Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Book launch for Exile Economics: What happens if globalisation fails by Ben Chu

Where are the Government's welfare reforms heading?

Which areas of public investment should be prioritised at the Spending Review?

What are the labour market experiences of foreign-born workers? How do systemic issues allow poor practices to persist? What are the wider implications for the UK labour market? And how can policy – including the measures in the upcoming Employment Rights Bill – better protect workers?

Our homes are now the second biggest contributor the UK's carbon footprint, and efforts to address this rely on the widespread replacement of gas boilers with electric heat pumps. But the rollout of heat pumps is slow and behind schedule, despite generous grants on offer, and particularly so among low-to-middle income families and those living in urban areas. Home heating is one of the most visible parts of the net zero transition to households, and a policy shift is required to get more fitted into homes and ensure that all families ultimately benefit via lower energy bills. But these shifts are neither free, nor straightforward.

Despite the cuts announced in the Chancellor's Spring Statement, spending on public services is set to be on average £43 billion higher over the years of the upcoming Spending Review, compared with what was set out by the previous Government at the 2024 Spring Budget. But with much of this extra spending front-loaded to this year and next, questions remain about funding pressures in the years after that. These services are vital for families – providing ‘in kind' benefits which provide a huge boost to the living standards of lower-income households. So future provision will make a difference to the outlook for living standards.

What is driving the US' impressive productivity outperformance? How does it differ from the UK, and what lessons can be drawn? And what can firms and policy makers do to reverse the UK's productivity woes, and prevent another decade of economic stagnation in Britain?

Book launch for The Measure of Progress by Diane Coyle.

The minimum wage has been a huge success story since its introduction in 1999 – but 2025 might be its trickiest year yet. The combination of increases to employer National Insurance and a bigger-than-expected 6.7 per cent rise in the National Living Wage has left businesses warning of jobs cuts and hiring freezes. Previous such warnings haven't materialised, but with the jobs market already in recession territory, might this year be different? It is amidst this uncertainty and challenging backdrop that the Government will need set out a longer-term plan for the minimum wage.

How has the economic outlook changed since last Autumn? What are the impacts of any tax and spend decisions the Chancellor has made to meet her fiscal rules? How might they affect households across the income distribution? And what does the latest outlook, and the Chancellor's response, tell us about Britain's quest for stronger growth and rising living standards?

In her Budget last Autumn, the Chancellor set out plans to boost public spending and investment by £300 billion, alongside the largest tax increases in over 30 years. She also announced new, binding fiscal rules and left herself £10 billion of headroom against meeting them. But the UK economy – and the world – has changed in the past five months…   To what extent will the UK's poor recent economic performance feed through into the Office for Budget Responsibility's new economic and fiscal outlook, and how it will affect the amount of headroom the Chancellor has? What policies may be required – on tax, welfare and public service spending – to hit the fiscal rules? And how do these policies sit in the wider context of the UK needing to defend itself and its allies, grow its economy, and boost living standards throughout the country?

Britain is becoming sicker, with a sustained increase in levels of ill-health and disability. This creates financial challenges for families, and a fiscal challenge for the Government, with spending on incapacity and disability benefits forecast to rise from £40 billion today to £60 billion by the end of the Parliament. Everyone agrees that the current system is not working. But no-one can agree on how to change it. The Government will need to break that stalemate in its upcoming Green Paper.

Most people are used to receiving regular monthly pay cheques, hopefully with the occasional bonus and an annual rise. But while this is often taken for granted, for other workers the size and timing of their pay cheques are far more volatile – with knock on effects on their ability to pay bills, save, plan ahead and smooth their living standards over time. But with Brits notoriously adverse to talking about pay, the scale of earnings volatility across the country is unknown.

The new Government is currently preparing a child poverty strategy, and hoping to emulate the success of the last Labour government, which lifted over half a million children out of poverty over its first five years. This ambition is needed too, because unless action is taken, poverty rates are expected to rise over the course of the parliament. But Britain in the mid-2020s is very different to the late-1990s – a new approach will be needed to lift children out of poverty over the next decade. What reduced child poverty in the late-1990s and 2000s, and to what extent can that approach be repeated today? What is the role of work, housing, and social security in lifting families above the poverty line? How much might it cost to deliver a successful child poverty strategy? And what are the costs of not doing so?

In recent decades the UK has become an increasingly diverse country. And yet, persistent and significant ethnic inequalities remain. While the jobs and pay gaps experienced by those from an ethnic minority are becoming better understood, the key living standards question of housing affordability is still under-discussed. With even higher-income ethnic minority groups spending a greater share of their budgets on keeping a roof over their heads compared to White British households, the puzzle of why they are paying more for their housing remains unsolved. How much of the housing affordability gap can be explained by age, tenure and location? How do housing conditions differ between ethnic minority groups? How do these inequalities feed into the country's wider housing crisis? And what can policy do to ensure the most disadvantaged groups benefit from improvements to Britain's housing stock?  Speakers: Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee Kwajo Tweneboa, Social issues campaigner Camron Aref-Adib, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

How worrying data and market unrest could affect Britain's economic outlook.   Government debt markets across the world are having a jittery start to 2025, and the UK is one of the most affected economies with gilt yields volatile amid concerns about stagflation, though they have started to fall back in recent weeks. While these movements pass most people by, they can have a material impact on their living standards. For policy makers, a deteriorating economic outlook may need to be confronted too – either through a changed path for interest rates, or tough choices on tax and spend.    Speakers: Katharine Neiss, Deputy Head of Global Economics at PGIM Fixed Income Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens' College, Cambridge University James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)    

Doubts about the financial returns from gaining a degree and concerns about too many people now going to university persist in the debate about the future of UK higher education. But in a new paper published by the Policy Institute at King's College London, Resolution Foundation President and former universities minister David Willetts challenges this pessimistic outlook.  The Resolution Foundation and the King's Policy Institute are hosting an in-person and interactive event to discuss the controversial question of the returns from university for graduates, firms and the wider economy, and how we can better assess the long-lasting benefits of higher education. Following a presentation from Lord Willetts, we will hear from leading experts including the Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith, the minister responsible for universities in the Department for Education. Chaired by Professor Bobby Duffy. 

2025 is shaping up to be a big year in UK politics, as the Government's ambitions set out across various White Papers start to be turned into deliverable action on the ground. The Spending Review could also set the tone for the rest of the Parliament, as the Chancellor sets out how to invest £100 billion wisely, and Ministers show how they intend to improve public services in the face of severe financial constraints. The living standards outlook is no less challenging. If 2024 was the year of the election, then 2025 looks set to be the year of the post-election squeeze, as real earnings growth falls while taxes go up. The new economic milestone of raising living standards across the UK may feel some way off.

Rising employment has been one of the biggest economic changes for lower income families over the past quarter century, with the number of workless households falling by a third since 1996. But while more people from poorer households are entering the workforce, they are not necessarily getting on in their careers or enjoying the work they do. This second report of the Unsung Britian project – supported by JPMorganChase – examines low-to-middle income families' experiences of employment, pay and job quality. What constraints do low-to-middle income families face when it comes to raising employment? Which industries do they work in, and how does this impact on their pay and hours security? Which aspects of work are important to them, and what do they consider when making employment decisions? What barriers do they face to job mobility?

How should the Government set its new Industrial Strategy?   The Government is gunning for growth, and a new Industrial Strategy lies at the heart of this agenda. But while an Industrial Strategy is supposed to set long-term policy thinking, it also comes to the fore in acute political crises, as Ministers have already found with threatened closures to steel plants and car factories. As the new Government sets out fresh long-term thinking on how it can support British industries, what should inform a new Industrial Strategy for the decisive decade ahead? How should industrial strategy balance a front-footed focus on leveraging the strengths of many of its services sectors, with a more defensive approach to protecting vulnerable industries, like advance manufacturing? To what extent should place feature in a national strategy, and should any of that strategy be devolved to City-regions and local areas? Where does policy help or hinder firms' expansion? And how much difference can a new Industrial Strategy make in terms of boosting jobs, living standards and economic growth? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of key highlights from new RF research and a speech from Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, a panel of Britain's leading politicians and policy experts discuss how a new Industrial Strategy might succeed in boosting growth.

British firms are still adjusting to the Brexit shock that has affected UK firms' ability to trade with our biggest trading partner bloc. Now a new shock is looming from the country we trade most with via threats of universal tariffs from the President-Elect Donald Trump. But the impact of these huge trade shocks will differ across different sectors, and across importing and exporting firms. Understanding where the UK's trade strengths and vulnerabilities lie will be crucial as the Government develops a new trade strategy for the decade ahead. Which sectors have been vulnerable to recent shocks, and which have continued to grow? How have firms responded to Brexit in the way they trade, and what does this mean for people's lived experience of trade trends? Is Britain's status as a services superpower under threat? And what does this mean for the Government's new UK trade strategy that can navigate a post-Brexit, intra-Trump world? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from major new research on how the UK's trading relations are evolving, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for devising a new UK strategy in a turbulent world for trade.

British household wealth has been on a rollercoaster ride in recent years. Increased saving during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted wealth, only for interest rate rises during the cost-of-living crisis to wipe out wealth gains. Since the late 1970s overall measures of wealth inequality have been relatively stable. But this hides big changes in wealth gaps both within generations, and between them. And as wealth is passed down through generations, the state of wealth in Britain today has huge implications for current and future living standards, for young, old and middle-aged alike. How has recent economic turbulence affected Britain's story of growing wealth, and growing wealth gaps? How have higher interest rates affected wealth inequality, and how might wealth transfers through inheritances and gifts affect future trends? What are the long-term implications for continued wealth inequality, particularly for younger generations? And is there a role for policy in tempering these trends?

Transfers between generations – from care given to younger or older relatives, to gifts, inheritances and a roof over one's head – play a vital role in society. But despite their importance to family living standards, they are often misunderstood. If we're to better appreciate how modern Britain operates, we need to understand the economic significance of these intergenerational transfers, and what they mean for individuals and families. How has the extent and intensity of care provided across generations changed over time, and for what reasons? Have demographic and economic changes increased the need for intergenerational support? Who can access intergenerational financial support, and who provides it? And what does this mean for different people's ability to work, live comfortably and get ahead in a career? Speakers: Ann Berrington, Professor of Demography & Social Statistics University of Southampton Eliza Filby, Author and historian of generations and contemporary values Molly Broome, Economist, Resolution Foundation David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

There are around 13 million low-to-middle income families across Britain today. This diverse group of families are at the heart of the country's economic prospects, and any government's political mandate. And yet they are poorly understood – who they are, how their lives have changed, and the stresses and strains they are under. In order to better understand low-to-middle income Britain, the Resolution Foundation is launching a new 12-month project –with support from JPMorganChase – which will also investigate what can be done to boost their living standards.  The Unsung Britain project was launched with new research, and a speech by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook at an event at our Westminster offices. Speakers: Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning Polly Toynbee, Author and Columnist at The Guardian Abigail McKnight, Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the LSE Lalitha Try, Economist at the Resolution Foundation Gavin Kelly, Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

The first Budget of the new Parliament is a particularly important one, giving the Chancellor a unique opportunity to set the economic framing for the next five years. It's also often a chance to take painful decisions – post-election tax rises are a time-honoured tradition.  The Resolution Foundation hosted its traditional ‘morning after the night before' event to debate and answer questions about the Budget. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its overnight analysis of Autumn Budget 2024, we heard from leading experts – including the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes.

The next big hurdle on Britain's path towards a green economy is decarbonising every-day travel. Emissions from getting around – from cars, vans, buses, trains and planes – make up the greatest share of the country's carbon footprint, and have hardly shrunk in the past decade. So, if we want to go green, we need to overhaul the ways in which families get from A to B. Moving from polluting petrol to cheaper electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring lower income families can access EVs or affordable public transport, and that flying pays its way, are vital if the transition is to achieve widespread public consent and support. How can we support lower-income families to access EVs which are more expensive at the point of purchase, but cheaper to run? Will public transport continue to get more expensive relative to driving in the future, and if so how can we support families who don't or can't drive? And with high emissions flights bouncing back after the pandemic, how can we ensure that frequent flyers pay their way in the net zero transition?  

Painful post-election Budgets are a time-honoured tradition in Britain, and the new Government's upcoming fiscal event will be no exception, with the PM and Chancellor already warning of tough decisions being made. Expectations are being set for higher taxes, higher borrowing or lower spending – or perhaps a combination of all three. What tax and spend decisions might the Chancellor consider in order to put the public finances on a more even keel, and what might this mean for family finances? Can the tough medicine in the Budget be squared with the need to kickstart growth? How might the new Government navigate the politics of a post-election Budget? And what could this mean for the rest of the Parliament? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research – the last in a five-part series about the economic challenges facing the new Government – we will hear from leading experts on the Chancellor's options in her first Budget.

One of the key goals of the Pensions Commission, published almost two decades ago, was to reform pension saving so that more people were encouraged to save enough for a decent income in retirement. The main policy recommendation of the Commission – auto-enrolment – has been rolled out and ramped up since then, and in doing so has completely transformed the savings landscape across Britain. But is it meeting the key goal of boosting pensions adequacy? How much do people need to save for a decent income in retirement, and how does it vary across the income distribution? How have the pensions adequacy targets suggested by the Pensions Commission back in 2006 been affected by policy and economic changes since then – from taxes and the triple lock, to interest rates and annuities? Are people saving enough for their retirement now? And what does that mean for the new Government's pensions review? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research – funded by the People's Pension – on pensions adequacy, we will hear from leading experts – including the Chair of the Pensions Commission Lord Turner – on whether auto-enrolment is delivering in terms of securing decent retirement incomes for workers, and where the policy might go next.  

Britain has left the EU almost five years ago, and the economic damage – particularly when it comes to trade – is now clear. The new Government has put resetting UK-EU relations at the heart of its growth mission. But the concrete actions announced so far are unlikely to make much difference. A far more ambitious approach to rebooting our trading relations will be needed to really shift the economic dial. How much difference will reducing uncertainty make, compared to actively removing barriers to trade? Should the UK pursue closer regulatory alignment with the EU, and if so which sectors should be prioritised? What meaningful changes can be made within the UK protocol, and where might the UK need to rethink existing agreements? And how much is both economically and politically feasible? The Resolution Foundation and UK in a Changing Europe are co-hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on UK-EU trade priorities, we will hear from leading experts on what reforms would have the most impact, and what the new UK government might be able to achieve.

The UK has made progress in addressing societal inequalities, but continues to be shaped by interlinked structural disparities. That includes those related to gender, race, class, sexuality, age and disability. Five years ago, the Resolution Foundation and UCL collaborated on a commission exploring the interactions between these inequalities. Since then, the UK has gone through significant challenges, including a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis, so how have UK inequalities evolved? How have disadvantaged groups been affected by recent economic shocks, and what structural barriers persist? How do the issues of health and disability – which have risen up the political and public policy agenda – interact with other inequalities? And how do structural inequalities fit into the new Government's agenda, and what key policy challenges must they address? The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with UCL, hosted a webinar to explore these important questions. After presenting the key findings from the Structurally Unsound report and new research on the changed landscape of structural inequalities in the UK, leading experts discuss how to tackle persistent societal inequalities.  Speakers: Alesha De Freitas, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research at the Fawcett society Imran Rasul, Professor of Economics at UCL Olivia Stevenson, Deputy Director of Public Policy at UCL Nye Cominetti, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

The past 15 years of economic stagnation has caused families' living standards to flatline, and the new Government is right to put ‘kickstarting' growth at the heart of its agenda. Already, Ministers have set out what many of their pro-growth reforms will be – from reforming planning rules to delivering 1.5 million homes, to setting up Great British Energy, devolving more power to City mayors, and creating a new deal for workers. Delivering these policies is a huge challenge in itself – but will they do enough to kickstart growth? How big an effect can these reforms have on growth and productivity? How can policy makers ensure the biggest economic bang for their buck? Are there important pro-growth reforms that the Government is missing out on? And what might the combined, long-term effect of these reforms look like in terms of the size of the UK economy by the end of the decade?

The new Government has set an ambitious target of delivering 1.5 million new homes over a five-year period – at a rate that hasn't been achieved since the 1960s  – and has put planning reform at the heart of its agenda. But successive governments have aimed high, but delivered low, when it comes to housebuilding. Overcoming this record will require a lot of capital expenditure, in both political and cash terms. What are the devils in the detail when it comes to getting controversial planning reforms right? What other interventions might be needed to enable firms to build new properties at scale? Where should new homes be built, and what role should social housing play? And how will future homeowners – and their neighbours – be affected by a successful housebuilding drive?

The Chancellor has set the date for the first Budget of Labour's Government – 30th October – and has emphasised the stark fiscal difficulties facing the country, even if she goes ahead with the £23 billion a year of future tax rises announced by her predecessor but not yet implemented.    What can we expect on tax in the upcoming Budget? How will the Chancellor navigate tax policies that may be economically sound but politically challenging?    Catch up on this Resolution Foundation event now. 

The Government has come into office promising major workplace reforms that could amount to the biggest shake-up of the workplace in a generation. The ‘New Deal for Working People' pledged a number of reforms, including to unfair dismissal, sick pay, employment status, zero hours contracts, the minimum wage, as well as changes to how employment rights are enforced. And while many of these reforms affect all workers, low earners will be most affected as they are disproportionately likely to have insecure work contracts, receive statutory rather than occupational sick pay, and not receive basic legal entitlements such as paid holiday leave. But, although the Government has set a clear direction of travel, there are many questions still unanswered. How will probationary periods be used – will protection against unfair dismissal really be a ‘day one' right? Does announcing a cautious one-year minimum wage policy mean there are bigger changes still to come? How should possible trade-offs with employment be handled? What would be the impact of giving zero-hours contract workers a right to regular hours?

The last Parliament was truly awful for growth in household living standards. The combination of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis left the country on course for the worst parliament for disposable income growth since the early 1950s. But while the possibility of future growth remains, it currently looks set to fall a long way short of the levels Britain experienced in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. What is the overall outlook for living standards over the parliament? From real wages, to employment, housing costs and tax and benefit changes, what is driving the outlook for disposable income growth? Which groups are most likely to receiving a living standards windfall, and who's most at risk of further stagnation? And what can the new Government do to ‘beat the forecasts' and secure strong living standards growth across Britain?

The new Labour Government says it wants clean energy – and wider action on climate change – at the heart of its new economic strategy, pledging to go further and faster on decarbonising electricity, insulating homes, and shifting to electric vehicles than plans in the previous parliament. These changes will facilitate economic growth and climate recovery in the long run, but the short-term costs in both political and actual capital investment should not be underestimated, and will need to be carefully considered. In particular, the Government should be acting now to ensure the costs are fairly shared, and do not lead to further declines in living standards for low-to-middle income households. What scale of public investment can be achieved, given the condition of the public finances? How should the Government encourage the levels of private investment required? How can these costs be fairly shared across different regions and households? And will there be enough political will to deliver the investment needed for a fair transition?   Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/net-zero-investment/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/net-zeroing-in-on-investment/ 

Labour has returned to power in Westminster for the first time in 14 years. The new Government has a big electoral mandate but faces a momentous task in delivering lasting economic and social change. From kickstarting growth and reducing poverty, to reforming the planning system, energy market and workplace conditions, Labour's agenda is fraught with political and economic risk. Yet it also arrives in office with a commanding majority and the opportunity to set out an ambitious governing agenda. What are the biggest challenges that the new Government faces? How should the new Chancellor approach her first Budget and Spending Review? When should we expect Labour's extensive list of reforms and new strategies to start making a difference to people's lives? And what are the prospects of the Starmer government forging a new political and economic settlement in the country? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Bringing together a panel of Britain's political scientists, commentators, policy experts and economists, we'll discuss the outlook for a new Labour Government. View the election briefings: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/major-programme/election-2024/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/times-are-changing/ 

Since 2010, Britain's labour market has gone through a period of boom and bust – with record jobs growth in the last decade followed by a struggle to return to pre-pandemic employment rates in the 2020s. And while the country has experienced an unprecedented pay depression, a rising minimum wage has driven down low pay to its lowest level in decades. Debates about that record, and different parties proposals for the future, are central to this general election. How has Britain's labour market changed since 2010? How well have we dealt with the big issues of the past? What will be the most immediate challenges facing whoever takes office after 4th July? And how do the different parties plans measure up against those challenges? Where are the big areas of conflict and consensus? And what does this mean for workers? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on the state of the UK labour market, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on a range of key issues from the future of low pay to boosting the quantity and quality jobs. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/job-done/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/is-britain-working-2024/ 

Health-related benefit spending is rising – particularly among children and younger adults – and this increase is forecast to accelerate in the years ahead. With record numbers of people claiming disability benefits, incapacity benefits or both, there are serious questions to answer about what lies behind this trend and its impact on the health of those affected, the public finances and the wider economy. Worryingly, too often the understanding of this change is poor, posing a major challenge for whoever governs after the election. What is driving the rise in health-related benefit spending? Is it the inevitable consequence of an ageing society, a sign that we are a sicker Britain than we used to be or have changes to the benefit system over the last 14 years played a role? How big an issue could this be over the next parliament, and how are the main political parties planning to address it? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on health-related benefits, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on what's driving the rise in claims and spending, previous efforts to tackle the issues, and what might lie ahead. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/under-strain/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-cost-of-poor-health/ 

Britain's welfare system has undergone a major overhaul over the past decade, with major reforms as well as major cuts. In more recent years it's faced unprecedented pressures, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the cost-of-living crisis. The social security system is at the heart of many general election debates, and this one looks set to be no exception. How has our social security system changed since 2010? Who has gained or lost out from these changes? What are the main challenges facing Britain's welfare today and in the years ahead – from an ageing population, to high levels of child poverty? And what are the main parties' plans for the future of our welfare state? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on the UK's changing welfare state, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on where these reforms have left our social security safety net, and why that matters for families, the public finances and the wider economy. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/ratchets-retrenchment-and-reform/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-state-of-welfare/ 

A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation. Scotland is in many ways a microcosm of this challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries, is home to several world-class universities and a thriving community of businesses – strengths that need to be harness and leveraged. But it also has high levels of deprivation, with homelessness reaching a record high and nearly half a million people living in very deep poverty last year. Scotland won't be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment. This is the central challenge facing policy makers both in Holyrood and Westminster. What should a new national economic strategy for Scotland include? What would the pursuit of stronger economic growth mean for local, national and UK-wide policy makers? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Glasgow, and nations like Scotland, in rising to these challenges? Read Ending Stagnation here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/ View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-glasgow/

Tax and spend are at the heart of every general election – understandably as they represent the most significant choices made by most governments. The size and shape of the state has changed substantially since 2010. Despite spending cuts and tax rises, public debt levels are up. Whoever wins the next election will have to wrestle with the same forces, as Britain looks to deliver public services for an ageing population, in a less peaceful world, and with the public finances already under considerable strain. How has the size and shape of the state changed since 2010? Why are taxes and debt levels up? What are the biggest challenges and opportunities going into the next parliament? How have the main parties responded so far to these questions? And what will their plans mean for the public finances, and public services, in the years ahead? To kick off a series of over a dozen timely, topic-based General Election 2024 briefings, supported by the Nuffield Foundation, the Resolution Foundation hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer questions about the changing size and shape of the state. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on this topic, we heard from leading experts on the challenges for the next parliament. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/debt-dramas/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/state-crafting/ 

Economies around the world exited the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, and jumped straight into the biggest inflation surge for four decades, with a cost-of-living crisis accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But with inflation finally back close to its target of two per cent, to be confirmed by the ONS on Wednesday 22nd May, now is the time to assess where the cost-of-living crisis has left our economy. How does the UK experience compare to that elsewhere? Where has it left the relative prices of different goods and services, and the wages of different kinds of workers? How has it affected living standards, and households' behaviour in terms of their spending and saving? And what might its legacy be in terms of the public and personal finances? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the cost of living crisis, we will hear from leading experts on both its impact, and lessons learned, for policy makers and the wider public. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/paying-the-price/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/inflation-scarring/ 

A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation. This national picture is also reflected in cities across the North East. These cities have built on their industrial heritage to become hubs for economic development, with economic strengths in subsea technology, games development and medical science – helping to reduce its ‘jobs gap' with the rest of the UK. But there are also high levels of deprivation and low levels of productivity, so the region won't be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment. What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? What are the prospects for cities like Newcastle in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? And how can we ensure that the benefits of thriving city centres reach other parts of the North East too? The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event, in partnership with Insights North East, to debate Britain's future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly in the North East – can secure widely shared prosperity. View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/setting-a-new-path-to-greater-shared-prosperity/ 

A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation. This national picture is also mirrored in Bradford. The city and surrounding area have built on their industrial heritage to become hubs for economic development, while the award of City of Culture reflects the city's thriving creative industry. But the city also has high levels of deprivation, and won't be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment. What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Bradford – and regions like West Yorkshire – in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, to debate Britain's future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Bradford and the wider West Yorkshire region – can secure widely shared prosperity. View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-a-better-britain/ 

1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned. How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom? The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.

1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned. How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom? The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford. Speakers: Chair: Clodagh Rice, Business Correspondent for BBC NI David Phillips, Associate Director at the IFS Professor Katy Hayward, Queen's University Belfast Jonathan Tench, Director of Well-being Economy and Programmes, Future Generations Commission

1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned. How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom? The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford. Speakers: Chair: Clodagh Rice, Business Correspondent for BBC NI Emma Congreve, Deputy Director at the Fraser of Allander Institute Dyfed Alsop, Chief Executive of the Welsh Revenue Authority Lindsey Whyte, Director General of International Finance at HM Treasury

1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned. How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom? The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.

Over one-in-ten workers across Britain is employed on some form of precarious contract. The problems with such working arrangements for some workers are well known: they have limited control over their working patterns and insecure incomes too. But why firms use, or even come to rely on them, is rarely discussed and poorly understand. We need a far better understanding of both the causes of precarious employment and the consequences if work practices were to change. What kinds of firms and sectors are most likely to employ staff on precarious contracts? Does that vary across different types of employment, from fixed term to zero hour contracts? Do firms choose this approach to better serve their customers, give workers the flexibility they want, or does it boil down to the bottom line? What would it take for firms to change their approach – and what would the consequences be? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate these questions, and share new evidence from a specially commissioned survey of firms. Following a presentation of this research, which marks the start of a major new project on precarious work, supported by Unbound Philanthropy, we will hear from leading experts from the world of business on firms' use of insecure contracts. Read the report here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/firm-foundations/  View the slides from the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/precarious-profits/ 

The UK's transition towards a net zero economy requires a complete overhaul of our power sector. We don't just need electricity generation that has been decarbonised, but a huge amount more of it as we switch away from heating our homes with gas and powering our cars with petrol. This will require a huge step up in investment – we must raise wind turbines, build nuclear power stations and expand the national grid. And that investment will need to be paid for. How big is the investment required to decarbonise our energy systems? What will it cost – and how will that cost vary depending on the choices we make and the interest rates markets charge? How big is the impact on household bills likely to be? And what will it take to ensure the costs and benefits are spread fairly across society? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on how the power sector can be decarbonised in a fair and efficacious way, we will hear from leading experts on how they think the UK can rise to this challenge. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/electric-dreams/  View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/powering-britain/