Britain needs a real manifesto for growth

Pessimists say that governments can do nothing to help economic growth - they are wrong

As voters go to the polls in a knife-edge election, Labour's popularity on the NHS is counter-balanced by the Tory's reputation for economic competence. But is this reputation deserved?

Last week, the ONS revealed that growth of national income halved to 0.3% in the first quarter of this year. This caps a miserable period of British economic history with GDP per person now 17% below pre-crisis trends. This is due to lacklustre productivity growth which fell in 2008-9 and has stagnated ever since.