Sustainable Investment in Infrastructure within the Fiscal Rules

Very encouraging to hear Sir Jim O'Neill talking about the room under the fiscal rules for more borrowing for investment and infrastructure projects. He also mentions economic multiplier effects - why does it feel like years since anyone has spoken about sustainable investment in this way?

Crucially it is very hard to disagree with his view that bond markets will accept this if it is curated and overseen appropriately. This notion is far removed from the madness of an unfunded Truss-style mini-budget.

He clearly thinks there is a role for National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) here as "a separate and much more transparent entity," potentially even an "infrastructure version of the Office for Budget Responsibility." This sounds like more machinery of government change for a recently constituted organisation and may prompt weary sighs on the part of officials, but perhaps it is a necessary change to instill market confidence by wrapping sustainable investment rules around a robust pipeline.

Could this be the way to address the fact that in the words of the Institute for Government Performance Tracker, the UK is now a comparatively “low investment nation”?

Very interesting indeed.