Report

Growth Mais-day

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation sets out their response to the Chancellor’s 2026 Mais lecture.

The Chancellor’s reaffirmation of her commitment to focusing on the UK’s miserable growth rate is welcome and reflects the scale of the UK’s challenge: a decade of exceptionally weak growth and a fragile outlook shaped by global risks.

The Chancellor set out three new priorities: regional growth, innovation and closer EU alignment. The most eye-catching new commitments were on devolution and investing in city regions to address long-standing regional productivity gaps. Meanwhile, the emphasis on AI and innovation rightly recognises both the UK’s strengths and the need for wider diffusion of new technologies. And a shift towards closer alignment with the EU signals a more pragmatic approach to trade, given the need to diversify away from chaotic US policy. Taken together, these priorities form a credible framework for supporting stronger growth.

However, they do not always represent the most direct response to the Chancellor’s own diagnosis of weak growth driven by low investment. Important gaps remain, particularly on how exactly the Government can boost private investment, where tax policy was noticeably absent; addressing the shortfall in housebuilding in high-productivity areas; and setting clearer sectoral priorities for strategic state intervention. While the direction of travel is broadly right, delivering sustained growth will surely require a more ruthless confrontation of political trade offs and policy follow-through.