Stagnation Generation? Launch of the Intergenerational Commission

Britain, like all societies and families, embodies a social contract between the generations – it is how we live our lives and support each other from cradle to grave. But this contract feels increasingly under threat, with young people seeing their wages plummet and home ownership drift out of sight.

Are these short term pieces of bad luck, or do the problems run deeper? How do we start to heal the divide between the generations, most recently exposed when almost three quarters of young people voted to remain in the EU? Now, more than ever, the contract between generations is in need of repair.

At an event in Westminster, the Resolution Foundation launched its flagship Intergenerational Commission – an 18-month investigation into fairness between generations chaired by David Willetts that brings together leading experts from the business, academia and public policy. It will consider how government, business and wider society can fix the contract between generations that underpins our society.

Torsten Bell outlined why the intergenerational contract is under threat, while commissioners including Frances O’Grady, Carolyn Fairbairn and Ben Page discussed how this is being played out in workplaces across Britain, why business is concerned, and what the public think about the pressures facing the young, the old and the in-between in Britain today.