We are at our best, as Liberal Democrats, when we have radical vision, challenge the status quo, AND have the plan to match.

Too few people in positions of power truly realise just how deep the failing of the current economy goes. It does not work for too many people.

But the question is not just what a new economy looks like, but how we unpick the old one and move forward.

This article outlines how the Liberal Democrats could construct and communicate a plan for a Wellbeing Economy in the UK. You can find more detail on each of the seven steps below published recently at Critical Mass for Sustainability.

The next stage of economics must be a transition to an economy judged not only by GDP, but by whether people can access care, find fulfilling and secure work, access a thriving local environment, afford a decent home, breathe clean air… all on a liveable planet.

A wellbeing economy matches our party’s deepest values: liberty, equality, community, democracy, and environmentalism.

Freedom, fairness, and equality of opportunity also cut across Liberal Democrat values and form the core of what a wellbeing economy could be:

• A platform and the freedom to live your version of a best life.
• Freedom in a fair society that works especially for the least advantaged.
• Genuine equality of opportunity, not just theoretical opportunity written in law.

That new economy needs a practical route from the current, complex, globally connected system to a better one, built from inside the institutions, incentives, and fiscal realities we have now.

Several countries and local authorities have explored parts and built versions of wellbeing economies. While naturally none are perfect, we can draw from examples and learning across New Zealand, Wales, Bhutan, Uttarakhand in northern India, Amsterdam, and far beyond.

Here are seven steps, summarized from the article referenced above, that begin to shape a Liberal Democrat plan for a wellbeing economy. That plan will ultimately lead to a wellbeing economy bill for the whole UK, ready to go for the next government… Which we might help form.

1. Change what government measures

A set of national wellbeing indicators must sit alongside traditional economic measures in budgets, spending reviews, and broader policymaking. The UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP is close to publishing its version of a dashboard.

These metrics must also be communicated by government as core tests of success, not appendices.

2. A national wellbeing mission created with people, not for them

A wellbeing economy cannot be technocratic. It must be co-created with communities, local government, business, trade unions, and all parts of society.

That engagement cannot be a one-off either. Genuine devolution and local democracy must be protected for continuous participation and improvement.

3. Back what grows wellbeing and phase down what damages it

A wellbeing economy is not anti-business. It is pro-value creation. The state should actively grow the sectors that help us all achieve a sustainable future.

The state should transition fairly away from and stop subsidising the activities that extract wealth, pollute communities, and deepen insecurity.

Public procurement, regulation, and industrial strategy should all follow these principles.

4. Start with security

People cannot embrace change if it feels like loss. The platform for a wellbeing economy must therefore be economic security: a strong social platform and protection (not merely a safety net).

The Liberal Democrats already have strong foundations in our 2024 manifesto.

Security for all needs us to address inequalities of wealth, power, and political voice.

5. Pay for the transition fairly

Liberal Democrats can absolutely maintain responsible AND FAIR public finances while systematically redesigning the tax system.

Tax Justice UK shows there is substantial room to simplify our convoluted tax system, for example, examining our 1,200 tax reliefs. Of those, 240 “non-structural” reliefs cost £214bn – more than we spend on the NHS in England.

That simplification comes before we even start talking about taxing wealth and unproductive rent-seeking more fairly.

6. Devolve power so transition happens where people live

National missions matter, but the wellbeing economy will be built locally.

Liberal Democrats already champion, as part of a Federal UK, fiscal devolution, community wealth building, participatory budgeting and powers for councils to align transport, housing, skills, and health around local wellbeing.

7. Build critical mass

Systems do not change all at once. But they can tip suddenly, even when the opportunity for change seems lost. There are many historical examples including the fight for equal marriage. A current example is the overwhelming economics of solar and wind energy.

Our approach to creating a wellbeing economy must create a “critical mass” of objective evidence as well as public and political consciousness. We must prove the new approach works in practice to bring business, the public, and institutions with it.

Next steps

This is only the beginnings of a plan.

Our Thriving Economy policy working group, and thereafter the Manifesto working group for the 2029 General Election would need to expand and cost these measures. We will need powerful answers to questions like, “what about the bond markets?” and many others.

This is the opportunity

Our economy working group already recognises that growth is not an end in itself, but that wellbeing matters profoundly.

A wellbeing economy would not be a leap into the unknown for the Liberal Democrats. It would take our values, policy library, and just a jolt of extra ambition to create this step-by-step transition: measure better, govern differently, invest in what matters, protect people through change, tax efficiently and fairly, devolve power, and build the critical mass for a new common sense.

That is system change from within the system. It is exactly the kind of radical, practical liberalism Britain needs.

The Liberal Democrats are in the best place of any political party to lead that vision and plan.

* Josh works on climate and sustainability across research, consulting, convening, and advocacy, focusing on the systems change and economics we need. He is the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of Lewisham and Catford South. Josh is also a member of the Lib Dem Federal Policy Committee (FPC). He is a former PPC and Cambridge City Councillor with the opposition portfolio for Climate, Environment, and the City Centre.