Jamie Driscoll, a Green Party councillor for Newcastle city council and former North of Tyne mayor, has published a report titled "Hostage Nation," which outlines a strategy to finance and build infrastructure in Britain. Driscoll, who joined the Green Party to pursue this vision, hopes the plan will become official party policy for the next election.
The report suggests a 20-year investment plan for the UK, focusing on areas such as retrofitted homes, fast transport connections, and renewable energy. Driscoll argues that financial markets prioritise areas like AI booms and share buybacks over clean energy and warm homes, leading to a failure to invest where needed.
To fund these initiatives, the plan proposes using off-market finance, including national infrastructure ISAs offered through National Savings and Investments. Driscoll highlights that the government savings bank has operated for over 160 years and is used by 24 million people. He also notes that while pension pools hold over £2tn, less than 5% is invested in British firms, suggesting tax subsidies should be reserved for savings that build Britain.
Driscoll criticises the current approach to fiscal rules, citing Andy Haldane, a former chief economist of the Bank of England, who called them "far from optimal; in fact I’d go as far as to say silly." The Institute for Fiscal Studies reportedly stated in 2024 that changing policy based on fiscal headroom projections was "almost literally mad."