Britain Has Been Growing the Wrong Thing

For forty years, governments have treated financial-services growth as though it were national economic growth. Andy Burnham now has an opportunity to change that — by making human agency, capability and the wealth of ordinary people the real engine of prosperity. Will Andy Burnham Change Britain’s Growth Strategy, and grow the wealth of ordinary people … Continue reading Britain Has Been Growing the Wrong Thing →

When the Establishment Gives the Prime Minister His Orders

Britain does need growth. But we may have spent too long asking the wrong people what growth means. Something revealing happened this week. Britain had a new Prime Minister. And almost immediately, the financial establishment began telling him what he was allowed to do. Andy Burnham was warned that unless he restrained public spending, Britain … Continue reading When the Establishment Gives the Prime Minister His Orders →

Britain’s Biggest Untapped Asset Is Its People

How AI could convert dormant human capital into sustainable livelihoods, economic growth and higher tax revenues Abstract The United Kingdom faces an unusual labour-market problem at both ends of the working-age spectrum. In early 2026, approximately 1.012 million people aged 16–24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET), equivalent to 13.5% of the age … Continue reading Britain’s Biggest Untapped Asset Is Its People →

The Asset You Live Inside

From Earning Capacity to Human Possibility: Human Capital Lessons for the Total Wealth Planner The central argument is that conventional financial planning tends to treat human capital as an assumption behind the cashflow forecast—salary, retirement age and perhaps future earnings growth. The literature we have reviewed suggests something much richer. Human capital is an asset … Continue reading The Asset You Live Inside →

Finance Is Growing. But Are People?

A Campaign for Citizen Outcomes, Saver Sovereignty and Human Agency Britain is repeatedly told that what is good for the financial sector is good for the country. More capital must be “unlocked.” More pension money must be directed towards productive investment. Regulation must become less burdensome. Consumers must become more comfortable with risk. The financial … Continue reading Finance Is Growing. But Are People? →

The Government Wants Finance to Drive Growth. But Finance Does Not Create Wealth on Its Own

Restoring human agency in a structurally untrustworthy system The Government says it wants growth. Few would disagree with the objective. Britain needs greater productivity, stronger businesses, higher incomes and sustainable public finances. The more important question is: What actually causes an economy to grow? The Government’s Financial Services and Markets Bill appears to begin with … Continue reading The Government Wants Finance to Drive Growth. But Finance Does Not Create Wealth on Its Own →

The finance curse is devouring the UK

Is the Finance Industry Devouring the UK Economy — or Have We Forgotten What Creates Wealth? A recent article by Prem Sikka asks a provocative question: has Britain's obsession with finance come at the expense of the real economy? It is a question worth asking. For decades, successive governments have treated the financial services sector … Continue reading The finance curse is devouring the UK →

The Wealth We Keep Forgetting: Lessons on Human Capital for Total Wealth Planners

For decades, financial planning has been built around a narrow idea of wealth. Money. Assets. Investments. Pensions. Portfolios. Tax wrappers. These things matter. But they are not the whole story. In many cases, they are not even the starting point. The deeper question is this: What enables a person to live well, adapt, contribute, recover, … Continue reading The Wealth We Keep Forgetting: Lessons on Human Capital for Total Wealth Planners →

Why Are We Teaching Children About Financial Capital Before Human Capital?

The missing asset in school financial education There is a strange imbalance at the heart of financial education. Children are taught about money. They may learn about budgeting, saving, spending, borrowing, interest, pensions, and perhaps investing. These are useful topics. Nobody serious would argue that young people should leave school unable to understand debt, savings, … Continue reading Why Are We Teaching Children About Financial Capital Before Human Capital? →

The Wrong Question: Why Financial Resilience Is Being Misdiagnosed — and What We Should Measure Instead

Only 20% of people feel on track financially. That is the headline finding from a recent industry survey on financial resilience. At first glance, it is concerning.Look closer, and it becomes something else entirely: A reflection not just of financial anxiety—but of a flawed way of measuring it. Because embedded within the survey is an … Continue reading The Wrong Question: Why Financial Resilience Is Being Misdiagnosed — and What We Should Measure Instead →