How can we create networks of high quality physical infrastructure – including housing and transportation – that will drive inclusive economic growth, nationally and regionally? How can we best manage our utilities – including rail, water, energy and broadband – to sustainably deliver value for both consumer and taxpayer?
This work stream focuses particularly on place-based approaches to policy, planning and investment, such as our current work on capturing the uplift in land value to finance infrastructure.
Writing in City AM, Vince Cable, Andrew Cooper and Stephen Kinnock call for more action to restore trust in capitalism
Writing in City AM, three of the members of the Centre for Progressive Capitalism’s cross-party advisory board call for more action to restore trust in capitalism. Continue reading “Restoring trust in capitalism means moving beyond ideology”
Our exclusive survey finds that the public think the UK’s economic system is stacked in favour of the wealthy
Our exclusive survey finds that the public think the UK’s economic system is stacked in favour of the wealthy
To mark the launch of the Centre for Progressive Capitalism, we recently commissioned Populus to survey the public on their views on the UK’s economic system. Populus surveyed 2,053 respondents online between 24th and 28th March 2016. The findings provide a stark illustration of the lack of trust in the economic system and in both government and business, as well as people’s fears about the future for young people.
Continue reading “New survey reveals the lack of trust in our economic system”
Writing in City AM, Alastair Reed argues that the chancellor is right to back Crossrail 2, but he should not fund it
Writing in City AM, senior policy researcher, Alastair Reed, argues that the chancellor is right to back Crossrail 2, but he should not fund it. Instead, in the 2016 Budget he should announce bold reform to the business rates system, and then let councils keep all these revenues as promised. This would provide the local tax base for London to fund Crossrail 2. It would also enable other parts of the country to fund their major infrastructure priorities.
Continue reading “George Osborne is right to back Crossrail 2 – but London should pay for it”
Stop blaming the planning system for everything
Stop blaming the planning system for everything. Improving the efficiency of the land market will have a far greater effect in driving up the rate of house building than further planning reforms
The government reckons that its housing and planning bill – with the additional measures announced in the autumn statement – will lead to the construction of an extra million homes by the end of this parliament. That means increasing the rate of completions from the 2014 level of 118,000 to well over 200,000 per year. Empirical analysis estimates that there are already over a million plots with planning permission – close to 25 per cent of these in London. And if the current rate of granting permission continues at 250,000 plots per year, this figure will have climbed to over 2 million plots by the end of the parliament. Although there remain some challenges with the planning system, the government must focus on improving the functioning of the land market to drive up construction levels. The way in which volatile and high land values interact with the business model of housebuilding reduces supply. Continue reading “Boosting Britain’s housing stock”
Compared to European counterparts, Britain’s housing market is a picture of market failure
Across the European Union there is often a perception that Britain takes a more market-oriented approach, and where Britain leads continental Europe eventually follows. However, when it comes to housing, this is not the case. Britain’s housing market is far more dysfunctional than its European counterparts. A comparison of two key metrics of a group of six northern European countries demonstrates that the UK has by far the largest market failure in housing. The UK continues to have the lowest construction rate of all six countries. Moreover its housing benefit bill, due to soaring rents, dwarfs that of other countries and is now almost 10 times that of Germany.
Continue reading “Britain’s dysfunctional housing market: a European comparison”
Scrapping tax relief for buy-to-let investors and tackling high land prices should be priorities in this week’s budget if the chancellor wants to avoid a crash in 2025
Scrapping tax relief for buy-to-let investors and tackling high land prices should be priorities in this week’s budget if the chancellor wants to avoid a crash in 2025
Last year, the economist Charles Goodhart predicted that the next financial crisis will hit in 2025 due to another property bubble and some clever financial engineering. Evidence to date suggests that politicians have limited interest in stopping booms and busts. But there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic that George Osborne could be the chancellor to ruin Goodhart’s prediction. Continue reading “How George Osborne could stop the next financial crisis”
Britain’s housing crisis results from the failure of politicians to ensure that markets work in the public interest rather than to the benefit of the unproductive few
Britain’s housing crisis results from the failure of politicians to ensure that markets work in the public interest rather than to the benefit of the unproductive few. This failure, besides the ongoing social issues surrounding housing, has had a negative impact on the UK economy through increasing monetary instability as well as lower output and employment due to a transfer of resources to pay for mostly existing assets as opposed to acquiring new goods.
Continue reading “Report: The challenge of accelerating UK housebuilding”
