Blog
Sharing the carbon pie with a frequent flyer levy
How do we fly less without air travel becoming the preserve of the wealthy?

By
Alex Chapman
18 April 2024

We want to raise £20,000 through Big Give to campaign for a frequent flyer levy. To donate, click here
If we’re going to stop climate breakdown, we’ve got very little carbon left in the tank. For any chance of limiting global heating to under 2C (a level which will still lead to profound and widespread climate damage) the UK must emit less than 5,000 mega-tonnes of carbon dioxide and

Blog
Cost of housing homeless people skyrocketing for councils
Amidst council bankruptcies, local authorities are spending more than ever on temporary accommodation.

By
Hollie Wright
11 April 2024

England’s housing crisis has reached boiling point. Soaring rents are leaving millions vulnerable to ​“no-fault” eviction and homelessness, as landlords evict tenants to capitalise off higher market values. Far from providing stability, our housing system has become a source of hardship for many. At the sharpest end are the 109,000 homeless families,

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: Should we be going for growth?
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Kate Raworth and Michael Jacobs

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
10 April 2024

Britain’s favourite broadcaster David Attenborough once said: ​“Anyone who thinks you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman — or an economist.”
But our political leaders don’t seem to agree. Both our major political parties have made growing the economy a key metric for their success in government.
So what is economic growth? How did it become so

Blog
Helping people into good jobs rather than just any job could save the government billions
The government’s current approach is pushing people into lower paid jobs that leave many with inadequate and insecure incomes

By
Sam Tims
09 April 2024

In recent years, the guiding mantra of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when it comes to supporting people into work has been ​‘ABC’ – ​“Any job first, a Better job next and into a Career”. In reality, the government’s approach is too often pushing people into lower paid jobs that leave many

Blog
Ending stealth subsidies to banks is vital — but so is scrapping our borrowing rules
When a policy that would save billions doesn’t create more spending headroom, our fiscal rules aren’t fit for purpose

By
Dominic Caddick
29 March 2024

Gordon Brown has said the UK needs to get out of its ​“doom loop of poverty”. In doing so, he has endorsed a proposal from us at NEF to change the way the Treasury currently subsidises the Bank of England’s interest payments to the banking sector. He’s right that the Treasury could make billions from

Blog
What do Labour’s green finance plans mean for the UK and the climate crisis
Reinstating the Bank of England’s climate remit would be a win for green finance but Labour must go further to achieve their Green Prosperity Plan

By
Theo Harris
25 March 2024

Last week, Rachel Reeves announced that a Labour government would reinstate climate change as a policy priority for the Bank of England (something NEF has advocated for and would warmly welcome!). While Labour has watered down its flagship £28bn green investment pledge, by prioritising green

Blog
Flights, farmers and food
Our government’s greed for ever more air travel could come back to bite them

By
Alex Chapman
20 March 2024

A wave of farmers’ protests has swept across Europe in recent months. Tractors blocked high streets and highways, united under the slogan of ​“No farmers, no food”. But it was another of their banners that caught my eye: ​“Flights over food”. That was the slogan held above a convoy of 60 tractors gathered outside Cork Airport last month. So what does air travel have to do with farmers?
While the motivations

Videos
Big power for Little London
Their landlord left derelict buildings their estate. But now the community of Little London has found their voice — and they are fighting back.

19 March 2024

Their landlord left empty derelict buildings to decay on their estate. But now the community of Little London has found their voice — and they are fighting back.
After 40 years of government failure, our broken housing system allows wealthy landowners to dodge their responsibility to provide safe, decent homes. The Little London residents are an inspiration for anyone who has felt powerless against their

Publications
Solving the UK’s skills shortage
How a National Skilling Wage would future-proof our economy

By
Alex Chapman, Chaitanya Kumar, Paulo Yunda
19 March 2024

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The UK is facing a skills shortage and a productivity problem. A key driver of this stagnation has been the decline in both state and private sector investment in skills. Alongside austerity-era cuts to state spending on adult education, total employer

Videos
Mould is political
Over 2 millions people in the UK are living in homes with black mould. It’s time to demand change.

13 March 2024

Over 2 million people in the UK are living in homes with black mould which is a serious risk to their health and wellbeing. But it’s not tenants who have gotten us into this situation — it’s politicians. For too long politicians have prioritised landlords wealth over people’s health, now we’re saying enough.
A new film produced by NEF as part of the Homes for Us alliance, Mould is political, shows the impact of black mould on one family and how ordinary people are

Publications
Buying back better
How social housing acquisitions in London can tackle homelessness and help councils avert bankruptcy

By
Alex Diner, Sam Tims, Abi O’Connor
12 March 2024

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The UK is in the midst of a longstanding but sharply deepening housing crisis. And in no part of the country is that crisis more visceral than in London. With already sky-high rents rising steeply as part of the cost-of-living squeeze,

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: Spring budget reaction
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Hannah Peaker and Lydia Prieg

08 March 2024

We’re waiting longer than ever for hospital appointments, our kids’ schools are literally crumbling, and homelessness has sky-rocketed in the past year. This week’s spring budget was a vital chance for chancellor Jeremy Hunt to respond to the huge problems our country is facing.
But instead of trying to fix any of our problems, the chancellor announced a cut to national insurance that will benefit the richest households twelve times more than the poorest.
So what do

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: Can capitalism save the climate
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Adrienne Buller and Brett Christophers

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
29 February 2024

Worried about your carbon emissions? Don’t stress! You can pump out as much as you want — as long as you buy some offsets to balance it out. Scared of the collapse of wildlife? No problem! We can figure out how much money our ecosystems are worth, and let the market do the rest!
Welcome to the logic of green capitalism. Fossil fuel giants claim to celebrate

Blog
Will Labour last in government? Let’s look to Germany to find out
In Germany, a centre-left government found itself hamstrung by strict borrowing rules

By
Sebastian Mang
29 February 2024

This month, Labour abandoned its pledge to invest £28bn in carbon-busting measures like home insulations, wind and solar energy, and clean steel manufacturing. Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer blamed this decision on the cost of government borrowing and the state of the UK economy. Next week we are likely to see Labour respond to the government spring budget

Podcasts
Introducing the new chief executive of NEF
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Danny Sriskandarajah

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
13 February 2024

It’s 2024 and in Westminster an election is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Step back a little further and across the UK millions of us are more concerned with how we’ll afford to pay their sky-high rent or energy bills. Zoom out further again and we see a world where billions of people are reckoning with the threat of the climate crisis.
For the first episode in a new series of the New

Blog
Labour should learn that every fiscal rule is a political choice
Rather than experiment with another round of austerity, Rachel Reeves should commit to investing in our economy.

By
Lydia Prieg
08 February 2024

After months of speculation, Labour has finally caved to pressure and ditched its flagship £28bn green investment pledge, and thrown plans to insulate 19m homes by 2030 into doubt. £28bn is the amount that we identified at NEF needed to lower emissions and create an economy that improves lives, through things like wind and solar

Blog
A lost decade for home insulation
We installed over 2m insulation measures in our homes in 2012. For the last few years, it’s been just a tenth of this.

By
Christian Jaccarini
06 February 2024

We’re in the midst of yet another winter where people are agonising over whether they can afford to turn on their heating. The UK has some of the leakiest homes in Western Europe, losing heat three times faster than some of our neighbours. This means we have to pay more to heat our homes to a decent level, or risk the health problems that can come

Blog
There are other ways to tackle the cost of living crisis — just ask France and Spain
From rent caps to free public transport, here are the French and Spanish policies our government should be looking at

By
Paulo Yunda
19 January 2024

New figures out this week showed inflation increasing again to 4%. Inflation figures have ticked up — but even when they are dropping, any inflation number above zero means prices are still getting higher. Following last year’s autumn statement, the poorest households will be £200 a week short of an acceptable

Blog
New Year’s greetings from NEF’s new chief executive
This year marks 40 years since The Other Economic Summit was held, which led to the creation of NEF

By
Danny Sriskandarajah
16 January 2024

I am thrilled to have started this year as the new chief executive of the New Economics Foundation (NEF). This is an organisation that I have long admired, especially for the fantastic work that my predecessor, Miatta Fahnbulleh, led in her time here. From analysing the autumn budget, to reimagining how energy bills should work and building power in

Blog
A New Year’s Resolution for our politicians? Rethinking government debt and borrowing rules
We can’t have a healthy climate or thriving public services without rethinking our fiscal rules

By
Dominic Caddick
03 January 2024

As we enter 2024, we begin the season of setting new rules and resolutions for our lives. We also enter the biggest election year in history, including major elections in the EU and UK. If politicians vying for parliamentary power are looking for a new year’s resolution, they should commit to loosening up government debt

Blog
10 highlights for NEF in 2023
Celebrating the progress we’ve made this year

22 December 2023

With rising bills and rising temperatures, 2023 was a year of two crises: the cost of living and climate. Whether you’re struggling to afford your mortgage, or stuck in a cold, damp rental, most of us are feeling the effects of our broken economic model. The current government has so far been reluctant to commit to the changes needed to address the huge challenges we face. With an election on the horizon, this year NEF has been working on developing radical solutions and advocating for them to

Blog
What’s next for climate efforts in 2024?
A look at Brazil’s role at COP28 and why it matters for an election year in the UK.

By
Fernanda Balata
20 December 2023

At this year’s global climate summit, there were many contradictions on show, but one has been kept under the radar. Brazil has recently made a massive comeback onto the international stage, promising to be a climate leader of the Global South, but at COP28 in Dubai, the South American nation sent mixed signals.
At the opening session, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio da Silva,

Publications
NEF review of the year 2023
Highlights from the last 12 months

18 December 2023

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As the planet burns, the ongoing cost of living emergency must not be used as a smokescreen to row back from net zero. We are already seeing worrying signs of this, despite the palpable visibility of the impact of climate change on communities at home and abroad. NEF is leading the way in demonstrating how we can transition fairly, ensuring those organisations and people that can most afford to pay the costs of reaching net zero

Blog
Levelling down
This government’s levelling-up project has failed: households are down £1300 a year since 2015.

By
Dominic Caddick
11 December 2023

The UK has some of the highest inequality between different regions in the OECD. Successive prime ministers have promised to rectify this. But analysis we’ve conducted at NEF has found that, when it comes to regional inequality, we’re moving backwards. And it’s families in the north of England who have been hit hardest, losing over £1300 in yearly income since 2015.
To understand how regions

Publications
Meeting needs within limits
The ecological case for universal basic services

By
Anna Coote
06 December 2023

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Universal basic services (UBS) aims for universal access to life’s essentials within planetary boundaries. Ecological sustainability is built into its purpose and design. It is not a social ​‘add-on’, but indispensable for achieving environmental goals. This briefing summarises its proposals, then details how it can play a key role in protecting

Blog
COP28: Tackling health inequalities must be at the centre of climate action
Why the first-ever COP Health Day should aim for health equity and enshrine the principle and goal of a fair transition

By
Fernanda Balata
01 December 2023

The main international climate conference, which brings together world leaders, campaigners, business and media annually, got off to a promising start this week. COP28 has finally set up the hard-fought-for loss and damage fund – to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries pay for the irreversible

Blog
The windfall tax was supposed to rein in fossil fuel profits. Instead it has saved corporations billions
Loophole in energy profits levy will hand oil and gas companies up to £18bn over next three years

By
Alex Chapman
28 November 2023

Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) released new data which highlights how little this government’s ​‘windfall tax’ has actually done to rein in the profits of fossil fuel companies.
Back in May 2022, the UK government announced the energy profits levy, as a response to the growing pressure

Publications
Reforming property tax
Dampening further property speculation in the housing crisis

By
Alex Diner, Sam Tims
23 November 2023

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In conjunction with the Homes for Us alliance of grassroots organisations and campaigners, the New Economics Foundation is developing policies to fix England’s broken housing model. Tax reform is an important tool to do so. It can close loopholes, raise revenue to invest in more social homes, and shape

Publications
A fair start for all
A universal basic services approach to early childhood education and care

By
Tom Pollard, Anna Coote, Jeevun Sandher, Tom Stephens, Harry Ewart-Biggs
20 November 2023

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The government’s plan to expand the number of ​‘free hours’ of early childhood education and care (ECEC) available to some families means that 80% of the provision being accessed in

Publications
A taxing problem
Reforming business rates in England

By
Lukasz Krebel, Alfie Stirling, Sarah Arnold
09 November 2023

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The UK’s current business rates system is not fit for purpose – it is unfair, inefficient, and overcentralised. In this paper, we propose a new business rates system that combines a land value and a business property tax. Our proposed system is fairer, more efficient, and gives more control to