Matt Ridley: The UK is Committing Economic S*icide episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 3, 2026 · 3 MIN

Matt Ridley: The UK is Committing Economic S*icide

from Watson-Howland

Britain now has the most expensive electricity costs for both domestic and industrial consumers of any major nation, and it's killing economic growth, warns Matt Ridley, bestselling science writer and author of The Rational Optimist.Lord Matt Ridley is a British science journalist, former Economist editor, and author of multiple bestselling books on economics, innovation, and prosperity, including The Rational Optimist and How Innovation Works.Subscribe for honest conversations about economics, innovation, and the forces shaping national prosperity.Leanr:-Why the UK now has the highest electricity prices in the developed world—and how this destroys competitiveness-How economic growth is fundamentally a thermodynamic phenomenon requiring affordable energy-The catastrophic cost of Britain's 40-year failure to build a third runway at its main airport-Why the UK planning and bureaucratic system prevents essential infrastructure development-How the UK welfare system now rewards non-work at the expense of productive employment-The reality of capital flight—chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and AI industries leaving Britain-Why Brexit failed to deliver promised benefits because the UK refused to deregulate and innovate-How the UK has failed to grow its economy for 15 years due to deliberate policy failures-Why Britain's energy costs are 63% higher than France and making manufacturing impossible-The vacant position for "innovative engine of the world economy"—and why no country is filling it#UKEconomy #Energycrisis #EconomicGrowthBEST QUOTES:"In the end, economic growth is a thermodynamic phenomenon. You make useful things out of useless ones using energy.""We now have the most expensive electricity costs for both domestic and industrial consumers of any major nation. That's fatal. That's disastrous.""We spent 40 years not building a third runway for our main airport. I mean, what is that all about? How suicidal is this?""We're seeing capital flight, we're seeing the chemical industry leaving. We're seeing the pharmaceutical industry leaving. We're seeing the oil and gas industry leaving.""I think this country has basically failed to grow its economy for the best part of 15 years because of bad policies.""We left the European Union and failed to take any advantages of doing so... we just said, oh, we're gonna go on being like Europe, but not in it. Well, probably not much point in that then."“You can get a free car for saying you have anxiety”

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