# Economists question whether growth can improve living standards in the UK

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/why-politicians-chasing-economic-growth-is-a-lie-radical-thinking-with-aditya-chakrabortty/
- Published: 2026-10-31T07:45:36+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T08:07:17+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2026/oct/31/why-politicians-chasing-economic-growth-is-a-lie-radical-thinking-with-aditya-chakrabortty
- Topics: Business, Economy, Government, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- Williams and Johal question whether growth should remain the UK’s main economic goal.
- They say decades of policy shifts have not raised growth per person.
- The discussion explores life after growth and related economic research.

## Summary

The video features economists Karel Williams and Sukhdev Johal arguing that UK politicians’ pursuit of economic growth per person is misguided. They say decades of policy changes have failed to deliver that growth, and that further growth would not necessarily improve people’s lives.

The discussion considers what life after growth could look like in towns and suburbs. It also points viewers to the economists’ work on inequality, stagnation, the cost of living and the water system in England and Wales.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.