Citizens Economy: a New Deal to power economic growth and rebuild trust between state and citizen

Britain’s economic model is no longer delivering for citizens.

After nearly two decades of stagnant productivity, weak wage growth and declining trust in institutions, the country faces a growing sense that the economic compact between citizens and the state is broken. Traditional approaches to economic reform have struggled to deliver lasting change, often prioritising short-term fixes over long-term strategy and treating people as consumers rather than active participants in economic life.

The Citizen Economy sets out a different approach.

This paper argues that economic renewal depends on rebuilding the relationship between citizens, markets and the state. Rather than seeing people as passive recipients of economic policy, the Citizen Economy recognises citizens as active contributors with social, moral and political values that shape how economies function and how reform succeeds.

By placing citizens at the heart of economic policymaking, governments can build the trust and legitimacy needed to manage difficult trade-offs, pursue long-term growth and deliver meaningful system change.