6th July 2026
The UK's savings system is dominated by ISAs and pensions. Together, they account for most personal savings. But are they delivering what the country needs?.
In this video, I argue that they are not. ISAs receive generous tax relief. Pensions receive even more. Yet the result is not the investment in productive capacity that economic theory says savings should deliver. Instead, much of the benefit goes to the City of London, while savers often get disappointing returns and society gets too little investment.
The real purpose of saving should be capital formation: building the assets, skills, infrastructure, public services and ecological systems that make life better. That is not what our current savings system is doing.
I suggest that the government should offer new, safe savings products through National Savings and Investments. These could be linked to real social purposes: health, housing, education, green investment, regional development and long-term public need.
This would not be about clever marketing. It would require real accountability, with savers told how their money had been used.
Savings should not just preserve private wealth. They should help create public value.