The UK must follow the path to prosperity (Joseph Dinnage, 5 August 2026, CapX)
Most importantly for CapX readers will be the UK’s score on economic freedom, which came in at 18. This puts us in line with the likes of Belgium and Austria, and our score has remained fairly stable since 2023. But this is nothing to celebrate. Since 2015, our economic freedom ranking has worsened from 7 to 18.
Economic freedom is defined on the Index as ‘the security of property and ease of voluntary exchange in goods and services’. It’s little surprise we’ve fallen so far. Rather than take advantage of the opportunities for deregulation posed to us by Brexit, we have for the last decade tried our best to replicate the overzealous rules and bureaucracy imposed on us by Brussels.
For 14 years, the Conservatives (to varying degrees under different prime ministers) raised taxes, public spending and in some crucial sectors introduced burdensome regulation. Between 2010-24, the Tories raised the tax burden from 32% of GDP to 36%; public spending increased from 41% of GDP to 45%; and the national debt rocketed from 76% of GDP to 101% of GDP. In 2024, the Centre for Policy Studies calculated that the reams of red tape added to our statute book since 2010 cost our businesses dearly. The research found that even official impact assessments – which placed the increase between 2010-19 in the net annual cost of red tape at £6 billion – were grossly underestimated.
The failure to at least forge an Anglospheric Free Trade Zone – for a start – was tragic.