Afternoon all, Worried that AI is thinning our language and destroying our ability to learn? Well I have good news – not yet. It was a pleasure to host the launches for two fantastic books this week, both rich in humanity, story-telling and knowledge. Soumaya Keynes and Chad Brown have written the definitive guide to trade that … Continued

Afternoon all, Even after two thousand years, “bread and circuses” has not gone out of fashion as a political strategy. Having discovered that fixing the price of bread is not so easy, the Chancellor has taken 50p off a happy meal and £4 off a ticket to Chessington World of Adventures with her feel good … Continued

Afternoon all, As thunder rumbles over Westminster, the battle for ideas over how to govern Britain has begun. Yuan Yang MP joined us yesterday, with Sir John Curtice and Tom McTague, to discuss a government reset – along with our own report on what it might take to lift living standards. I can safely say our panel … Continued

Morning all, If you’re in the market for some pub-quiz-winning trivia, as the results roll in keep an eye on whether Labour’s defeat in the local elections is even more sizeable than the Conservative’s losses in 2019, when 1,300 seats fell out of their control, a loss of more than a quarter (27 per cent) … Continued

Afternoon all, Parliament’s prorogued, the sun is shining, and interest rates are holding steady. I’d say we’re in for a restful long weekend, except for, you know… The Bank of England shared their predictions for the economy this week – taking into account the war in the Middle East. It’s a triple-whammy of bad news. Higher inflation, higher interest … Continued

Morning all, Amidst… war, plotting and scandal a bumper week of economic data, there were once again (*sticks fingers in ears and pretends war isn’t happening*) nuggets of good news. I wouldn’t be surprised if you missed the latest data on private rent inflation. Happily, it’s not surging in advance of the Renter’s Rights Act with inflation on new lets … Continued

Afternoon all, What could have been, eh? With GDP rising at 0.5% in February, unemployment falling in January and borrowing coming in below forecast, the economic backdrop to Spring could have been so different. But trouble over the water continues to derail this Government in more ways than one….and it was fascinating to hear Jeremy Hunt’s honest reflections on dealing with an energy price shock at … Continued

Afternoon all, Hopefully the presence of this email in your inbox on a Thursday renders it an honorary Friday, to help you ring in the long weekend. Energy bills are still in the news, and this week’s Chart of the week shows exactly who will pay the steepest price when the next shock hits. Spoiler: … Continued

Afternoon all, Housing’s been on my mind this week. Private renters face the highest housing costs. For many social housing could offer the best route out, and for others it would be a helping hand onto the property ladder. Speaking at the Housing Finance Conference in Liverpool, I was struck by the tricky trade-offs between prioritising current … Continued

Afternoon all, The conflict in the Middle East and turmoil in the markets is throwing up questions for a Government committed to tackling the cost of living. The easy questions are whether they should pull any big fiscal levers quickly, and whether the best way to provide cost of living support is by delaying a … Continued

Afternoon all, How much mileage can we drag out of a non-event? Not satisfied with a sleepless night for our overnight report we are continuing to bring you top-notch analysis of the ‘nothing to see here’ Spring Forecast. If you want even more Forecast chat, listen to my Spring Forecast themed conversation with Giles Wilkes and James Smith, where we … Continued

Afternoon all, Turns out there are green shoots in Manchester after all. For those in need of a reminder that politics isn’t all there is to life, more millennials can recognise Pikachu than have heard of all but six sitting MPs (of current party leaders only Starmer and Farage have attained Pikachu level-fame). More seriously, we shouldn’t let by-elections … Continued

Morning all, Resolution Foundation is a great place to work – albeit not a guaranteed route to the OBR despite what you may have heard – and if you know of any bright young sparks who might be suited to the think-tank life, please do point them in the direction of our outreach session elucidating how to break … Continued

Morning all, Before this week the odds of a change before Easter were low, but that moved to a knife-edge on Thursday. I’m talking, of course, about the shift in interest rate expectations after four members of the MPC unexpectedly voted for a cut. It was certainly a dramatic week, delivering a Resolution Foundation first – we … Continued

Morning all, In case you missed it, we published a cracking paper earlier this week laying out improvements that can be made to the Universal Credit (UC) system without breaking the bank. UC already support claimants with childcare costs, for example, but providing that money up front would remove a barrier to work. Claimants who have been … Continued

Afternoon all, Happy new year! Keir Starmer kicked it off talking about cost of living, and it was a pleasure to do the same on a special episode of More or Less (and to tick ‘meeting Tim Harford’ off the geek bucket list!). Since we recorded it before the Prime Minister’s comments, find a break-down of rhetoric … Continued

Morning all, It’s nearly Christmas which means it’s time for three things: a quiz of the year, festive reflections and something to look forward to in 2026. First, you don’t want to add to your reading list. But I couldn’t believe you wouldn’t want another chart. So this year the Resolution Christmas card brings you … Continued

Afternoon all, It hasn’t been a smooth Budget process and, with apologies, we’d like to issue a correction – our Budget special erroneously stated that new policy on welfare over the course of this Parliament had increased spending by “£0.7bn in 29-30″. The correct number is in fact a drop of £0.5 billion – mea … Continued

Afternoon all, As someone who has worked with him closely from the Treasury side let me tell you something – Richard Hughes can be very annoying. He is stubborn in the face of lobbying. He unites with his team even when they make mistakes. He argues with the fervour of someone who is in it … Continued

Afternoon all, Five sleeps to go…and finally the Budget speculation, at least, will be over. I hope to see many of you at our morning-after event. The Government’s proposal to end for-profit ticket sales met with mixed reactions this week – never fear, our Budget reactions will always remain free (but have been known to sell … Continued

Afternoon all, It’s not unusual for Budget plans and numbers to change up until the last minute. But there are three things to take from this morning’s news that last week’s rumoured Income Tax rise isn’t happening anymore. First, none of it quite makes sense. Yes, the economic forecast may be better than originally feared, … Continued

Afternoon all, Plug in baby – what a week. We published our pre-budget analysis – Black Holes and Consolidations – and I put out my first Budget Muse-ing on why there’s a strong case for putting up income taxes. The Chancellor stole our thunder though, confirming we’re going to see an Uprising in taxes. But could OBR revisions to wage … Continued

Afternoon all, The printing-presses never stop at RF Towers – we’ve published four briefings since I last appeared in your inbox, ranging from day one frights to half-measures on poverty reduction (more on that in Chart of the Week…). The Budget-heads among you will surely have already signed up to our pre-Budget briefing on Tuesday, with a focus on housing coming the week after. We’ll be … Continued