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Policies to Improve UK Competitiveness

Geoff Riley

16th May 2026

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This revision short outlines key strategies to enhance UK global competitiveness, drawing a clear distinction between price-driven cost competitiveness and quality-driven non-price competitiveness.

In 2025, the UK ranked 27th in the IMD World Competitiveness rankings, trailing behind top-tier nations like Switzerland and Singapore.

To improve cost competitiveness, current policies emphasize corporate tax full expensing and energy market reforms. Meanwhile, non-price competitiveness is supported through specialized technology clusters and reshaped technical education.

Ultimately, the UK's prime strength is its innovation capacity, but high energy costs and infrastructure bottlenecks still compromise its global cost advantages relative to key international economic competitors.

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Geoff Riley

Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for nearly forty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD and Revision conferences in the UK and overseas.