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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Phillip Inman

To get to net zero, we may have to sell off the UK’s future

United Kingdom Blair Joe Biden United States
A 1980s newspaper advert saying 'The prospectus for British Gas shares will be published on November 25th', with a calendar annotated with the note 'If you see Sid, tell him
An advert for the privatisation of British Gas in the 1980s. A modern-day state asset sale could include environmental credits. Photograph: Alamy

If Labour forms the next government, as polls suggest, it must provide the private sector with the kind of incentives that will lift investment in Britain’s economy, making it more productive and environmentally friendly. Joe Biden has done it for the US. Why not Keir Starmer in the UK?

Transforming the economy will come at an outsize cost. Worse, it’s an escalating cost that is way beyond the public finances of Britain and possibly even the EU.

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