Yes, the UK economy is weak and it is rigged. Of course it is. It has been decades since economic prosperity was actually a part of the agenda of any of the UK's political parties.<p>At one time, the Conservatives valued economic growth and prosperity -- and during that era, occasionally when they gained power, they achieved it.<p>But the modern UK, like so much of the West, just doesn't value prosperity any longer. Everybody would rather fight over getting a bigger slice of a shrinking pie than to fight for actual prosperity and growth.<p>Survey the public (or read the results of surveys that have been done). People don't want the things that make prosperity. They don't want a vibrant economy, lots of growth and opportunity, new companies forming and crashing, and all the attendant consequences of a vibrant, growth-oriented society.<p>They want to preserve what they have, not seek new things. And preservation is all about managing the decline.