Panmure Liberum is a leading force in UK Investment Banking

The left flank of UK politics is limbering up for a big year in 2026. Disquiet with the speed of progress by the current Labour government is being amplified by sluggish economic growth. Last week we learnt the UK economy had contracted by 0.1% during last three months. There is now a significant body of Labour MPs who believe the government’s economic policies are on the wrong path. Only time will tell whether the coterie of advisers that surround the left have learnt anything from the important case study that was, and remains, the 2022 Mini Budget.

For the last couple of years, investors have bemoaned the rising index concentration in the US. Thanks to the strong performance of US technology stocks, they now account for roughly 35 per cent of the S&P 500 index and 28 per cent of the MSCI World. If US technology stocks drop, so does the US and global stock market.

Our memories have a well-documented recency bias. We put greater weight on contemporary developments, risking the conclusion that they have always been thus. While this permeates all parts of our lives, this is a column about economics. So, in the aftermath of a UK Budget where economic growth is forecast to remain painfully anaemic, is this something the UK is doomed to in perpetuity? History suggests not.