The latest edition of Radical Thinking, the Guardian’s new podcast, should be required listening at a Treasury still stifled by outdated orthodoxies
As prime ministers have come and gone at bewildering speed in recent years, the search for elusive economic growth has become the overriding fixation of the British political class. In the lead-up to the 2024 general election, Sir Keir Starmer declared that “growth must become Labour’s obsession”, given the financial constraints that any new government would be under. The scale of Labour’s progressive offer, it was made clear, would be umbilically linked to its ability to generate a significant uptick in GDP.
“Growth in every postcode” is also the early mantra of Andy Burnham’s government. The prime minister swept to power partly by running on Greater Manchester’s record as the UK’s fastest-growing city region while he was mayor. Echoing Mr Starmer’s approach, Mr Burnham’s chancellor, John Healey, told the Labour party conference in September: “Without growth, there is no social democracy.”
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