In this paper, we have set out an overarching framework for thinking about the UK’s economy and a set of feasible economic policy ideas that a centre-right government should focus on. But there is one other piece to the puzzle: how to embed these changes and entrench economic thinking in the years to come.
To do this well, we should learn some lessons from Britain’s left. The left has had some important successes when it comes to economic policy in recent years. Consider the way the Resolution Foundation, a left-leaning think tank, patiently campaigned and researched to drive the issue of inequality and the working poor up the political agenda, until it was embraced not just by Labour but by the Conservatives too, and formed the basis for the National Living Wage.
Or, further to the left, how projects like the New Economic Organisers Network systematically train activists to be plausible talking heads and campaigners on economic topics. Or look at how today’s Labour leadership has developed an economic programme of impressive — some might say frightening — ambition, founded on a critique of capitalism that even seems to won converts in the May government. Or how Labour’s local economic strategy in Preston, which has been in development since John McDonnell’s days at the GLC, has become a flagship for left-wing local authorities, as iconic for the far left as Wandsworth Council was for local government Tories in the 1990s. You don’t have to be a fan of Corbynomics to recognise the effectiveness of these slow but determined methods.
The centre Right can learn from these tricks, by doing three things to invest in the long term.
First of all, we need to recognise that the right-wing think-tank landscape suffers from a lack of policy expertise and depth, compared to equivalent organisations in the United States (such as the American Enterprise Institute) and compared to impressively resourced centre-left organisations in the UK such as the Resolution Foundation.
The economics-focused think tanks that do exist are too small, precarious or focused on Brexit to produce the kind of primary research and econometric analysis that would support the advancement of policy ideas in government.
What is needed is a serious, rigorous and non-partisan think tankaddressing some of the big economic questions set out here, in particularly productivity, from a perspective that recognises the value of innovation, enterprise, and economic growth. This is a fairly significant undertaking, but not ridiculously so — the Resolution Foundation, for example, achieved great things on a budget of less than a million pounds a year by being focused and by refusing to pursue short-term policy errands or chasing extraneous funding at the expense of long-term impact.
Such a think tank would not just provide intellectual firepower: it also acts as a valuable outrider. Theresa May’s lack of any real outriders, such as a friendly think tank to float policy ideas for her before being adopted by the government, was one reason that she ended up backing plans that only turned out to be unpopular after they had been announced as official policy.
The second thing to do is to invest in the capability for practical economic activism. Economy policy depends on institutions as well as on clever wonks. But in recent years, many on the Right have been suspicious of institutions and those who work in them, perhaps seeing them as inherently left-wing. This is a mistake: the skills of influencing institutions is something the Right should develop.
To do this, a think tank or similar body could consider setting up a programme dedicated to improving institutions, focusing not only on understanding the details of how they work, but on improving their governance, and mentoring and supporting people involved in their management or their boards. In a sense, it would be a more hands-on version of Conservative Home’s longstanding “Calling Conservatives” feature, focused on improving those institutions public and private with a big role in economic growth.
Finally, the Right should look to test its ideas out on the ground. Preston Council is a testbed and poster child for the local economic strategies first developed at the GLC in the 1980s. Those on the Right should ask themselves what their equivalent would be, and work in a small number of places to make it a reality. Getting this right will depend on local buy-in from a council or metro mayor, but also on central support, and on think-tanks and activists focusing on the practical implementation of their ideas outside SW1.
These three moves would be modest but practical ways of entrenching economic thinking on the right for the long-term.
Perhaps more than anything, though, Conservatives need to revise their understanding of how to win elections and realise that principles and narrative matter. Focus groups and opinion polls have a place, but they should be used to test policies that we have arrived at for other reasons — because we think, for example, that they will drive economic growth or give people more opportunities to live the lives they want. When Conservatives are in power, they need to show people that they will use that power responsibly, implementing policies that are not just popular, but effective.
Conservatives would do well to remember the distinction that Margaret Thatcher made between policies that are popular in themselves, and policies that have popular results. The political benefits of the former are immediate, but often short-lived. But it is policies with popular results that change a country for the better, and which underpin long-term political success. An understanding of what is going on with the economy and how public policy can make it work better for the country is crucial for coming up with these policies. We hope this paper can contribute towards the development of such an understanding.