By James Hanson

Almost everything wrong with Britain in 2025 can be traced back to one fact: our economy isn’t growing.

According to the Resolution Foundation, in the 16 years before the 2008 financial crash, per-person GDP grew by about 2.2% per year. Since then, it’s averaged just 0.5% annually.

As dry as quoting GDP statistics may sound, these numbers are the difference between a country that feels richer over time and one that feels poorer. Hence why so many Brits are feeling cash-strapped like never before.

From young people priced out of home ownership and forced to pay exorbitant rents, to pensioners struggling to cover their heating bills - it is hard to find any section of society that didn’t feel better off 20 years ago.

When Labour came to power, Starmer and Reeves proclaimed their number one economic mission was growth. They were right to do so. Without it, tax receipts won’t rise, leaving the Treasury with three unpalatable options: spending cuts, increased borrowing or further tax........

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