Building more for less: a cost-free path to European levels of public investment
By Sam Dumitriu, Michael Hill, David Lawrence and Pedro Serôdio
The UK does not invest less than its peers; it gets far less for what it spends. Cutting a 65% infrastructure cost premium through planning reform and stronger state capacity would deliver European levels of investment without spending more.
Contrary to received wisdom, the UK does not spend less on public investment than its peers. British public investment as a share of GDP sits on par with the OECD average and above Germany, Italy, and Spain. What Britain gets for that money is the problem: far less infrastructure, at a steep premium.
This report traces the cost premium, which reaches around 65% on comparable projects, to planning delays, weak state capacity, and a procurement system that raises the price of everything the state builds. Close that gap and Britain reaches European levels of infrastructure without raising a single additional pound.