Private roundtable: Reforming competition policy for growth

An effective, robust competition policy can deliver lower prices, higher wages, higher investment, and a more resilient economy. The UK’s current competition framework (and its enforcer, the Competition and Markets Authority) has struggled to prevent rising market concentration and stagnant productivity, during a time when the UK economy is suffering from chronic low investment, and firms have increasingly cited uncertainty around competition enforcement as an issue.

IPPR’s new briefing paper, Fair play: How competition policy can drive growth, examines the link between competition policy and how it can boost investment, innovation and growth. Competition policy is not about stifling enterprise—it’s about ensuring markets reward innovation, not extraction. While competition policy has historically been framed as a technocratic tool, it is in fact a cornerstone of shared, equitable growth. However, in order to achieve this, the CMA must shift its ways of working to be more responsive, to further engage with the public, to achieve the objectives of the government’s industrial and trade strategies, and to work to secure inward investment. The CMA can provide this pace and predictability without abdicating the role of a regulator.

This event will discuss what a redefined competition policy might look like, one that acts as a proactive force for economic renewal, aligning it with missions to boost productivity, rebalance regional disparities, and safeguard democratic accountability, without abandoning its core mission: to secure dynamic, open, competitive markets through robust competition policy.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. For more information, please contact Victoria Pope on v.pope@ippr.org.