Economy 2030 Forget all you’ve heard about working life in modern Britain. It’s wrong The myths perpetrated about modern employment have left us perilously ill prepared for true economic change 23 February 2022 by Torsten Bell Economic change is speeding up. Technology means that industries are shrinking and growing faster than ever. The young change jobs incessantly while firms fire at will, ending the “job for life” enjoyed by previous generations. Everyone moves around the country for work these days, vacating poorer parts of Britain and hollowing out communities. All of … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty Inflation will hit low and middle-income families hardest 23 February 2022 by Torsten Bell This year is not being kind to the reputation of Britain’s institutions. Two months in, the police are already questioning the country’s elected — and unelected — leaders. But the cost-of-living catastrophe that will dominate 2022 will turn the heat on to our economic institutions. They are unlikely to emerge unscathed. Prices rose 5.5 per … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: February 2022 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 22 February 2022 by Emma Selinger Did you know that in 2019, 10% of the working population did some form of weekly gig work? Growth in this part of the labour market shines a light on the tension between the autonomy and flexibility that gig work offers, and the lack of income security, worker rights and safety net that are inherent to atypical … Continued READ MORE
Lower rents, fewer babies and absent asparagus Top of the Charts 18 February 2022 Afternoon all, It’s always nice to wake up to government advice not to leave your home. It’s like the good old lockdown days, with a major productivity shock thrown in for good measure (the kids came back from Yorkshire a day early yesterday). At least it’s some light relief from Britain’s leading institutions getting themselves … Continued READ MORE
Dodgy deals in 21st century Westminster, and the 17th century Square Mile Top of the Charts 11 February 2022 Afternoon all, We need a bit less Groundhog Day in our news this February with the endless discussions of whether Putin will/won’t invade Ukraine, or Tory MPs fancy bringing down the PM. Obviously the two are very different – sending in letters ≠ sending in tanks. But in both cases the aggressors are demanding things … Continued READ MORE
Ventures Resolution Ventures invests in CareerEar 9 February 2022 by Emma Selinger We’re delighted to announce that Resolution Ventures has made an investment in CareerEar as part of the Workertech Partnership. The Workertech Partnership is backing a new wave of innovators who will harness technology to improve the pay, prospects, power, and progression of low-paid workers. CareerEar is an online platform helping career-seekers from underserved groups to … Continued READ MORE
Pandemic pensions and victorious vaccines Top of the Charts 4 February 2022 Morning all, This week’s TOTCs comes from a snow pattered Glencoe where never-ending gales are the order of the day. The battering you get walking on the hills is a rather unsubtle symbol of what 2022 has in store for household finances. Prices up, bills up, interest rates up and taxes up is where we … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty· Cities and regions· Economic growth Levelling-up: The Blair-Osborne Project 2 February 2022 by Lindsay Judge and Charlie McCurdy There have been many attempts in the past to reduce the gaps between richer and poorer parts of the UK. But despite progress on some measures (most notably employment and pay), geographic disparities remain substantial and stubborn, particularly when it comes to productivity. The gap in typical pay between Kensington and Chelsea and Scarborough has … Continued READ MORE
Ancient whips, merry movers and a cost of cake crisis Top of the Charts 28 January 2022 Afternoon all, It’s basically impossible to keep up these days. If you still know which party was which you’ve got your specialist subject sorted for a serious Mastermind run. Meanwhile British politics, maybe worried its self-respect was in danger of recovering, is now debating whether or not a cake was in attendance. Which maybe explains why … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: January 2022 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 27 January 2022 by Emma Selinger Did you know that more than one in three people working in hospitality and retail would consider switching careers after the pandemic? According to a poll conducted by Learning and Work Institute for their 2021 report, Fast Forward, workers in these sectors are thinking about a new career path. This type of career switching is likely to increase due … Continued READ MORE
Social Security special Top of the Charts 21 January 2022 Afternoon all, Slightly different plan with this week’s TOTCs – research/blogs/light relief are out, a long read on the UK’s social security system is in. Since politics and policy making are on hold while we wait for the messiah Sue Gray’s report, it’s a good time to step back from the immediate policy debates.Instead the goal is to … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay January’s labour market data confirms 2022 will be the year of the pay squeeze 18 January 2022 by Nye Cominetti The big news in this morning’s labour market stats was confirmation that pay is now falling in real terms – the pay squeeze will be one of the defining features of 2022. There is better news on jobs, with falling unemployment suggesting the labour market continues to tighten, but vacancies have fallen from their high … Continued READ MORE
Our obsession with liberty, rules and dodgy dinner Top of the Charts 14 January 2022 Morning all, Remember when people saying there were too many parties in Westminster were just moaning about Change UK? Oh for those happier, innocent times, when a socially awkward dinner in Nando’s was the problem rather than the total absence of social distancing in Downing Street. The whole booze being ferried from the Strand in … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Economy 2030 Working from home means bigger bills and highlights the need for better insulation ‘Running the boiler all day will see the average household use around 50 per cent more gas than if their home was unoccupied’ 10 January 2022 by Jonathan Marshall With the rise of the Covid variant Omicron, working from home is back. One of the many differences between this winter and last, however, is that working from home has come amid a cost of living crisis, with inflation recently hitting a 10-year high. It’s easy to see the spread of higher prices in day-to-day life, … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption Spiralling energy prices will turn the UK’s cost-of-living crisis into a catastrophe A £300 one-off payment to millions of low-income households is the minimum needed to mitigate rising bill 10 January 2022 by Torsten Bell A cost of living catastrophe is what British families are facing in early 2022. The government has been understandably focused on Omicron but has woken up to this crisis, and is now discussing policy action to address it. But there is no magic bullet. What’s worse, this comes on the back of a decade of … Continued READ MORE
Cuts to car rides, energy bills and school bullies Top of the Charts 7 January 2022 Afternoon all, The cost of living has moved centre stage this week – as we noted last week the living standards catastrophe coming in three months’ time means the government stepping in is inevitable. Attention is partly being driven by politics waking up to what’s going on (good), aided by people getting (oddly) relaxed about … Continued READ MORE
Business and ministers hold key to only new year resolutions that count 7 January 2022 by Torsten Bell It’s the week for making resolutions. And almost the only week when many freshly minted resolutions get kept, assuming Omicron doesn’t keep everyone out of the gym. There’s wide variation in how successfully we stick to our new promises, but the focus of them is more uniform: improving ourselves. Via ludicrous commitments to jog more … Continued READ MORE
Ventures One year of the WorkerTech Partnership: investing, connecting, growing 17 December 2021 by Emma Selinger The end of 2021 marks just over one year of the WorkerTech Partnership, allowing us to reflect on the progress we’ve made so far and our goals for the remainder of the programme. In this time, we’ve invested in five ventures all seeking to improve the world of work for low-paid and precarious workers, built … Continued READ MORE
Small pond benefits and big data perils Top of the Charts 17 December 2021 Afternoon all, The only thing going up faster than Lib Dem votes in Shropshire is Omicron cases. All the chat is about whether the latter means HMT will need to announce more support (they will) and the former means Boris Johnson is doomed (so claim the very same people confidently predicting he’d got 10 more … Continued READ MORE
The jobs market is healthy and doesn’t have a temperature, but pay packets are shrinking not surging 14 December 2021 by Hannah Slaughter Today’s labour market stats release should have marked a turning point in the post-pandemic labour market, as furlough came to an end and the economy adjusted to a period without restrictions. Instead, the data out this morning – which covers October and November – covers two months of relative normality between the end of furlough … Continued READ MORE
Winning work, losing rights and confusing Christmases Top of the Charts 10 December 2021 Afternoon all, I’m only just keeping up with the omniscandals this week. It seems to involve a baby being born, a Christmas party and a rich bloke bringing gifts (it’s unclear if Frankincense was thrown in with the posh wallpaper). This is about as close to a nativity play as I’m getting this year (the … Continued READ MORE
Ventures Influencing employers roundtable: helping employers improve the quality of work they offer 3 December 2021 by Emma Selinger Executive summary One of the ways for Workertech to have an impact on low-paid workers is by developing new tools and incentives that encourage businesses to improve the quality of employment. In October the Resolution Foundation brought together some leading organisations with experience of influencing employers via standards and accreditation to improve the quality of … Continued READ MORE
Low-heat bricks and low-growth BRICs Top of the Charts 3 December 2021 Morning all, You’ve got to feel a little sorry for the government. They basically thought the battle was won, then along comes the enemy with many more major changes than we’ve seen in previous rounds of reinvention. It’s not clear how much more dangerous it is, but it certainly looks like it’ll pose a more … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: November 2021 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 25 November 2021 by Emma Selinger Although this is the last newsletter of the year, it is jam-packed with opportunities and resources for WorkerTech founders, not least because applications for BGV’s Tech for Good programme starting in Spring 2022 opened yesterday! Resolution Ventures partners with BGV to back WorkerTech ventures through their 12-week Tech for Good programme. We want to help founders develop … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech Dispatch Bringing you insights and tools for a fairer future of work 23 November 2021 Check out the WorkerTech Dispatch — a new publication to guide founders and everyone interested in shaping a fairer future of work. Brought to you by Bethnal Green Ventures and Resolution Ventures. READ MORE
