Videos
The Cost of Living
The communities fighting back – a film by Greenpeace in partnership with the New Economics Foundation

22 November 2022

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Neglected by the government, and facing enormous energy bills, more and more people are relying on their community to help put food on their table and provide a warm refuge.
In collaboration with the New Economics Foundation, ​‘Cost of Living’ follows the stories of the women of Rother Valley as they try to support their communities during the cost of living crisis.
Energy companies

Blog
The environment is paying the price for bad economic advice
How second-rate economic analysis proliferates in the UK’s planning system

By
Alex Chapman
21 November 2022

Back in the 1940s US president Harry Truman bemoaned the tendency of economic consultants to provide inconclusive advice ​‘on the one hand’ and ​‘on the other hand’. Rather than face the complexities and uncertainties of modern economics, Truman asked his advisors to find him a ​‘one-handed’ economist.
In the UK in 2022, one-handed economists are widely available… for a

Blog
The UK is in a crisis of living standards, not public finances
The government isn’t fixing the public finances, it’s worsening the recession

By
Alfie Stirling, Dominic Caddick
16 November 2022

The country is once again in the jaws of recession. It’s likely to be longer and deeper than that faced by the rest of the G7 due to three particular economic failings here in the UK. This article discusses each of these failings , and presents new analysis of the effects of a fresh round of austerity on public services. We find

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy – changing the rules
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Jeevun Sandher and Ann Pettifor

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
07 November 2022

Note to listeners: this episode was prerecorded in September 2022.
Over the last five episodes we’ve looked at how the UK is being torn apart. Our economy is built on huge inequalities: between working people and big business, between families and fossil fuel giants, between tenants and landlords, and between marginalised groups and law enforcement.
Are such

Publications
An emergency insulation plan to cut bills this winter
Upgrading our draughty homes to save money and increase energy security

By
Christian Jaccarini, Paulo Yunda, Chaitanya Kumar
05 November 2022

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The global energy crisis has had a profound impact on many major economies, particularly so in Europe, forcing a scramble to diversify our energy supply and end our dependence on Russian gas. The result has been an

Publications
Europe’s fiscal framework — the people’s view?
How austerity made us poorer and less able to cope with crises

By
Frank van Lerven, Dominic Caddick, Sebastian Mang
04 November 2022

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The set-up of Europe’s fiscal framework transformed the 2008 global financial shock into a self-made economic crisis and an unnecessarily prolonged recession. Instead of scaling-up transformative environmental investment that would

Publications
Under the radar
Exploring the changing picture of poverty and low income in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge

By
Daniel Button
03 November 2022

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This report uncovers pockets of rising poverty in Elmbridge. In the aggregate, the borough ranks highly on a range of indicators – from levels of employment to income. Poverty and disadvantage, however, exist under the radar. Growing numbers of children live in low-income households, and an increasing majority

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy — fighting for our human rights
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Zehrah Hasan and Charlie Whelton

28 October 2022

Note to listeners: this episode was prerecorded in September 2022. 
This summer, on a small road in south-east London, a crowd of people prevented immigration officers from detaining a local man. Protestors sat on the ground in front of the van he was held in for hours, shouting ​“Let him go!”. From Pollokshields to Peckham, over the last couple of years we’ve seen how people can come together to physically stop immigration raids in

Blog
Families across the country are feeling the squeeze
Graduates, nurses, and minimum wage workers are making sacrifices on essentials like the weekly shop or replacing clothes and shoes in London, the red, and blue walls

By
Jeevun Sandher, Sam Tims
24 October 2022

Families are already struggling to afford the essentials, like household bills or a trip to the dentist. That is set to get significantly worse in the year ahead as earnings and social security payments fall short of rising prices and rents. New analysis by the

Videos
The economic pie explained
The richest few are taking too much. It’s time to share the wealth we all create.

19 October 2022

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Topics
Inequality

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Blog
Breaking the climate-finance doom loop
Our open letter to the Bank of England calls on them to take action to prevent climate breakdown

By
Lukasz Krebel
19 October 2022

In the absence of strong regulation, the financial sector continues to fuel the climate crisis by lending to and insuring harmful fossil fuel projects which not only threaten our planet, but expose the economy and financial sector itself to growing risks resulting from environmental breakdown.
The Climate and Capital conference this week, organised by the Bank of England

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy — fixing the housing crisis with social homes
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Becki Winson and Suzanne Muna

14 October 2022

Note to listeners: this episode was prerecorded in September 2022.
The cost of living scandal could force 1.7 million households into homelessness this winter, according to the charity Crisis. In the UK, we can no longer rely on social housing to protect people from sleeping rough or sofa-surfing. If you were alive in 1979, you had a 40% chance of living in an affordable council home. Today, that

Blog
The government must act now to protect social housing tenants and social landlords from financial disaster
As we stand on the brink of a new housing crisis, ministers must avert further hardship in our broken housing system

By
Alex Diner
12 October 2022

Since the not-so ​‘mini budget’ last month, concerns that we are on the cusp of a housing crash have risen rapidly. If, as predicted, there is a dramatically accelerated return to an era of high interest rates, 2023 will be a year of tumbling house price growth, escalating private sector

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy — solving the cost of living and climate crises together
Ayeisha is joined by Mika Minio-Paluello and Tessa Khan

30 September 2022

Note to listeners: this episode was prerecorded in August 2022.
2022: a year of extremes. During the 40 degree summer heat, roads melted and railway lines buckled. The London Fire Brigade had its busiest day since the Blitz as record temperatures led to hundreds of fires across the city. When it finally rained a month later, the Met Office warned of flood risk. But after a dangerously hot summer, we’re now worrying

Blog
Stamp duty cuts: the wrong priority and the wrong policy
Tinkering with this flawed tax will do nothing to fix our broken housing system

By
Alex Diner
28 September 2022

If the government’s answer to the housing crisis is to raise the thresholds at which some homebuyers pay stamp duty (SDLT), they are not asking the right question. Tinkering with stamp duty rates will do nothing to resolve the fundamental problem in our broken housing system: the lack of social and genuinely affordable housing.
Further increasing

Blog
Remembering our colleague and friend, Elizabeth Cox
We will all miss Liz’s no-nonsense approach to life, boundless energy and wicked sense of humour.

By
Miatta Fahnbulleh
26 September 2022

Last week we said goodbye to our colleague and friend, Elizabeth Cox. Liz lost her battle against cancer earlier this month and her funeral last week brought colleagues together to remember her and share stories of the impact she had on many of us. This has been a huge loss for all of us who knew her and worked with her.
Liz was a constant at NEF and

Blog
A social rent freeze
Protecting those most exposed to the cost-of-living crisis from unaffordable rent rises

By
Simon Hill
22 September 2022

Private rent increases are making the wrong sort of headlines, with hikes of up to 20% in places. But in comparison, the coming pressure on social rents has flown somewhat under the radar. Come next April, social landlords will be able to increase rents by up to CPI from September 2022, plus 1%. That would make possible rises in social rents of up to 11% — the largest hike by

Blog
Freeze social rents
Defend tenants from unaffordable rent rises

By
Rebecca Winson
20 September 2022

The cost of living crisis is hitting everyone hard. We’ve all seen the news about rising energy bills and the cost of food. But rents are soaring too – and many living in social homes are wondering how they will make ends meet.
Social rents were slated to be raised by a whopping 11% next year – in line with soaring inflation. The government has already caved to pressure and said they won’t hit that high. We are

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy – a hot strike summer?
Ayeisha is joined by Sian Elliot and Sarah Jaffe

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
16 September 2022

Note to listeners: this episode was prerecorded in August 2022.
As the first week of rail strikes came to an end in June, Google searches for the phrase ​“join union” had increased by 184%. News channels and politicians didn’t seem to know what to make of the broad public support for the striking rail workers. Inspired by the RMT union, the unrest spread: criminal barristers,

Blog
Emergency insulation before the end of the year
Councils still have time to make sure their residents are warm this winter

By
Christian Jaccarini
14 September 2022

As autumn approaches and families are worrying about how they will afford to heat their homes this winter, everyone is waiting to see the results of the prime ministers plans to tackle the energy crisis. While it’s vital to get money into the pockets of those who need it as soon as possible, we also need to upgrade our draughty housing so we are more resilient to energy crises

Publications
Warm homes, cool planet
A package to fix the UK’s energy price crisis

By
Alfie Stirling, Dominic Caddick
05 September 2022

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The UK is in the midst of the deepest squeeze on living standards since records began. Families are feeling the pinch in two ways. First, they are experiencing the increased cost of direct energy consumption, such as heating and lighting a home. The annualised price cap for a typical family paying by direct

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: How we win a new economy — the end of neoliberalism?
Ayeisha is joined by Ellie Mae O’Hagan and Laurie Macfarlane

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
02 September 2022

In this mini-series of the New Economics Podcast, we’ll discover how our economy has been run over the past few years — and look at the key battlegrounds for those fighting to change the rules.
Over the last few years, neoliberalism – the economic model that has dominated since Margaret Thatcher was PM – has taken a hit. Big spending and state intervention

Publications
Green credit guidance
A green term funding scheme for a cooler future

By
Lukasz Krebel, Frank van Lerven
02 September 2022

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The Bank of England’s policy toolkit needs urgent updating in light of the climate and cost of living crises. There are multiple interest rates across the economy that may need to be targeted separately to achieve monetary and financial stability and wider ecological and democratically defined goals. With the

Videos
Green credit guidance
A green term funding scheme for a cooler future

02 September 2022

The Bank of England’s policy toolkit needs urgent updating in light of the climate and cost of living crises. Read the report.

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Topics
Banking & finance

If you back a recovery plan based around great public services, protecting the planet and reducing inequality, please support NEF to build back better.
Make a monthly donation

Videos
Britain’s homes: telling a different story
We need a new generation of social housing

15 August 2022

As people experience the terrifying realities of a cost-of-living squeeze and a climate emergency, more of us are unwilling to accept the cold, damp, unaffordable homes we live in. We need a new generation of social housing to kickstart the economy, create jobs, help rebuild our communities and provide homes for us.
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Campaigns
Homes For Us

Blog
Splitting the energy bill
When oil and gas companies are making more money than they ever imagined, it’s time for a higher windfall tax

By
Chaitanya Kumar
13 August 2022

While the world’s oil and gas giants are raking in record profits, families are bracing themselves for a predicted energy bill increase to £4,266 a year for an average household by January. This is treble last winter’s price cap, which was £1,277. Even compared to the current cap, which rose to £1,971 in April, a family using an average amount of energy is facing a bill

Blog
A Gender Equal Living Income
NEF aims to co-design solutions with people most impacted through women-led policy and action

By
Beti Baraki
05 August 2022

With inflation predicted to hit 10% this year, many people across the country are hurting. Despite the UK being the fifth richest economy in the world, more than one in five people are in poverty and 23.5 million people will be unable to afford the cost of living this year. However, people do not experience poverty equally; NEF analysis finds that single female

Blog
The Jet Zero strategy is an abdication of responsibility to the planet and future generations
Drawing a downward slanting line on a piece of paper and crossing your fingers is not a ‘strategy’

By
Alex Chapman
28 July 2022

This article was originally published on BusinessGreenWhen is a strategy not a strategy? We found out the answer earlier this week when the High Court upheld an NGO challenge to the government’s Net Zero Strategy. The plan was supposed to set the path to cutting our carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. But, as a brutal

Blog
Tax and borrowing: what will we owe our grandchildren?
Borrowing to preserve ecosystems – rather than fund tax cuts – is the fiscally responsible thing to do.

By
Frank van Lerven
26 July 2022

In Monday night’s Conservative leadership debate, former chancellor Rishi Sunak reiterated his earlier claims, accusing his competitor Liz Truss of fiscal irresponsibility. Unfunded tax cuts would simply be ​“racking up bills on the country’s credit card that we pass on to our children and grandchildren”, he said.
Sunak further suggested that Truss’s

Blog
Keeping bills and carbon low – where next for policy?
Options for energy market reform compared

By
Chaitanya Kumar
12 July 2022

The ongoing cost of living crisis has exposed the vulnerabilities of the UK’s welfare system. A decade of austerity and a culling of green policy measures have left us less prepared in the face of this crisis. Now as inflation continues to soar, with an expectation of it reaching almost 11% this year, the Bank of England is dramatically raising interest rates, which as a result is set to drag the country into a