180 North Gower St, London NW1 2NB
Progressiveeconomyforum.com
23rd July 2026
Dear Prime Minister,
Congratulations on your appointment. From its foundation in 2018, the Progressive Economy Forum has campaigned for fundamental reform of the UK economy to overcome the damage caused by neoliberal policy since 1979. Our aim is the pursuit of policies that encourage growth, employment, environmental sustainability and a fairer distribution of income and wealth.
We are therefore greatly encouraged by your indication that these aims will be a priority for your administration.
While we have many ideas for reform, we have decided at this stage to limit our proposals to six priority policies. These are set out below and have the support of our council of experts.
We urge you to consider these proposals, knowing that they have the support of the academic community that we represent. We list them below.
1. Bank of England mandate:
Revisit the institutional arrangements of the Bank of England and HM Treasury, amending the Bank’s mandate to allow greater coordination of monetary and fiscal policy and to consider the introduction of a dual mandate for the Bank of England that targets high employment as well as price stability.
2.. Public investment:
Commit to substantially higher public investment, including—but not limited to—investment in the transition to net zero.
This could be achieved by turbo-charging the National Wealth Fund as the UK’s major source of infrastructure investment, and the British Business Bank as the UK’s principal venture investor in UK startups and scaleups. Both have developed distinct mandates, organisational structures and competences which should be respected rather than diluted through a merger.
3. Business friendly socialism:
Combat the destructive rise of extractive business models, including through tougher regulation of the rolling private equity takeover of Britain’s economic base, particularly in areas like education and social care.
Incentivise a reluctant City and FTSE 350 to get behind our burgeoning high tech founders, innovators and scale-ups and use these as the focus for reindustrialisation and economic renewal.
4. Additional sources of tax revenue:
Realign the tax system towards capital and wealth.
This could include reform of capital gains tax to equalise its rates with those of income tax, and/or pilot a wealth tax. Fiscal sustainability could be further supported by tiering reserves held at the Bank of England, so that only a fraction are eligible for full compensation.
5. Expanding the Commons:
Make community wealth building a core economic strategy, as it is in Scotland.
A first step could be to secure greater public control of UK utilities by part-nationalising and requiring all utilities to incorporate as public benefit companies.
6. Closer link with the European Union:
Actively pursue closer economic, regulatory and political links with the European Union, recognising the importance of cooperation with our nearest and largest trading partners.
A first step could be the agreement of a youth mobility scheme with EU students paying domestic fees, as an olive branch to encourage greater regulatory alignment in trade.
Our council members and associated academics have published in all these areas, both for the Forum and outside of it, including:
In Tandem: The Case for Coordinated Economic Policymaking
Steering the ship: Building an economy that works for society
A Progressive Guide to Fiscal Sustainability
The Growth Trilogy: Purpose, Innovation and Growth
The EU Reset: From Brexit Fallout to a Fragile Rapprochement
We are available, if required, to provide further information on any of these policy areas, and the wider programme of economic renewal that your government is committed to.
Kind regards,
Patrick Allen
Kate Pickett
Will Hutton
Stephany Griffith-Jones
Jo Michell
Bluesky: @pef-online.bsky.social
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