Allister Heath

Business journalist, author, commentator

For 25 years, Allister Heath has been an authority on all things business and one of the most interesting commentators in British journalism. In his time, he has published work in The Business, The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator, as well as editing City A.M. from 2008 to 2014. Today, he holds the position of editor at The Sunday Telegraph, where he has been since 2017.

Why did we invite him on?

We’ve been avid readers of Allister’s for years, and he’s long been on the list of guests we hoped to have on. His columns offer some of the most cogent and clear-headed insights into complex economics you’ll find anywhere in the country, and it’s that sort of clarity we need now more than ever. We wanted to ask Allister about the current state of Britain, its future, and the true extent of our dire situation.

What did we talk about?

We’ve had several major business analysts on recently to assess the fiscal reality of the UK. Once one of the most prosperous and enviable economies in the world, it is becoming clear just how far from that we have strayed. More and more, we are starting to feel like a poor country attached to a rich city.

As one of our favourite financial minds, we wanted to see what Allister thought.
Does he see something else? Anything else?

”The economy is knackered. We have destroyed what used to be the best economy in Europe.”

Well, that’s not ideal. It’s a sentiment we’ve heard before, but Allister’s background equips him to compare and contrast Britain in ascendancy and Britain as it is today. Here, he offers an insight his counterparts cannot.

”I moved to this country in 1995 from France. France used to be a socialist dump - there was no opportunity. London was a different universe; it was like El Dorado. People were ambitious, and Britain was an outlier. It was turbocharged by the Thatcher revolution, and it was attracting the best and brightest from all over the world. All of that has been eroded, throttled and destroyed. It’s a tragedy, and it’s the fault of both parties.”

So what changed? Various governments and over a half dozen Prime Ministers have held office since Thatcher bowed out in 1990, but the decline has been persistent. It suggests that a key, foundational principle we once had is now amiss. What changed?

”Instead of society accepting capitalism and growth, it’s become a zero-sum game. People are fighting for the same-or-smaller pie. That’s when you get jealousy, and Corbynism, and demand for wealth taxes. Unless we have a massive change - economically, psychologically, philosophically - this country is in a decline that won’t be reversed.”

Konstantin admits that the last few years have informed his political outlook in a way he hadn’t anticipated. Increasingly, he finds himself more aligned with ‘accelerationism’ - things can only get better after getting worse. The only way out is through; let’s go as fast as we can. But why?