An £800 million proof of why we’ve no economic growth

As we’ve been known to point out economic growth is people doing new things, or old things in new ways, or, perhaps, just more of those old things. That last is the least good form as it’s not a rise in productivity. The first two are rises in productivity. All told the three make up economic growth. Thus the speed of economic growth is the speed at which people can do new thing, old things in new ways or just more of those old things.

If we have a system that deliberately and specifically limits the speed at which people can do any one (or perm two or three) of them then economic growth will be slower:

Heathrow’s planning costs for its third runway are set to balloon beyond £800 million,

£800 million to be spent before it’s possible to even find out whether you’ll be allowed to do more of that old thing.

Revelations that what are largely costs for preliminary project paperwork are now within sight of £1 billion

Preliminary project paperwork - £1 billion.

Think of the joy of the nomenklatura, the apparatchiki, as they gorge on that corpse of the wealth of the nation.

As we’ve just seen reform of the planning system can indeed solve problems. We should try it. Because without doing so we’re just not going to get that economic growth that is the only thing that will make Rachel’s sums add up. More importantly, without it we’re not going to get any of that economic growth that makes life better for all of us.

Tim Worstall