Public finances· Tax· Generations· Political parties and elections Britain is set to replace the era of austerity with a new era of tax rises 7 October 2018 by David Willetts The main message that has united both main party conferences over the last fortnight is that the era of austerity is over. For Labour that means more spending on new things – from universal childcare to a mass programme of nationalisation. And for many Conservatives it means a return to what they love doing best … Continued READ MORE
Public finances The end of austerity? Not so much 3 October 2018 by Torsten Bell and Resolution Foundation The Prime Minister made a big bold statement today. No, not that she likes to dance to Abba (who doesn’t) but that she was “ending austerity”. Announcing the end of austerity is sensible politics. After all who, apart from a few fringe think-tanks, says they want more austerity in of itself? There are also signs … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances· Tax Is there enough fuel in the fiscal tank for another duty freeze? 3 October 2018 by Matthew Whittaker After eight years of freezes, it had started to look like successive governments’ cancellation of the annual RPI-linked uprating of fuel duty had run out of road. After all, it’s already costing the government around £9 billion a year, and that cost will grow with each passing year. But we now know that the Chancellor … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances Five charts to chill the Chancellor’s blood ahead of the Budget 28 September 2018 by Matthew Whittaker We now know that this year’s Budget will be delivered on 29 October, making it the first Monday Budget since 1962. The traditional Wednesday has been avoided, we’re told, to side-step negative Halloween-based headlines. Yet there’s still plenty of scary stuff for the Chancellor to deal with – from finding the £20 billion needed to … Continued READ MORE
Incomes Did you feel happy yesterday? Broadening the measurement of living standards 26 September 2018 by George Bangham Today the ONS released their latest statistics on well-being in the UK, as they have done since 2011. These stats have their sceptics, both over the maths involved and over the very idea you can measure happiness over time (let alone orient policy towards it). But they matter: self-assessed well-being gives us an insight into … Continued READ MORE
Generations· Demographics· Political parties and elections Demography is the new class war 21 September 2018 by Torsten Bell The real question about this year’s Labour Party conference is what on earth everyone will talk about for four days. The supposed Brexit barney will be a damp squib and leadership rows have disappeared. So here’s a suggestion to fill the awkward silences: it’s time Labour talked about the arrival of generational divides in our … Continued READ MORE
Migration· Work MAC to the future 18 September 2018 by Stephen Clarke This morning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) released the final report in its year-long (plus) investigation into EU migration. The report is arguably the most comprehensive assessment of how migration has affected the UK over the past two decades, dealing with topics as diverse as the labour market, housing, public finances and subjective wellbeing. In … Continued READ MORE
Work Alternative paths to success? The jobs landscape facing young non-graduates today 18 September 2018 by Conor D’Arcy and Kathleen Henehan From photos of jumping A level students to guides to freshers’ week, at this time of year it can feel like university is the only route taken by teenagers. But in fact, fewer than half of young people follow this seemingly well-trodden path at 18. And, as this morning’s ONS publication about non-graduates’ employment patterns … Continued READ MORE
Work· Generations Welcome to adulthood, millennial 13 September 2018 by Laura Gardiner 2018 is the year in which the babies of the millennium reach adulthood. Back in January, this was mainly marked by existential online angst about how those born when Britney Spears’s ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ was in the charts are reaching legal drinking age. Today’s 18 in 2018 publication from the Office for National … Continued READ MORE
Work Labour market statistics analysis: a tepid pay recovery is emerging 11 September 2018 by George Bangham The monthly labour market stats have followed a similar pattern for a while now; new employment records set, while pay continues to stagnate. Today’s figures haven’t quite followed the script. Take pay growth first. Nominal wage growth has nudged up to 2.9 per cent for only the second time since mid-2015, with real pay growth … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Cities and regions Regional wealth inequality: a nation divided 1 September 2018 by Conor D’Arcy On Monday, families across the country will be feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety and relief as kids go back to school (with Scotland having already gone through it). Experiences that unite every corner of the UK feel rarer these days, with talk of division and left-behind places common. Differences between South Shields and South … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax Entrepreneurs’ Relief has cost £22 billion over the past 10 years. Was it worth it? 29 August 2018 by Adam Corlett The hunt is on for extra tax revenues. First came the announcement of an NHS funding boost, back in June. Now, the Chancellor has the harder task of working out where he will find the more than £20 billion required. Some is likely to come from higher borrowing, and better than expected public finance figures … Continued READ MORE
Work The apprenticeship levy a year on: lessons learned 23 August 2018 by Kathleen Henehan This piece originally appeared on tes. With today’s headlines focused on the trials and tribulations of A-level results and university acceptances, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a majority of today’s 18-year-olds proceed directly from the school gates into the halls of higher education. Of course, they do not: over half of today’s 19-year-olds are engaged … Continued READ MORE
Work Full employment: we’re half way there 22 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke In early 2014 the then Chancellor, George Osborne committed to ‘fight for full employment’. At the time the employment rate (for those aged 16 – 64) was 72.9 per cent and the unemployment rate (for those over 16) 6.4 per cent. The Chancellor didn’t commit to a specific figure, but his goal was to have … Continued READ MORE
Work Employers are offering a growing ‘disloyalty bonus’ – young people should take advantage 2 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke This piece was first published on i. First they took away the long-service awards: carriage clocks and gold watches; now they’re coming for your pay rises; loyalty no longer pays in UK firms. That’s the big takeaway from new Resolution Foundation research looking at what’s happening in the jobs market. In the late 1990s if … Continued READ MORE
Work Spotlight: The growing ‘disloyalty bonus’ 2 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke Working out whether it’s worth waiting for Godot relies on a clear reading of what’s happening to wage growth. One factor that influences this is the changing composition of the workforce. In the short-run one of the big changes is that since 2012 the number of people employed in the UK has risen by 2.5 … Continued READ MORE
Prices & consumption· Incomes Guest blog: When the ONS changes its mind, economic policy and political reputation are on the line 30 July 2018 by Dan Corry and Peter Kenway In these ‘post-expert’ times, it’s worth remembering that good policy rests on good evidence. Our fiscal and monetary institutions don’t just set policy with reference to economic theory, but in relation to what’s going on in the economy. So – as we heard earlier this week – when history gets re-written in a way that … Continued READ MORE
Firms· Public finances· Growth Time to concentrate on our capitalism 26 July 2018 by Torsten Bell and Daniel Tomlinson Our politicians are anxious. And not just because no-one has a decent poll lead or idea where Brexit will end up. No, some are finding the time to get anxious about other things too, including the state of capitalism in the UK. The angst isn’t limited to the left either, with Michael Gove becoming a … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Childcare· Social security A history lesson wouldn’t hurt – at least when it comes to child poverty 24 July 2018 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett This blog originally appeared on Times Red Box. A few years back there was an outbreak of national angst about no one studying history any more. The House of Lords even managed a debate on it. That worry seems a long way down the list of concerns these days, when everyone has the latest Donald … Continued READ MORE
Public finances We’re all social democrats now 17 July 2018 by Torsten Bell It’s Super Tuesday on the fiscal policy front. Try not to get too excited. Today a lucky world gains not only the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Fiscal Sustainability Report (the ‘FSR’ looks ages over the next 50 years to ask: ‘how bust are we if we carry on as we are’) but also the Treasury’s … Continued READ MORE
Work More good news today for low-income families, unless they want a pay rise 17 July 2018 by Stephen Clarke The Office for National Statistic’s monthly release of labour market statistics is an opportunity for economists and commentators to probe the state of the UK economy. Many Twitter characters have been spilt arguing if the figures presage faster wage growth, where employment may heading next, and what all this means for the Bank of England’s … Continued READ MORE
Migration· Work The most biddable of them all? 16 July 2018 by Lindsay Judge This piece originally appeared on Times Red Box. Today’s headlines tell us once again that net migration from the EU to the UK is down significantly since the Brexit referendum, with record levels of emigration of EU citizens and a large drop in the number of people coming from the continent looking for work. In … Continued READ MORE
Work When algorithms go to war in the workplace Businesses crunch data to gain power; workers should bend it to their own ambitions 2 July 2018 by Gavin Kelly One constant in public debate is the assertion that the world of work is on the cusp of unprecedented change. Amid the hype, one genuine source of flux is the manner in which data and technology are combining to alter workplace management and control. To date, this has been a tale of the good, the … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Cities and regions Tackling London’s living standards exodus 2 July 2018 by Conor D’Arcy Everyone knows housing is a disaster in London. This is most obvious in the ludicrous prices that properties fetch, but London’s housing problems stretch well beyond having to fork out over half a million pounds for a poky flat in Zone 2. For a start, the way people are housed in London has changed dramatically … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Growth· Cities and regions Poor productivity and high housing costs are driving a ‘living standards exodus’ from London 27 June 2018 by Stephen Clarke As a Londoner it’s fair to say that as a city we’re quite good at giving ourselves a pat on the back (though apparently self-loathing Londoners are a thing too). It’s often suggested that London is an economic powerhouse, productive, innovative and leaving the rest of the country in its wake. However new research by … Continued READ MORE
