What UK plc can learn from Team GB
If only we managed our economy as well as we do our Olympic athletes, says Matthew Lynn.
It isn’t really a claim you can make of the economy. Or of our diplomacy. Or, indeed, with the possible exception of music or education, of many fields of endeavour. Yet, at the Olympics, the UK punches well above its weight. For the third Games in a row, the UK is the most successful of the mid-sized nations, and far more successful than some significantly bigger ones such as Germany or Russia. Lessons can never be directly drawn from the tracks and fields, of course, but there is a lot we could learn from that when it comes to managing the economy as well.
1. Plan for the long term
Britain did very badly at the 1996 Games, winning just one gold medal and ranking 36th in the world. The big changes started to come when John Major’s government first launched the National Lottery and then decided to commit a significant proportion of the revenue it generated to funding Team GB. Before the Atlanta games in 1996, the UK only spent £6m a year on funding Olympic sports. It was amateur in every sense of the word. By 2000 that had gone up to £54m a year. In the build-up to Tokyo 2021, the UK spent £345m. It is a heck of a lot of money, but it does mean the British athletes have some of the best training and facilities in the world.
It takes years to get to gold-medal standard, and that doesn’t come cheap. The important point is this, however. It has taken 30 years for all that investment in Olympic sport to pay off, but the money has kept on flowing and the plan has been stuck to. Even when we have an industrial or economic strategy, it usually changes every few years, and sometimes every few months. If we stuck at some simple goals for 30 years, we would do much better.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
2. Invest selectively
The Olympic team picks out the potential medal winners early on and then backs them to the hilt. Despite some lip service to the cause, it is not really interested in raising general fitness levels or getting everyone to take up some sport. It focuses its attention ruthlessly on a handful of world-beaters.
We could try the same with the economy. Nearly all the growth, it turns out, is not generated by lots and lots of start-ups. A new dry-cleaning firm, or another gastro-pub, doesn’t make much difference one way or the other. It is the handful of companies that can combine technology, management skill and market position to create a multi-billion enterprise that make a real difference. The government should probably spend less time worrying about small businesses in general. Most of them won’t really go anywhere and can look after themselves. It is the tiny number of real stars that need to be nurtured – we can forget about the rest.
3. Make the rules work for you
Perhaps, if you look closely, you’ll see that not everyone in the British Olympic team is really an “amateur”. And just possibly, we spend far, far more than similar countries. But, heck, so what? It is the results that count. In areas such as state aid, or competition policy, or regulation, the UK often sticks very rigidly to the global rules, regardless of whether it helps our companies or not. We should be more flexible – beating the competition is often more important than worrying too much about what the letter of the law might say. The UK doesn’t punch above its weight in the global economy, and hasn’t done for 150 years. But the potential is there. Future medals are ours for the taking.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years.
He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.
-
Bitcoin price one of the most-asked questions on Alexa - here's how to buy the cryptocurrency
According to figures from Amazon, which cover September 2023 to November 2024, pop star Taylor Swift and Bitcoin were named among the most popular Alexa queries of 2024
By Chris Newlands Published
-
Investing for children this Christmas – five ideas
It might not come with a shiny ribbon, but an investment fund could be the gift that keeps on giving. We share five ideas if you are investing for children this Christmas.
By Katie Williams Published
-
Business rates relief to be slashed – how to cut costs
Labour has promised to reform business rates, the corporate equivalent of council tax
By David Prosser Published
-
Rouble hits two-year low against the dollar – what does it mean for Russia's economy?
New US sanctions have plunged the rouble to its lowest level since 2022. Why are investors spooked and how will this affect Putin's economy?
By Alex Rankine Published
-
Has Javier Milei succeeded in transforming Argentina's economy?
Javier Milei won an election last year on an “anarcho-capitalist” platform, promising to take a chainsaw to the overbearing and bloated state. How’s it going?
By Simon Wilson Published
-
Brazil booms – but why do investors remain wary?
Brazil is booming, but you wouldn’t think so from looking at the stock market. What's behind the market paranoia?
By Alex Rankine Published
-
Is Donald Trump's re-election a wake-up call for Europe?
Donald Trump will turbocharge the US economy – and expose Europe's weakness
By Matthew Lynn Published
-
Invest in Hilton Foods: a tasty UK food supplier
Hilton Foods is a keenly priced opportunity in an unglamorous sector
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Do we need central banks, or is it time to privatise money?
Analysis Free banking is one alternative to central banks, but would switching to a radical new system be worth the risk?
By Stuart Watkins Published
-
Is HS2 back on the government's agenda?
The government is rethinking what to do about HS2 – Britain’s farcical train project.
By Emily Hohler Published