Opinion: How a national infrastructure bank could transform the UK economy

If unencumbered by old ideologies, the new public investment bank has the potential to be a powerful catalyst for change, say Professor Mariana Mazzucato and Policy Fellow Laurie Macfarlane (both UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose). On 25 November the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the establishment of a new national infrastructure bank as part of the government's spending review. Although details remain sparse, documents suggest that the bank will be headquartered in the north of England, operate UK-wide and have "a high degree of operational independence". Creating another bank may seem like an odd priority for a British chancellor. After all, the UK's banking sector is already among the largest in the world. But while the UK's high-street banks channel billions of pounds into the economy each year, most of this ends up in property and financial markets. Precious little finances the real, productive part of the economy - and as a result the rate of investment in the UK is lower than in almost any other advanced economy.