Britain is the sick man of Europe once again

By Soumaya Keynes: Britain economics editor, The Economist

WITH A NEW prime minister in post, a trade deal in place with the EU and pandemic-related uncertainty fading, 2023 might have been a time to fix Britain’s long-term problems. If only. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, faces a challenging macroeconomic environment, including a crunch in energy supplies, rising interest rates and sputtering growth. As he hunkers down to fix the public finances, precious little energy will go towards fixing the country’s festering productivity problem. That will be a missed opportunity.