Economy ‘still not working as it should’, says report

RADICAL CHANGES are needed to reform the UK’s economy, including a higher minimum wage, raising public investment, changes to the way companies are governed, and regulation of tech giants, a new report urges.

The 10-year reform plan was published by a commission set up two years ago by the IPPR think-tank, including the TUC, economists and the Archbishop of Canterbury. More than 70 recommendations were put forward, including a new National Investment Bank, workers on company boards, an increase in corporation tax, higher pay for workers on zero hours contracts, and speeding up of automation.

The report said that, almost a decade since the financial crisis, the living standards of tens of millions of people had “stagnated”, young people had seen life chances deteriorate, and the economic gulf between London and the South-East and the rest of the country had widened.

Low investment and productivity and an unsustainable trade deficit had developed over the past 40 years, so the economy needed to be “hard-wired” for justice, the commission said.

Economic power should be “rebalanced”, from corporate management to workers and unions, and from Westminster to regions, it was suggested.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: “For decades the UK economy has not worked as it should, with millions of people and many parts of the country receiving less than their fair share.

“The widening gulf between rich and poor, and fears about the future among young people and their parents, have damaged our nation’s sense of itself.

“Our report shows that it doesn’t have to be like this. By putting fairness at the heart of the economy, we can make it perform better, improving the lives of millions of people.”