Resolution Foundation Event Recordings

For the first time in over a decade, over a million young people across Britain are not in employment, education or training. The causes of the crisis are myriad and complex, but at least one of the ways out of it is straightforward – businesses need to be incentivised to take on more young people. However,  these incentives could  take many forms, and finding the right hiring solutions is a cruci...

Ten years ago, the UK voted to leave the EU – a decision that was always bound to cause significant economic disruption. But it’s far from the only big economic shock we’ve experienced since – from pandemics to trade wars and now the AI revolution. While many will spend this anniversary looking backwards, it’s just as important to look forward and consider how we can navigate economic change in th...

We spend a lot of time thinking about money, but almost no time thinking about how odd it actually is. No other abstract concept plays such a significant role in our everyday lives, with this system built entirely on trust. The Bank of England, as the guardians of Britain’s money, have for the first time written a book about how it makes the world go round – and what happens when it breaks down. I...

Collective bargaining has long been crucial to worker power in Britain. But after decades of union decline, a collective voice is increasingly rare leaving workers to assert themselves individually in the workplace instead. Yet in reality, many workers in low-paid and precarious sectors such as hospitality, cleaning and warehousing – the focus of new Resolution Foundation research – feel they have...

Social security has been undergoing a quiet revolution across the UK. While attention has focused on the roll-out of Universal Credit, many other aspects of the benefits system are devolved, allowing governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take different approaches to welfare. As newly elected MSs and MSPs prepare to take their seats in the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament, and as...

The Labour Government has had a bruising start to the Parliament. It is trailing badly in the polls and is expecting a battering in the local, Welsh and Scottish elections in early May. Another relaunch and plan for a comeback in the second half of the Parliament is expected soon. But the parameters of this relaunch are hotly disputed. With:  Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde...

Nearly one million 16-24 year olds across the UK today are not in employment, education or training. There are many drivers of the recent rise in NEETs, from the costs of hiring to worrying trends in young people’s mental health. But the UK has long had a higher NEET rate than many other advanced economies, and so we also need to look deeper at structural issues like the education and benefits sys...

Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, we do know that it is already adding to cost of living pressures, that inflation and the path of interest rates will be higher, and that growth rates for GDP and disposable incomes will be lower (and may turn negative). The Resolution Foundation is hosting a pair of events in April to unpack what the effects of th...

Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, the increase in the price of oil and gas means we already know energy and petrol costs are set to rise.   Knock on effects will hit food prices and wider inflation, not to mention the second-round effects on wage negotiations, interest rates, debt-servicing costs and wider economic growth. The Resolution Foundatio...

All developed countries are grappling with a falling birth rate, and the UK is no different. While the UK’s birth rate has often fluctuated, it has fallen sharply since 2012, and a rebound anytime soon looks unlikely. There are cultural and economic drivers behind the recent shortfall; and the implications will be both immediate and pose challenges well into the future. Is the UK’s declining birth...

The dream of owning your own home is a powerful life goal for many. Once realised, it comes with better living standards, as well economic security. But many families are failing to get over the barriers to accessing a mortgage – from finding a deposit to passing banks’ affordability tests. Indeed, many would say such regulation has gone too far and it is time for a loosening.   To what extent has...

In his new book  Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them , British Labour Party Politician and the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North Liam Byrne draws on original research from across Europe and America to explore why populism has seduced voters worldwide. Liam sets out populism’s ‘five tribes’ – and which of these voters can still be won back by the centre. Drawing connections...

Britain has long seen lower intergenerational social mobility than many of its peers, with those from lower-income backgrounds receiving lower earnings as adults than those from more affluent backgrounds. University is often seen as the ticket out of this social mobility trap, but is this true? Unpacking the factors driving persistent earnings gaps for young people based on their background is vit...

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The Treasury promised us a boring non-event, which on the day was massively over-shadowed by events in the Middle East anyway. Ruth Curtice discusses the merits of annual fiscal events, the difficulty of getting growth going, and what to expect in the Chancellor's upcoming (and unprecedented) *second* Mais Lecture, with James Smith (Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation) and Giles Wilkes (S...

The Government came into office promising to tackle policy uncertainty by limiting major fiscal events to one a year. They failed to deliver this last year, but are determined to deliver a ‘policy free’ Spring Forecast next week. Have they achieved greater policy certainty, or been scuppered by the cost of policy U-turns, public service pressures, major changes in the UK economic outlook, or probl...

Catch up on a recording of our recent event discussing the outlook ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Forecast. The Autumn Budget was barely three months ago, but the UK has experienced plenty of economic and political drama since then. In the short time between OBR forecasts, there have been encouraging signs on the public finances and the outlook for inflation. But growth remains sluggish and unce...

Britain does not feel like a nation at ease – and hasn’t done for a very long while. By more than two-to-one, Britons last year judged the country to be on the “wrong track” rather than heading in the “right direction”. Ruth Curtice, the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, discusses the experiences and prospects for the nation's poorer half with Scarlett Maguire and Tom Clark.

The Resolution Foundation has documented two decades of UK economic underperformance and stagnant living standards.   18 months into a government elected on a mandate of change and growth, and following the publication of Mountain climbing, we're assessing their growth strategy – its intentions, its achievements, and its prospects moving ahead into an uncertain world. Lord David Willetts, the Pres...

The UK has made good progress towards net zero in recent decades. But the agriculture sector stands out as having made barely any progress. To meet our legally-binding climate targets, agriculture and land use will need to decarbonise seven times quicker this decade than in the past 15 years. Fundamental changes to how we make food and use land will be needed. But decarbonisation in this area is h...

The roll out of Universal Credit began way back in April 2013, a process that has been beset by delays, design changes, controversy and criticism from across the political spectrum. But 13 years on, the roll out is almost complete and Universal Credit is here to stay. As we approach this crucial milestone and the Government is undertaking its own internal review of the benefit, now is a good oppor...

Resolution Foundation Research Director Lindsay Judge talks you through the learnings from recent benefit reforms in Scotland, joined by Louise Murphy and Ben Geiger. Read 'Delivering dignity' on our website today to learn more.

Adult social care is a vital public service. But this is not reflected in the pay and job quality on offer for England’s 1.5 million social care workers. Low-pay, zero-hours contracts, and breaches of labour market rules are worryingly widespread, and have contributed to a longstanding recruitment and retention crisis. The Government has rightly sought to address this by setting up a new Adult Soc...

Immigration is one of the most salient and polarised issues among the British public – and one that successive Government policy initiatives have failed to resolve. Now central to the UK’s political debate, the issue regularly makes headlines and is used as a device by parties to win public opinion. Seen by some as a missing part of the UK’s growth strategy, and by others as having gone too far, a...

The Chancellor has prepared the pitch for a tough second Budget, with tax rises expected as part of a fiscal strategy designed to reassure markets that the UK’s public finances are firmly under control. But the Chancellor has also promised to protect the NHS, boost growth and support families with the cost of living. Acting decisively on all of these priorities would be no mean feat as part of a B...