The UK has been underinvesting for decades. British business isn’t keen on investing, and the public sector if anything does even worse. Public investment is not only low by international standards, it’s very volatile. Politicians like to announce investment rises, but Chancellor’s also like to cut it when they need to make the fiscal arithmetic add up. Scrapping a bridge tomorrow is always easier than firing a nurse or raising taxes today. But sustained low investment has left us poorer and affected our lives in everything from the healthcare we receive to the homes we live in. Turning this situation around requires radical change to how do such investment, but investing to grow also comes with risks that need to be managed.
Why do British governments invest so little? How can we snap out of the cycle of public investment boom and bust? And what would it take to invest better, as well as more?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the challenges of boosting public investment in the UK and our proposed policy solutions, we will hear from leading experts on the feasibility of putting these policies into practice.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
Speakers:
Jim O’Neil, British economist and former Commercial Secretary to the Treasury
Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee
Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation
Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
