Stories

Tue, 23 Jun 2026

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 The economic challenges facing the next prime minister

Though the person in charge of the country will change, the fiscal issues remain the same.
Economic Challenges
* Reviving the economy and improving living standards are top priorities
* UK's economic growth has been slow since 2007, with households thousands of pounds worse off due to lack of investment in public and private sectors
* Food prices have jumped by 40% in a few years, affecting people's finances Investment and Skills
* More investment is needed to boost productivity and economic growth
* Focusing on skills development is crucial to improve workforce competitiveness
* Andy Burnham has implied boosting both investment and skills in his plans Hiring and Job Creation
* Hiring is at its lowest level for five years, with young people hit particularly hard
* Automation and government policies, including higher national minimum wages and taxes, have contributed to this trend
* Building more homes could create new job opportunities in the construction sector Welfare Reform and Pension System
* Pushing through welfare reform has been difficult for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
* The cost of providing the state pension under the triple lock system is set to double within 50 years, with many economists recommending simplifying the formula to save tens of billions of pounds
* Simplifying the pension formula could mean smaller pension increases and would require political will Housing
* Building more homes is essential to make owning a home possible for first-time buyers
* Andy Burnham wants to build more social housing, but this is not an easy task
* The government's target of building 300,000 new homes per year has been missed in recent years