The Decisive Decade: how should the UK navigate the economic change of the 2020s?

Contributor(s): Carolyn Fairbairn, Torsten Bell | What can we learn from past periods of change? And how can we build a new economic strategy that responds to the challenges of the 2020s, as well as our legacy problems of weak productivity, high inequality and stagnating living standards? The UK is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, to urgently transitioning towards a net zero future, and adapting to technological shifts amid an ageing population. Some of these shifts present big new opportunities for people and places throughout the country. But they bring challenges too, and failing to respond to the disruption they will bring carries huge risks – to our living standards, our communities, and to our planet. The UK’s many strengths must be harnessed to manage this change well.