My Journey

Jeremy Hunt

9 min read

Can we be great again?

I “Can We Be Great Again?” (published 2024)** and his consistent public positions. If the clip deviates, tell me and I’ll adjust.

📘 Core thesis of the book

Hunt’s argument is essentially:

The UK has fallen into low growth, low productivity, and declining confidence, and needs a long-term strategy to become a high-growth, high-skill economy again.

🧠 His main proposals (simplified)

1. Fix productivity (the central problem)

  • UK productivity lag is the root issue behind stagnant wages and weak growth
  • Focus on:
    • skills
    • technology adoption
    • management quality

2. Education & skills reform

  • Shift toward technical education + lifelong learning
  • Improve:
    • vocational routes (not just university)
    • adult retraining
  • Link education more tightly to labour market needs

3. Planning & infrastructure reform

  • Loosen planning restrictions to:
    • build more homes
    • enable infrastructure (transport, energy)
  • View: UK growth is being “choked” by planning constraints

4. Pro-business environment

  • Encourage:
    • investment
    • entrepreneurship
  • Stable tax and regulatory environment
  • Stronger capital markets to fund UK companies

5. Healthcare reform (economic angle)

  • NHS inefficiency affects workforce productivity
  • Push for:
    • prevention
    • digitalisation
    • better management

6. Long-term economic strategy

  • Move away from short-term policymaking
  • More consistency and predictability

⚖️ Critique (where it falls short)

1. Heavy on diagnosis, lighter on execution

  • Many ideas are widely agreed:
    • “improve skills”
    • “boost productivity”
  • But:
    • How exactly?
    • What trade-offs?
    • What political cost?

👉 Feels more like a framework than a concrete plan.

2. Planning reform is politically underestimated

  • He’s right it’s critical 
  • But:
    • homeowner resistance (especially in the South) is huge
    • his proposals don’t fully address how to overcome NIMBYism

3. Limited focus on inequality

  • Growth-first approach assumes benefits will spread
  • But UK reality:
    • regional inequality
    • generational divides (younger vs retirees)

👉 Without redistribution or targeting, growth may not fix this.

4. Tax realism gap

  • Talks about pro-growth policy
  • But avoids hard truth:
    • UK has high taxes + high spending expectations
  • Doesn’t fully resolve:
    • where cuts or trade-offs come from

5. NHS reform: politically cautious

  • Acknowledges inefficiency
  • But avoids deeper structural reform:
    • funding model
    • workforce incentives
    • private sector role

🔧 How to strengthen his approach

Here’s what would make it more actionable and credible:

✅ 1. Tie planning reform to incentives

Instead of forcing development:

  • give local residents financial upside
    • e.g. property tax discounts
    • direct infrastructure investment

👉 Turns opposition into support

✅ 2. Radical skills reform (not incremental)

  • Individual lifelong learning accounts
  • Tax incentives for mid-life retraining (very relevant at 50+)
  • Strong employer co-investment

✅ 3. Regional growth strategy

  • Focus on 2–3 major cities outside London
  • Serious investment + devolved powers

👉 UK problem is not just growth, but where growth happens

✅ 4. Honest fiscal trade-offs

He should clearly state one of:

  • cut spending 
  • raise taxes 
  • or accept higher debt

👉 Right now it’s a bit “have everything”

✅ 5. NHS productivity overhaul

  • Digitisation + AI triage
  • Shift to preventive care
  • Incentivise outcomes, not activity

🧭 Bottom line

Hunt’s book is:

  • Thoughtful and directionally correct
  • Strong on what the UK’s problems are

But:

  • Not radical enough in execution
  • Avoids the toughest political trade-offs

If you want, I can break this down specifically from a personal angle (your health, retirement, wealth, UK economy impact on you)—that’s where this becomes much more practical.

Can we be rich again (2026) ? Comparison

on the surface these two books sound similar, but the tone, emphasis, and political honesty have shifted quite a bit.

📘 Then vs Now: What’s actually changed?

🟦 1. Core framing

“Can We Be Great Again?” (2024)

  • Framed as: 👉 “How do we improve productivity and restore confidence?”
  • Tone:
    • Optimistic
    • Managerial
    • Policy-led

“Can We Be Rich Again?” (2026)

  • Framed as: 👉 “We are getting poorer—what hard choices are we avoiding?”
  • Tone:
    • More urgent
    • More রাজনৈতিক (politically blunt)
    • Accepts decline as already happening

✅ Shift:
From aspiration → to damage control + realism

🧠 2. Diagnosis of the problem

2024 view:

  • Main issue = productivity puzzle
  • Fix skills, planning, investment → growth returns

2026 view:

  • Problem is deeper:
    • Structural stagnation
    • Ageing population
    • Fiscal constraints (debt, taxes already high)

✅ Shift:
From technical problem → to structural + demographic crisis

⚙️ 3. Nature of solutions

2024:

  • Improve:
    • education 
    • infrastructure 
    • business environment
  • Mostly win-win reforms

👉 Implicit message:
“We can fix this without major losers”

2026:

  • Accept:
    • trade-offs 
    • political pain
  • Emphasis on:
    • planning override 
    • welfare/pension pressure 
    • fiscal restraint

👉 Explicit message:
“Some groups will lose”

✅ Shift:
From win-win technocracy → to zero-sum realism

🏠 4. Housing & planning

2024:

  • Planning reform is important 
  • But framed as efficiency issue

2026:

  • Planning reform becomes: 👉 central battleground
  • Willingness to override local resistance

✅ Shift:
From policy tweak → to political confrontation

👴 5. Ageing & pensions

2024:

  • Mentioned, but not central

2026:

  • Much more explicit:
    • ageing population is a core economic drag
    • hints at:
      • pension reform 
      • longer working lives

✅ Shift:
From background issue → to front-and-centre constraint

💰 6. Fiscal honesty

2024:

  • Somewhat avoids trade-offs 
  • Suggests growth can ease pressures

2026:

  • Clearer that:
    • taxes are already high 
    • spending pressures are rising
  • Implies: 👉 you cannot avoid hard choices

✅ Shift:
From growth will solve it → to growth alone is not enough

🏥 7. NHS

2024:

  • Focus on:
    • efficiency 
    • management
  • Still politically cautious

2026:

  • Still cautious—but:
    • stronger link between health + economic performance
    • more urgency around reform

✅ Shift:
From service improvement → to economic necessity

⚖️ What hasn’t changed

Despite the sharper tone, some fundamentals are identical:

  • Pro-business, pro-growth stance 
  • Belief in:
    • skills 
    • planning reform 
    • stability
  • No radical redistribution agenda 
  • No dramatic rethink of capitalism model

👉 He’s still operating within a centrist, market-friendly framework

🔍 The real underlying shift (this is the key insight)

The difference isn’t just policy—it’s political philosophy.

2024 Hunt:

“If we design better policies, growth will follow.”

2026 Hunt:

“We already know the policies—the problem is we lack the courage to impose costs.”

🧭 What likely drove the change?

This evolution didn’t happen in a vacuum. Likely drivers:

  • Continued low growth in UK (2024–2026)
  • Rising debt + tax burden
  • Increasing ageing cost pressures
  • Political paralysis (no party willing to take pain)

👉 He’s moved from:

  • policy designer
    to:
  • political realist

❗ Critical take on this shift

It’s a step forward—but still incomplete.

✅ What improved:

  • More honest about trade-offs 
  • Recognises limits of easy solutions

❌ What’s still missing:

  • Who exactly bears the pain?
  • How to make reforms politically acceptable?
  • How to ensure fairness across generations?

👉 He’s now honest about pain
👉 But still vague about distribution of pain

🧩 My blunt summary

  • Book 1 (2024):
    “Here’s how we fix the economy.”

  • Book 2 (2026):
    “Here’s why we haven’t fixed it—and what we’re avoiding.”

What it means for me?

(Or people like me)

Alright—let’s bring this down from Westminster theory to what it could actually mean for you over the next 10–20 years.

You’re in a very interesting position:

  • 56, retired 
  • Likely asset-heavy (typical for your cohort in London) 
  • Focused on health + active lifestyle

Hunt’s shift from “growth fixes everything” → “hard trade-offs are coming” lands directly on your generation.

🧭 1. Pensions & retirement (the biggest hidden risk)

What Hunt is hinting at

  • State pension cost is rising fast 
  • Triple lock is expensive 
  • Fewer workers per retiree

👉 Translation:
Your generation is the pressure point

What could realistically happen

Not overnight—but over time:

  • State pension age creeps up again (beyond 67)
  • Triple lock watered down
  • More means-testing (subtle at first)

What it means for you

Even if you’re already retired:

  • Future increases in pension may lag inflation
  • Healthcare and living costs may outpace support

What to do

  • Treat state pension as a baseline, not a plan
  • Maintain:
    • some income flexibility 
    • or drawdown strategy if you have investments

🏠 2. Property (this is where policy may bite hardest)

Hunt’s direction

  • Build more homes 
  • Override local resistance

The uncomfortable truth

To fix the system, government may need to:

  • reduce property price growth 
  • or at least stop it outpacing income

What that means for you (London homeowner)

  • Your home remains valuable 
  • But:
    • future gains may be weaker
    • property could become more taxed over time

Possible moves:

  • council tax reform 
  • property/land value taxes 
  • inheritance tightening

What to do

  • Don’t rely on property for future growth
  • Think of it as: 👉 “consumption + stability asset”
    not a high-return investment

💰 3. Taxes (quiet but important shift)

Likely direction

Because Hunt avoids borrowing:

👉 Government will look for less visible taxes

Examples:

  • Frozen thresholds (already happening)
  • Capital gains tweaks
  • Pension tax changes
  • Inheritance tax tightening

What it means for you

  • You may pay more tax without rates changing
  • Especially if:
    • you draw income 
    • you pass on wealth

What to do

  • Use allowances efficiently (ISA, pension drawdown timing)
  • Think early about inheritance planning

🏥 4. NHS → directly relevant to your health goals

Hunt’s reality

  • NHS demand rising (ageing population)
  • Can’t just spend more forever

Likely shift

  • More emphasis on:
    • prevention 
    • self-management 
    • digital triage

Possibly:

  • longer waits for non-urgent care 
  • more private supplementation

What this means for you

Your 2026 goal (weight, BMI, SMM) is exactly aligned with where policy is heading

👉 In plain English:

  • Fit people will cope fine 
  • Unfit people will struggle more with the system

What to do (this is your edge)

You’re already cycling—excellent. Consider adding:

  • Strength training (critical at 50+)

    • protects muscle mass (SMM)
    • reduces NHS dependency later

  • Try:

    • swimming 
    • rowing 
    • light resistance training

👉 This is not just health—it’s future independence insurance

👴 5. Generational shift (this affects your kids more than you)

Hunt’s biggest unresolved issue:

  • Younger people:
    • high housing costs 
    • high taxes
  • Older people:
    • asset-rich

Likely policy drift

Over time:

  • More pressure on wealth transfer
  • Less protection for inherited advantage

What it means for you

If you’re planning to:

  • pass on property 
  • support children

👉 rules may get tighter

What to do

  • Consider earlier, gradual transfers
  • Not just “leave it all at the end”

🚴 6. Lifestyle strategy (this is where you can really win)

Here’s the positive angle—most people miss this:

Hunt’s world rewards people who are:

  • healthy 
  • adaptable 
  • financially flexible

Your advantage

You’re:

  • already active (cycling ✅) 
  • focused on body composition ✅ 
  • early enough to adjust ✅

Smart additions for 2026–2030

🏋️ Strength (non-negotiable)

  • 2–3x per week 
  • biggest impact on ageing well

🚴 Endurance (you already do this)

  • keep cycling 
  • maybe add:
    • longer rides 
    • group rides (social + motivation)

🧠 Skill-based sport (underrated)

Try:

  • badminton 
  • tennis 
  • pickleball

👉 improves:

  • coordination 
  • cognitive sharpness 
  • social life

🧭 Final straight talk

Hunt’s shift boils down to this:

The system will give you less. You need to rely more on yourself.

For you, that translates to:

  • Don’t depend on:

    • rising house prices 
    • generous state support

  • Do depend on:

    • your health 
    • your flexibility 
    • your planning

If you want, I can map out a very concrete 12-month plan for:

  • hitting BMI + SMM targets 
  • building strength properly 
  • while keeping cycling central

That would tie this macro stuff into something you can actually execute week to week.

Graph View