Peoplenomics: Why Putting People First Grows the UK Economy

We have an enormous opportunity, not just to make things right in our country but to usher in a new era, a new orthodoxy. Here's why and how.

We present four major policies here that Andy Burnham's new government could pursue. All of them deliver growth and greater fairness. All of them put people first.

We modelled each of these policies for their impact on the economy, on jobs and GDP - on a hunch, and found that although they were each first and foremost policies for people, they delivered profound economic benefits.

It makes sense if you think about it. Putting money in people's pockets, whether through tax reform or lower bills - putting roofs over their heads - enables them to play their proper part in our economy. People are, after all, fundamental to all economies - as workers and as customers.

We coined the term 'Peoplenomics' to capture this idea, that putting people first is actually economic - and the right thing to do for the economy.

For too many decades we've been pursuing the wrong approach - since Thatcher successive governments have held to the dogma that markets know best, that private businesses are the key to economic success. It's been the dominant dogma of the last half a century - the overwhelming orthodoxy.

While Labour has been making the case for people, the Tories made the case for businesses. What we're showing here is how false that choice was, that decades-long ideological battle. What we actually need are policies that put people first; enabling people to fully play their part benefits business and the whole economy.

On the flip side poverty and social insecurity do the very opposite - we don't save money that way, we hold back people, diminish business opportunity and economic growth - they are false economies.

It's a chain reaction, whether it's negative or positive is our choice.

We've endured decades of decline while prioritising what business needs, what motivates capitalists (obviously it's money) - while overlooking the thing they need more than anything else - people. People that can work and people that can spend.

We've seen privatisation, presented as the answer to everything, fail so badly.

We can see it is the answer to nothing.

There are things that the state must control - vital national infrastructure, like power, water, transport and housing - things that private companies cannot deliver for us all. The evidence is overwhelming.

But hey, every dogma has its day.

Peoplenomics is a new order, it overturns the old orthodoxy, makes redundant the old battles - socialism and capitalism, we need them both. In this new world, where the state takes care of the essentials and private enterprise takes care of the rest, where we no longer allow markets to do as they will - where we put people first, we can say "There is no such thing as Thatcherism".

Fundamental to this new approach is price control, we already have it in retail energy, we need it now in wholesale and in our North Sea - we show the profound benefits of that in this edition. Price control is built on a new approach - cost plus reasonable profit margin. Rather than whatever profit margin companies can get away with - the state sets it, makes it fair. We're used to hearing the phrase "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work" - here's a new one, "a fair day's profit for a fair day's business". Fair's fair right? Price control gets us that.

Our national solar rooftop programme is about sharing the benefits of green energy with millions of homes, lowering bills, making the energy we need and an economic return for public money. Street by street we can bring this to the people.

In combination these policies will double Britain's annual economic growth. We can create jobs, lower bills and grow the economy. By putting people first we make good business sense.

Peoplenomics makes the economic case for socialism. It could be our new orthodoxy.