The State Has Become a Monster | Julian Jessop

Julian Jessop joins me to discuss what has gone wrong with the British economy and why so much of the damage is self-inflicted. Julian argues that since the financial crisis Britain has suffered from weak productivity, poor policy decisions, too much regulation, high taxes and a state that has become far too big. We discuss why politicians keep choosing popular “vibe-based” policies over evidence, why the tax system has become a dead weight on growth, and why government intervention in energy, housing and the labour market is making the cost of living crisis worse. We also get into Reform, the Greens, Labour, the Conservatives, Makerfield, Liz Truss, Milei, the NHS, digital ID, Brexit, AI, free markets and why so many people struggle to understand the trade-offs behind economic policy. I ask Julian whether Britain can still turn this around, what the right size of the state should be, whether we need a Milei-style moment, and what gives him hope that the UK can still restore some economic sanity. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - The State Got Too Big 00:57 - What Went Wrong With Britain? 03:16 - Productivity, Policy Mistakes and AI 04:43 - Did Covid Make Government Too Powerful? 06:25 - Is Democracy the Problem? 08:10 - Vibe-Based Policy 10:21 - Young People and the First Job Problem 13:06 - Can Britain Turn This Around? 15:36 - Protest Votes and Broken Politics 17:29 - Reform’s Policies Under Scrutiny 20:15 - The State Helps Big Business 21:40 - Britain’s 90 Taxes 23:03 - Thatcher, Liz Truss and Economic Competence 26:20 - Why Free Markets Are a Hard Sell 30:15 - Could Poland Overtake Britain? 30:41 - Short-Term Politics and Weak Leadership 39:46 - What Is Extreme Now? 42:00 - Do Voters Understand the Trade-Offs? 45:57 - Does Britain Need a Milei? 48:24 - How Big Should the State Be? 49:40 - Why People Defend the NHS 54:01 - Why Government Tech Fails 55:09 - Makerfield, Burnham and Reform 1:01:49 - Restore’s Opportunity 1:04:24 - What Gives Julian Hope? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CONTACT PETE › Website – http://petermccormack.com › Feedback – https://www.petermccormack.com/contact › Email – [email protected] › Instagram – /mccormack555 › X/Twitter – https://x.com/petermccormack/ CONNECT WITH JULIAN JESSOP › Twitter – https://x.com/julianHjessop › Website – https://julianhjessop.com/about/ SPONSORS › IREN - https://www.iren.com/ › LEDN - https://www.ledn.io/peter - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE › Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40ruY9K › Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Wc94Vu › Fountain: https://bit.ly/FountainPM › YouTube: https://bit.ly/YouTube_PM › Rumble: https://bit.ly/RumblePM FILMED BY CURTIS TAYLOR › https://www.curttaylor.co.uk/ › https://x.com/curttayloruk/ EDITED BY CONOR MCCORMACK › https://x.com/ConorM04 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #JulianJessop #UKEconomy #FreeMarkets #UKPolitics #PeterMcCormack