Author Archives: Theodore Roos

Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in the New York mayoral race last week was more than a local upset. It symbolised a growing confidence among the democratic socialist left — in the United States, but also here in the UK. The rise of figures like Zach Polanski, newly elected leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, with his self-described ‘eco-populist’ views, and the new political venture of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, suggest that the populist left is not going away.

How should the Liberal Democrats respond — and where, in an increasingly polarised landscape, is our space?
The answer is clear: we must be the party that unapologetically stands for economic growth. Growth that is fair, sustainable and inclusive — but growth nonetheless. Because without growth, there is no route to improving living standards, funding high-quality public services, or addressing inequality. Without growth, liberalism has no solid foundation.

Growth is the antidote to populism

For too long, Britain has been trapped in a cycle of stagnation. Real wages have barely risen in more than fifteen years. Productivity growth has collapsed. Living standards have flatlined. It is little wonder that so many people are disillusioned and drawn to the counterfeit promises of populists — whether from the far left or the nationalist right.
If liberals fail to offer a credible path to prosperity, others will fill that void. That is why the Liberal Democrats must be the movement that argues confidently for growth — not as an afterthought to fairness, but as its precondition.
Fairness and growth are not opposites. They are mutually reinforcing. A society that provides opportunity, rewards effort, and removes barriers to participation is one that will grow. A growing economy, in turn, gives us the means to invest in fairness — in childcare, education, healthcare, and social mobility.

A liberal abundance agenda

In the United States, some thinkers have begun speaking of an ‘abundance agenda’ — the idea that societies can renew themselves by building more, investing more, and unblocking the forces of progress. As they note, America is stuck between a progressive movement that is too afraid of growth, and a conservative movement that is allergic to government intervention.

The same tension exists here. Labour knows that Britain needs growth, but its leadership remains timid — constrained by vested interests and trade union conservatism. The Conservatives (occasionally) talk about dynamism but have presided over years of anaemic productivity, high taxes on work, and collapsing investment.

Liberal Democrats should claim the abundance agenda as our own. We believe in both enterprise and effective government; both social justice and economic dynamism. We can be the party that unites optimism about markets with a belief in reforming the state so it actually works. That means removing the bureaucratic, outdated or self-defeating regulations that strangle innovation, while actively investing in the infrastructure, skills and institutions that enable growth.

Reforming tax to reward work