Manchesterism: Burnham’s Big Gamble for Growth

Britain’s slowdown in productivity growth has plagued the country for as long as I can remember. There are many factors to blame. The 2008 financial crisis, the resulting austerity measures, low investment, the dreaded Brexit, and, of course, COVID-19. Add in ten turbulent years of six different prime ministers and a disastrous Truss mini-budget, and it’s no wonder investors are timid and we are stuck in a rut.

Housing is in crisis. Years of weak wage growth have left households exposed to the rising cost of living. In 2025, 12.8% of graduates aged 21 to 24 were not in education, employment, or training, up from 10.1% in 2022, while those in employment are sweating under a student finance system that would make a loan shark envious.

More recently, the war in Iran has driven up UK gas prices, with Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe saying that gas prices are now 12 times the level in the US. The pressure on many businesses, small and large, has become insurmountable, and many have simply chosen to close their doors. The road to “good growth in every postcode” has seldom looked so bleak.