Sensational ideas on re-igniting growth from US economist Tyler Goodspeed yesterday, at the Ralph Harris Memorial Lecture in Westminster.

The late Ralph Harris was the first Director-General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a modest man who forced himself to be outgoing to spread the message about markets, build up an impressive think-tank, and importantly, to encourage young liberal-minded activists (like me, Madsen Pire, and many others). Tyler is one of the most gifted young economic historians with two PhDs, several books, and a spell in the White House to back up what he says.

All the factors of production in the UK are compromised, he explained. Take Land. Clement Atlee’s decision in 1947 to create no-build “green belts” round our cities choked off our urban production; and other 1947 planning restrictions are still killing productivity today. Then Capital. Our capital markets aren’t supporting startups and small businesses enough, because tighter liquidity regulations mean it’s safer to lend to the government than to business. Labour. We have very high marginal taxes, that cut in at much lower incomes than, say, the US. It’s a massive disincentive to work. And Energy. Because we are committed to banning fracking and phasing down gas, we find ourselves importing energy and energy sources — at great cost — from the US and other places.

It’s impossible to have much in the way of production when your main factors of production are squeezed like this, by government bans and regulations. (I would add another, Entrepreneurship which has also been stifled by high taxes and other costs on smaller businesses.) And things have got worse since the financial crash of 2007-8. The trend of growth was upward in the US and UK until then. The US took a hit, then resumed its upward growth. The UK flatlined. It’s pretty obvious why: our taxes rose, and our regulations got even more crushing.

So, what to do? First, says Tyler, we need a Policymaker Hippocratic Oath. First, do no harm — in this case, to the productive system of the nation. Second, remember that people are policy. If you have bureaucrats like the suits in the Bank of England and Whitehall, you’re going to get policy that suits the suits, not the productive public (which ties in with something Liz Truss says: that the bureaucracy controls policy these days, and ministers find themselves just mouthpieces for what the blob decides). Third, we need the politicians at the very top to understand the importance of productivity and markets for growth, people with genuine ideological conviction.

If only our mushy, all-thing-to-all-people political class produced such people!