Britain’s failure to build is throttling its economy

can create big problems when anyone tries to build anything in Britain. A single wizened tree can scupper plans for 291 flats. A colony of terns can stall the development of a nuclear-power station. If nature does not intervene, politicians sometimes do. Government ministers, who are supposed to focus on affairs of state, can rule on the fate of a car park on the outskirts of London. Even if politicians hold off, the courts may step in. A large wind farm off the coast of Norfolk was postponed after a local resident persuaded a judge that the government had not properly assessed how it would affect his view.Building in Britain is never easy, often difficult and sometimes impossible. The country has become a vetocracy, in which many people and agencies have the power to stymie any given development. The Town and Country Planning Act, passed in 1947, in effect nationalised the right to build. Decisions about whether to approve new projects are made by politicians who rely on the votes of s (“Not in my back yard”), s (“Not over there, either”) and s (“Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything”).