Andrew: There has been endless talk about productivity in recent years, and why the UK lags in this crucial department. Why does it?
Sam: Let’s start with a comparison with France. For all the talk of endless holidays and strikes, their economy is actually a third more productive than ours. That is because they get the basics right. Building new transport links between cities and within them is more straightforward; high-speed rail costs nine times less to build in France than it does here.
Their energy costs are also much lower thanks to a fleet of nuclear reactors. And they don’t have the same housing shortages that we do – shortfalls that prevent skilled people moving to the cities where the most productive jobs are.
It is too difficult to build things here. Take new sources of energy. This is one of the most expensive countries in the world to
