Why isn’t Britain growing?

  • May 3, 2013
Why isn’t Britain growing?

Will Straw from the IPPR think tank will speak about the British economy in a webinar next week.

An associate director of the UK’s leading left-of-centre think tank will talk about British economic policy at a Gates Cambridge webinar next week.

In a talk entitled “Why isn’t Britain growing?”, Will Straw, Associate Director for Climate Change, Energy and Transport at The Institute for Public Policy Research, will discuss the drivers and challenges of British economic growth in the 21st century. 

The rescheduled event will start on 28th May at 9pm via webinar.

Most recently Straw commented on the Office for National Statistics figures in late April showing the UK had avoided a triple dip recession, saying the recovery was “far from secured”. He said: “All the growth was driven by services. The construction sector contracted and production grew at a tiny 0.03 percentage points. The manufacturing industries fell by 0.3% in Q1 2013, following a decrease of 1.4% in the previous quarter. Britain may have avoided a third recession in quick succession but the recovery is far from secured and the ‘march of the makers’ is yet to materialise and the North of England could still in recession.”

Straw’s area of expertise at the IPPR includes globalisation and international economics, climate change, energy and transport and economic policy, especially growth, innovation and productivity.

In addition to his IPPR work, Straw is founder of Left Foot Forward, Britain’s leading left-wing blog, where he worked as editor until December 2010. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington DC, where he worked from 2008–09 as Associate Director on Economic Growth, leading the Center’s work on the US stimulus package, globalisation and innovation.

Previously, he was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University, where he gained a Master of Public Administration in the Program in Economic Policy Management. He worked for four years at HM Treasury, primarily on enterprise and growth policy. He is a former President of the Oxford University Student Union.

To register for the webinar, click here. Picture credit: Chanpipat and www.freedigitalphotos.net.

Latest News

Taking a broader lens to women and development

Tara Cookson’s research has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to women and development. Her PhD supervisor, Professor Sarah Radcliffe, called it “highly original”. Since leaving Cambridge Tara has continued to break new ground, founding the feminist research consultancy Ladysmith and taking up a Canada Research Chair in the School of Public […]

What makes humans unique?

Sara Sherbaji’s research explores fundamental questions of what makes humans unique and the role culture plays in our evolution. Her questions build on her Master’s dissertation, on her work as a psychology lab coordinator and on her experience of fleeing the Syrian war. She says:  “Since leaving Syria during the war, my goal has been […]

At the heart of global economic development policy

Charles Amo Yartey [2002] always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps as an accountant. Growing up in Ghana, he applied to do Business Administration at university, but, because he had not studied business at school, he was offered Economics. It proved to be the start of a fascinating career at the centre of global […]

Are AI models as divided as we are?

Elections often reveal how deeply divided humanity can be. This year, as increasing polarisation continued to shape our world, we asked: Does this division transfer to our AI? Our journey to answer this question began in 2022, when we started our PhDs as Gates Cambridge Scholars. Two concurrent events captured this moment in history: the […]