Labour market The Labour approach to tackling low pay with Andy Burnham MP Monday 23 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. At this Resolution Foundation and TUC event Andy Burnham MP (Shadow Health Secretary) discussed the Labour agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Frances O’Grady (TUC), James Plunkett (Resolution Foundation) and Sir Robin … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The future of childcare with Julian Astle (adviser to Nick Clegg) Tuesday 17 September 2013 Despite major government investment since the mid-2000s childcare continues to represent a significant cost for working parents, meaning that many second earners can find that they are no better-off in work. The government is consulting on plans to spend an extra £1 billion per year on additional childcare support, but at present this additional support … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living Standards: the 2015 challenge with Danny Alexander MP Monday 16 September 2013 Living standards will be at the heart of the 2015 general election. This event launched new polling from the Resolution Foundation and YouGov which gives fresh insight into what voters think the Liberal Democrats can (and can’t) achieve on the economy and in relation to living standards at the 2015 election. YouGov’s Joe Twyman presented the research. Danny Alexander MP (Chief … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Liberal Democrat approach to tackling low pay with Vince Cable MP Monday 16 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. At this Resolution Foundation and TUC event Vince Cable MP (Business Secretary) discussed the Liberal Democrat agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Frances O’Grady (TUC), James Plunkett (Resolution Foundation) and Stephen Tall (Liberal … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Labour agenda for tackling low pay – Rachel Reeves MP Wednesday 4 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. In a keynote speech, Rachel Reeves MP set out the Labour agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Paul Cleal (Government and Public Sector Leader at PwC), Margaret Prosser (Former … Continued READ MORE
Housing Closer to the edge: prospects for household debt repayment when interest rates start to rise Thursday 11 July 2013 Despite difficult economic times and the persistence of tight credit conditions, latest OBR projections suggest that aggregate household debt is set to increase by around one-quarter between 2011 and 2017. With many commentators expecting interest rates to start climbing back upwards from 2015, the ability of households to service their credit commitments will depend critically … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Spending Review – with Sharon White Thursday 27 June 2013 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Spending Review, Sharon White – Director General at HM Treasury – set out some of the thinking behind the review. Her presentation was followed by short responses from Professor Sir John Hills (LSE), Ian Mulheirn (chief executive of the Social Market Foundation), Joe Twyman (YouGov) and by a general discussion around … Continued READ MORE
Labour market A Matter of Time: The rise of zero hours contracts Tuesday 25 June 2013 “Zero hours” contracts are anything but a new phenomenon – employment contracts of this kind have been around for many years. Yet the use of zero hours contracts among UK employers has risen sharply in recent years. For some people a zero hours contract offers welcome choice and flexibility. However, for the majority, the freedom … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The minimum wage at 15 – fully grown-up? Thursday 20 June 2013 Since the National Minimum Wage became law in 1998 it has raised the pay of the lowest earners in the UK. Extreme low pay has fallen by nearly 80 per cent and there is a broad academic consensus that the minimum wage has not caused unemployment. Yet low pay more generally remains a major problem, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Liberal Democrat agenda for tackling low pay Wednesday 12 June 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. In a keynote speech, David Laws MP set out the Liberal Democrat agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Download a transcript of the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The road back towards full employment Thursday 23 May 2013 The UK labour market has performed relatively well in recent years given the weakness of GDP, with the number of people in work now back above its pre-recession peak. Yet job creation has lagged far behind population growth, leaving the UK far below its pre-recession employment rate. In the coming years, not least as the … Continued READ MORE
Housing Home Truths: the scale of Britain’s housing crisis and how to fix it Thursday 16 May 2013 With fewer new homes being built year on year in the UK, the shortage of supply is keeping housing costs high despite the prolonged downturn. As a result, the cost of housing is putting ever greater pressure on household budgets, particularly for those living in the private rented sector. A growing number of low to … Continued READ MORE
Living standards 2015 – The living standards election? Monday 29 April 2013 This event unveiled a major new polling project from the Resolution Foundation which gives fresh insight into what voters think politicians can (and can’t) achieve on the economy and in relation to living standards at the 2015 general election. YouGov’s Peter Kellner, who headed the research, presented its findings and a panel of political experts … Continued READ MORE
Labour market No More Than We Deserve: The rights & wrongs of high & low pay Monday 15 April 2013 The High Pay Centre and the Resolution Foundation held an event hosted by The Institute of Directors. At this event Vince Cable announced that the National Minimum Wage will be increased by 1.9 per cent, or 12 pence, to £6.31 an hour, from 1 October 2013. The debate brought together the High Pay Centre’s research … Continued READ MORE
Labour market A Conservative agenda for tackling low pay Wednesday 27 March 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. In a keynote speech, Matthew Hancock MP set out a Conservative agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. This event is part of a … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Budget Thursday 21 March 2013 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Budget, John Hawksworth – Head of Macroeconomics at pwc – analysed some of the Budget’s key announcements and implications. Also giving responses at the event were Peter Kellner (President of YouGov), Vidhya Alakeson (Deputy Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation) and Jonathan Portes, Director of NIESR. These were followed … Continued READ MORE
Living standards The squeezed middle: The pressure on ordinary workers in America and Britain Wednesday 13 March 2013 As wages stagnate but living costs keep rising, the pressure on working people grows more intense. The issue of living standards has become one of the most urgent challenges for politicians in both Britain and America. At this event the Resolution Foundation launched The Squeezed Middle, a collection of essays from leading economic and policy thinkers … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Squeezed Britain 2013 Wednesday 13 February 2013 In one of its biggest events of the year, the Resolution Foundation launches Squeezed Britain, an authoritative and insightful study of life on low to middle incomes. The survey examines in depth the economic circumstances and financial pressures of the 10 million Britons who fall into this category and crystallises the essential themes of the Resolution Foundation’s work. … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Earning and Belonging – two challenges for progressive politics – Jon Cruddas MP Wednesday 6 February 2013 In a keynote speech the head of Labour’s policy review set out the strategic issues that must be tackled in the run-up to a general election in 2015 including how to foster widely shared prosperity at the same time as strengthening the social fabric of our communities. READ MORE
Welfare Counting the costs of childcare Thursday 17 January 2013 Despite major investment since 2004, the UK continues to have some of the most expensive childcare in the world – a couple on double the average wage, with two children in childcare spend 30 per cent of their disposable income on childcare compared to a latest OECD average of just 12 per cent. Growing employment … Continued READ MORE
Housing On borrowed time: Will household debt undermine economic recovery? Wednesday 12 December 2012 This event examined the scale and distribution of household debt in the UK and asked how much of a risk it poses to economic growth. It is more than four years since the UK entered recession, and whilst there are some signs of improvement, there is no doubt that the recovery has been sluggish – … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Gaining from Growth: The final report of the Commission on Living Standards Wednesday 31 October 2012 The Commission on Living Standards unveiled its final report, Gaining from Growth, on 31 October 2012 at Sixty One Whitehall. Speaking at the launch event, the Commission’s Chair Clive Cowdery said it suggested solutions to a “fundamental long-term structural problem in Britain” which means lower-income families no longer share in the benefits of national economic growth. He … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living with Less? Monday 8 October 2012 Growth in the UK remains tepid. Forecasts from the OBR suggest growth in 2012 of just 0.7% and many commentators believe that this is optimistic. Such low levels of growth come with continued high unemployment and an unsurprising squeeze on living standards as families are forced to tighten their budgets and to pay down debt. … Continued READ MORE
Housing Renting nation with Lord Freud Sunday 7 October 2012 The Resolution Foundation is hosting a high-level private roundtable at the Conservative Party conference with Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, on “Renting nation: welfare reform and growth in the private rented sector.” Recently published research from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, commissioned for the Resolution Foundation and Shelter, shows that by 2025 … Continued READ MORE
Housing Renting nation with Jack Dromey MP Wednesday 3 October 2012 The Resolution Foundation is hosting a high-level private roundtable at the Labour Party conference with Jack Dromey MP, Shadow Housing Minister, on “Renting nation: growth and reform in the private rented sector.” Recently published research from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, commissioned for the Resolution Foundation and Shelter, shows that by 2025 the … Continued READ MORE
