Blog
The autumn budget: A step in the right direction but still falling short
There were some welcome wins in Labour’s first budget, though it’s unlikely to deliver the change we need on inequality and public services

By
Amy Clancy
04 November 2024

In many ways, this was a brave first budget from the chancellor. By redefining public debt, the chancellor opened the door for increased investment in vital infrastructure. This bold move is more than just a budget tweak; it represents a significant shake-up of the fiscal rules. However, investing in

Podcasts
What to make of the Labour government’s first budget?
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by James Meadway and Hannah Peaker

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
01 November 2024

The Autumn Budget was the most significant since George Osborne implemented austerity in 2010. Rachel Reeves announced one hundred billion pounds for infrastructure, forty billion in tax rises and a whole host of policy changes, which she hopes will deliver Labour’s mission of national economic renewal. But what does an extra hundred billion pounds mean for the UK? Are we

Publications
Building the homes we need
The economic and social value of investing in a new generation of social housing

By
Alex Diner, Sam Tims, Rhiannon Williams
29 October 2024

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Everybody needs an affordable, safe, secure home to build a foundation for themselves and their families. But our housing system is broken, failing to deliver these fundamentals and leading to rising housing insecurity, unaffordability, record

Publications
The OBR’s fiscal powers need a rethink
Outdated fiscal assumptions are limiting the chancellor’s spending power by £8bn a year

By
Dominic Caddick
28 October 2024

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The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the UK’s official fiscal forecaster, doesn’t often receive the spotlight before a budget. Yet its forecasts and calculations become gospel to whatever new policies the chancellor chooses to preach. In fact, at this upcoming budget our analysis shows

Publications
Solid foundations
Local investment need for a decade of renewal

By
Benedikt Straňák, Emmet Kiberd
24 October 2024

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The physical infrastructure of everyday life in England is broken. Millions in the country have unmet housing need, our homes are not well insulated, we are burning gas for electricity and large swathes of the country have grossly inadequate public transport systems. There is a geography to England’s neglect – four of

Publications
Capping ambitions
Recognising the economic benefits of reducing child poverty by scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap

By
Sam Tims
20 October 2024

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The introduction of a cross-departmental taskforce dedicated to reducing child poverty is a positive signal of intent from the new government. The drivers of poverty are wide-ranging, and a serious government response must be as well. That the strategy will explore all available levers is welcome,

Publications
A frequent flying levy in Europe
The moral, economic and legal case

By
Alex Chapman, Sebastian Mang, Magdalena Heuwieser
17 October 2024

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Read the report in translation:
FrenchSpanishRomanianEuropean air traffic presents one of the continent’s largest obstacles to halting climate breakdown and achieving the climate goals subscribed to in international and European law. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector’s

Podcasts
100 days of Labour: great success or bit of a mess?
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Aditya Chakrabortty and Ailbhe Rea

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
14 October 2024

By the time this episode comes out, the new Labour government will have been in charge of the country for one hundred days. So what do we know about how they’ll run the economy? Can they rescue our threadbare public services while promising a tight grip on government spending? And will their focus on growth deliver real change for those who need it most?
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is

Blog
The new national wealth fund could raise £100bn of private finance — here’s how
Empowering the new national wealth fund to issue green bonds on private markets, could leverage £14bn of private sector investment for every £1bn of Treasury funding

By
Theo Harris
14 October 2024

Today is a big day for Rachel Reeves as she prepares to woo international investors by announcing more details about Labour’s green industrial strategy at the showpiece International Investment Summit. The government’s new national wealth fund (NWF) is the lynchpin of

Blog
Calling time on fiscal rules
As the Chancellor weighs up making changes to the fiscal rules, we take a look at some of the available options

By
Chaitanya Kumar
27 September 2024

The government’s fiscal rules have moved up the agenda significantly in recent weeks. From the preserve of academics and think tanks, the term now features regularly in newspaper headlines and broadcast bulletins. Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) has just this week called on the Chancellor to reconsider her fiscal rules

Publications
Strong public services for a prosperous Europe
Building on Enrico Letta’s vision for a stronger single market

By
Sebastian Mang
24 September 2024

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This July, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta published a report arguing for prioritising public services, referred to as services of general interest (SGIs). This briefing outlines Letta’s case for strengthening the European Union (EU) single market and presents policy recommendations to make this

Blog
The New Economics Podcast autumn reading list
What to read to understand some of the biggest challenges we face – and how to build a better world

By
Katrina Gaffney
04 September 2024

If we want to build a fairer, greener world, we need to understand the economic, political and social forces that shape it. Inspired by the fantastic guests who joined us for the latest series of the New Economics Podcast, we’ve put together a list of some essential readings that can help us make sense of the world and give us ideas for building a better

Publications
Better engagement for better outcomes
Taking a rapid test and learn approach to engagement with people out of work due to disabilities and poor health

By
Tom Pollard
28 August 2024

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This briefing sets out a proposal for a new Engagement Innovation Unit within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver a rapid test and learn approach to improving voluntary engagement with employment support for people who are currently exempt from

Podcasts
New Economics Podcast: Lessons for the left after the far right riots
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Minnie Rahman and Abi O’Connor

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
23 August 2024

A few weeks ago, far-right rioters gathered outside a hotel hosting asylum seekers in Rotherham and tried to set it on fire. Across the country this horrific act of violence was replicated, as mosques, libraries and people driving home from work came under attack.
But in the face of this racist and Islamophobic violence, people gathered to protest the presence of

Blog
Outside Europe it’s normal to protect basic energy needs — so why don’t we?
The majority of the world’s population uses tariffs which guarantee cheap essential energy. Time for the UK to pay attention.

By
Alex Chapman
22 August 2024

With the summer drawing to a close, and winter on the way, our energy bills will soon be on the rise. Tomorrow, Ofgem is expected to announce that the energy price cap will increase to £1,717. Once again households will have to cut back and hundreds of thousands will be faced with impossible decisions between

Blog
London City airport will test the government’s commitment to the climate
Approving expansion would send the wrong message about the new approach to planning

By
Alex Chapman
17 August 2024

In her first speech as Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out plans for a ​“growth-focused approach to the planning system” which would see ​“red tape” cut to ​“get Britain building again”. Few would dispute that we need to get moving on new homes and infrastructure, but the national renewal the new government seeks will not be achieved by approving just any

Blog
How the Bank of England is wasting billions in public money boosting banking sector profits
The Treasury is predicted to cover £100bn worth of loses at the Bank of England in the next five years – there are better ways we could spend this money.

By
Dominic Caddick
06 August 2024

With a new report showing the Treasury has covered over £45 billion worth of losses at the Bank of England since 2022 and £100 billion more expected in the next 5 years, it’s time we questioned why the Bank is making a loss in the first place and if money could be

Blog
Ministers have promised a ​“council housing revolution” — to deliver they must ensure social housebuilding is properly funded
This government has made some welcome announcements on housing but we can’t rely on private developers to build the homes we need

By
Hollie Wright
31 July 2024

Yesterday, Angela Rayner announced the government’s intention to reinstate mandatory housing targets for local authorities to ​“get Britain building”, aligning with Labour’s campaign pledge to construct 1.5 million homes and deliver ​“the biggest increase in

Publications
Terms of engagement
Rethinking conditionality to support more people into better jobs

By
Tom Pollard
23 July 2024

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Conditionality – the requirements placed on people on work-related benefits – is often presented as both necessary, to limit the time people spend on benefits, and popular with the public. This report, however, argues that increasingly strict and prescriptive conditionality is driving perverse outcomes and is neither understood by the

Podcasts
Why the far right is winning in Europe, with Yanis Varoufakis
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Yanis Varoufakis

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
02 July 2024

In the recent European elections, the far right won unprecedented gains. From the success of the AfD in Germany, to Le Pen’s National Rally in France, the elections saw nationalist and eurosceptic parties sweep up nearly a quarter of the seats in the European parliament.
In the UK, the next general election is just days away. Voters will be heading to the polls against a backdrop of

Blog
Party manifestos have little energy for our sky-high energy bills
Bills are due to rise again this winter, but we found little on offer to fix this from the main political parties.

By
Alex Chapman
28 June 2024

As the election period reaches its final stages, commentators and campaigners are beginning to point out the lack of detail from the main parties when it comes to tackling poverty. With an estimated 39% of UK households currently unable to afford everyday essentials, the cost of living crisis continues to bite. And the price of

Publications
The foundations of the housing crisis
How our extractive land and development models work against public good

By
Emmet Kiberd, Abi O’Connor
27 June 2024

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The economic model that underpins the development of places and homes in the UK is fundamentally broken. It serves to extract value that is collectively created through the economic life of these places for the benefit of relatively few private owners. In doing so, it reinforces

Publications
A piece of the housing puzzle
Context, barriers and opportunities for community housing in the north-east

By
Martin Wood, Abi O’Connor
20 June 2024

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Over the last century, various models of community housing – co-operatives, self-build associations, community land trusts – have arisen at different stages, with peaks and troughs in the levels of activity. Given the current extreme pressure on safe and affordable homes, community

Blog
The politics of ​“welfare” has distorted public perceptions of social security
New polling commissioned by NEF suggests that most people don’t have a clear sense of the level of support people currently receive

By
Tom Pollard
17 June 2024

When general elections come around, the question people often ask themselves is whether they feel better off than they did last time they voted. Alongside people’s experiences of public services and the general state of where they live, many will be mindful of how their level of disposable income has

Blog
Scrap fiscal rules and stop subsidising banks to fix our broken economy
Instead of coming up with fiscal tricks that move costs around we need policies that will make a real difference

By
Dominic Caddick
12 June 2024

In the past five years, the UK has been through a global pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis with a threadbare state due to the austerity that preceded it. This has amplified the struggle of poverty for millions, pushed public services to breaking point and has continued the trend of living standards stagnating since 2008.

Podcasts
Neoliberalism: the invisible ideology, with George Monbiot
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by George Monbiot

By
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
11 June 2024

We live under an invisible ideology. It tells us that we are not citizens but consumers. That intervening in the free market compromises our freedom. That we are all millionaires-in-waiting — and if we are struggling to make ends meet, then we only have ourselves to blame.
This is capitalism on steroids. But few of us can even identify the doctrine we live under. It’s called ​“neoliberalism”,

Publications
Switching to social rent
Delivering the homes we need through the Affordable Homes Programme

By
Sam Tims
06 June 2024

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The housing emergency in England has become so deeply entrenched that it has soared up the political agenda and is now playing an important role in the general election debate. Nothing short of wholesale restructuring of our housing system is needed to deliver the high-quality, affordable, secure homes we all need. Secure and

Blog
Benefits debt deductions trapping people in poverty and debt
DWP taking £1.6bn a year from low-income households for debt repayments

By
Sam Tims, Hollie Wright
02 June 2024

The erosion of our income safety net is no secret. Between 2010/​11 and 2019/​20, working-age social security was cut by £29bn. These cuts, targeted at the poorest in society, have left levels of income support at their lowest in 40 years, forcing destitution on almost 4 million households.
The inevitable result of people trying to get by on

Blog
Five ways the next government can build a strong economy for all
Whoever forms the next government, they cannot be afraid to invest – otherwise our economy will never improve

By
Lydia Prieg, Tom Pollard, Chaitanya Kumar, Hollie Wright, Benedikt Stranak, Emmet Kiberd
31 May 2024

We’re going to hear a lot about the state of the UK economy during this election. But from the way politicians talk, you could forget that our economy is made up of

Blog
The aviation industry claims more flying is essential for the economy, the numbers say otherwise
Latest data shows that in 2023, there were 3.9 million fewer business air trips compared to 2019

By
Alex Chapman
24 May 2024

This week I attended an event the aviation industry hosted in parliament aimed at convincing the next UK government of the ​“crucial role of the sector in underpinning economic growth”. The decline of business use of air travel undermines their argument.
New data released by the Office for National Statistics last week