In capitalism’s casino, tech’s a surer bet

Britain invests too little.

- Will Hutton

The latest figures show that in the three months to last September, Britain was bottom of the class.

Few things unite economists across the spectrum, but on this there is agreement: unless this dismal trend is reversed, hopes of growth and rising living standards can be kissed goodbye.

That is where agreement ends. One of the most striking things about so much economic commentary today is how quickly people regress to the comfort zone of confirmed prejudice. On the right, the explanation is deemed obvious: Rachel Reeves’s two tax-raising budgets, particularly the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions, has killed business confidence stone dead.

What optimism can this bungling, visionless government engender? What is needed is to revisit Thatcherism, they say, lift the dead hand of the state off the back of business and exploit the opportunities of Brexit. This, despite the fact that past attempts at trying have: a) proved almost impossible because most regulation turns out to exist with good reason, b) when achieved, at best deliver a short-term sugar rush, at worst nothing except increased inequality and more degradation of public services and ©) Brexit has backfired spectacularly. Has the right noticed?