Why is Britain’s productivity so stubbornly low? Output per worker increased just 0.1 per cent in the year to April. Across swathes of the economy it is in absolute decline.

One theory, posited by those brave enough to voice unfashionable opinions, is that working from home is dragging down productivity growth. This has been dismissed by unions and the Labour party, who go to great lengths to show flexible working boosts output. Workers, they say, will get more done with fewer breaks, take fewer sick days, and are less likely to change jobs.

Such claims should be taken with a pinch of salt. According to new data from the Office for National Statistics, productivity in London tumbled in 2022, taking output per hour worked to its lowest level since 2009. Economists have suggested remote working, more prevalent in the capital because it has a larger proportion of office staff, is partly to blame.

There are caveats. Correlation is not causation, and productivity is a slippery concept. Changes in the way estimates are made, and movements in output between sectors, can produce spurious effects. But it comes to something when the capital’s output lags behind other parts of the country. Even in early last year, 18 months after the pandemic, almost 60 per........

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