has forgotten that humans respond far better to incentives, writes Paul Ormerod. As the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, often reminds us, his father was a toolmaker. He himself is a lawyer. The two professions have a lot in common. Both require the following of well-established rules […]
Reeves has placed an uncertainty premium on the British economy
Rachel Reeves promised to restore economic stability, but the outcome of her various actions has been to increase uncertainty, says Paul Ormerod Daniel Ellsberg, who died in 2023 in his 90s, was a true Renaissance Man. After a stellar career as an economics student at Harvard, he served in the Marines before working for the […]
Forget the big infrastructure projects, SMEs are the key to unlocking growth
Dear Chancellor, forget the big infrastructure projects. Boosting the productivity of SMEs is the key to growth, writes Paul Ormerod The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has reportedly asked Cabinet colleagues to come up with ideas to boost economic growth. We might reasonably wonder why this exercise was not carried out during Labour’s long period of opposition. Still, something […]
Lessons from the Gulag? Enemies of the people had entrepreneurial spirit
A recent study mapping the link between gulags and regional growth in Russia can teach us something about reviving our own left behind towns, writes economist Paul Ormerod One of the first academic articles published by the American Economic Association in 2025 began, almost certainly for the first time ever in the history of this […]
Recent Conservative governments have been more left wing than Attlee
Here’s a Christmas quiz: Which has been Britain’s most left-wing government? According to Paul Ormerod, it’s not the one you think…. The extended Christmas holidays loom. One way of filling the time is to think about crucial questions such as who is England’s greatest ever batsman, which football club side is the best the world […]
It may already be too late for Labour
The popularity of the Labour party has plunged since the election, and history tells that once a certain narrative has taken hold, it’s very difficult to turn it around, says Paul Ormerod Since the general election in July, the popularity of both the Prime Minister and the Labour Party has fallen sharply. Labour’s share of […]
