Small Wonders

Abundant energy supplies are essential to economic growth and if we’re to meet our climate objectives, much more clean generation capacity will need to be built in Britain. The arrival of revolutionary technologies like artificial intelligence – which promise to drive electricity demand upwards – will only exacerbate this requirement.

Small Modular Nuclear reactors, however, could be a solution to Britain’s power conundrum. In this report, our Research Director Eamonn Ives sets out the case for why SMRs can fuel economic growth and what needs to be done to speed up their delivery while bringing down costs.

United Growth

Britain’s regional economic divides have long been recognised, but recent efforts to solve them have achieved little at best. In this report, we survey entrepreneurs from each region of Britain to find out what challenges they face when it comes to running and growing a business, and to gauge their expectations for the future.

While many are optimistic about what’s to come, some remain worried – and a range of obstacles to growth linger over their heads. We conclude with a range of policy recommendations to enable business owners to take their business growth to the next level.

Building Blocks

Britain is a great place to be an entrepreneur – with many of the world’s most successful founders calling it home. The startups they have launched make a vital contribution to the economy, providing jobs, tax revenue, innovative goods and services and more. But there is a palpable sense that we could be doing so much better. Productivity has plateaued for far too long, causing living standards to stagnate, and evidence suggests the pace of innovation has slowed.

In Building Blocks, we set out our vision statement to secure Britain’s economic future – arguing that focusing on getting the basics right first is the best way policymakers can support entrepreneurs.

Access All Areas: Space

Despite changing consumer and working patterns, access to different ‘spaces’ are vital to entrepreneurs’ growth ambitions – whether they’re in retail, manufacturing, or are services-based.

In the fifth instalment of our Access All Areas series with Enterprise Nation, we look at what the Government can do to ensure small businesses have the types of spaces they need to sell and scale – from business rates reform to planning policy.

Operation Innovation: How to make society richer, healthier and happier

The effect of accumulated innovations has transformed the world at a pace that would have been unimaginable to our not-so-distant ancestors. Thanks to the contributions of just a few thousand innovators, society is now far richer, and better equipped to tackle pressing problems – from climate change or pandemics.

This new essay collection outlines some of the fundamental building blocks to achieving an innovative economy – including how to effectively fund research, how to properly regulate emerging industries, how to make it easier to start and scale businesses, and how to raise the status of innovating.

Strong Foundations

Due largely to its rigid planning system, the UK suffers enormously from expensive housing and office space. This erodes the budgets of households and businesses alike, but it also harms the economy in other ways. By placing limits on agglomeration, we see fewer of the benefits it can bring for innovation, productivity, jobs, and more. 

In Strong Foundations, Aria Babu proposes a series of recommendations – from Street Votes, to Green Belt reform, to amending Change of Use rules – in order to expand the supply of housing, offices, and lab space, to ensure the economy can be as dynamic and productive as possible.