The Parliament is looking like a game of two halves –in terms of the occupants of Downing Street, prospects for living standards, and funding for public services and investment – with Britain looking set for a painful second half, according to the Foundation’s overnight analysis of the Budget 2026. The report Spread Thin dives into … Continued

Budget 2026 has attempted to balance the need for short-term cost of living support with a medium-term fiscal repair job. But badly targeted support with energy bills will leave families facing a tough winter, while big tax and spend decisions have been deferred until next year, and it will take until mid-2029 for household incomes … Continued

Today (Monday) the Resolution Foundation has announced that Louise Hellem has been appointed as its new Deputy Chief Executive and will start on 5th January 2027. Louise is currently Chief Economist at the CBI and a member of its Executive Committee. Before moving into the role Louise was the Director of Economic Policy at the … Continued

The share of workers in low pay failed to fall the first time in 15 years, and in fact rose slightly on last year, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). ASHE is a large ONS survey of businesses and provides valuable detail on … Continued

The average shortfall between Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and the 30th percentile rent level has now reached an all-time high of 23.3 per cent – equivalent to a £170 a month ‘affordability gap’ for a typical family in a two-bedroom home – just a week before John Healey’s first Budget, the Resolution Foundation said … Continued

Inflation hitting its highest rate in almost a year and a £6 billion borrowing overshoot highlight the double dilemma facing the Chancellor in his Budget next week as he tries to ease cost of living pressures while getting government borrowing down, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). CPI inflation rose to 3.5 per cent in … Continued

The UK’s relatively strong economic performance this year may finally be starting to feed through into the labour market, with payrolled employment and private sector wage strengthening over the summer, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). Over the past two years, the UK has experienced a weakening labour market. Levels of payrolled employment fell by … Continued

For each of the past four years, GDP growth has been stronger in the first half of the year than the second. But with the economy growing by 0.1 per cent in August on the back of broad-based strength in manufacturing, following surprising growth of 0.4 per cent in July, the UK has a fighting … Continued

One-in-six (16 per cent) working-age PIP recipients report no additional costs linked to their disability, suggesting that the current system is failing to effectively match support to those it was designed to help. Reform that is more responsive to claimants’ needs could also produce savings, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The report Hard truths … Continued

The latest IMF outlook shows that compared to its G7 peers, the UK is performing relatively well on growth and deficit reduction, but poorly on GDP per capita – the metric that matters most for living standards. Key insights from its World Economic Outlook include: The 0.5ppt upgrade to UK GDP growth this year is … Continued

Conflict in the Middle East has left a huge hole in the UK public finances, halving headroom against the Chancellor’s binding fiscal rule to £12 billion. John Healey must respond with a Budget that repairs the damage to our public finances while also providing well-targeted support for lower income families, the Resolution Foundation said today … Continued

The past five years of a near-continuous cost of living crisis have caused the real incomes of typical working-age households to fall rather than grow, leaving them £2,900 (7.9 per cent) worse off this year compared to a world of normal inflation, according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report … Continued

The Prime Minister’s announcement that he will end the triple lock on the State Pension at the start of the next parliament is good news for the public finances, and recycling the savings into social care is especially good news for vulnerable pensioners who lose far more from a broken care system than they gain … Continued

Residential property taxes are now so far removed from modern house prices that Londoners are under-paying by £3.1 billion relative to the value of their homes – with the rest of England over-paying in return, according to major new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report Home Economics notes that the UK … Continued

Public sector net borrowing was £8.1 billion above the OBR forecast for the financial year to August, largely driven by higher-than-expected spending and reflecting the impact of inflation. Despite slightly better-than-forecast tax receipts, August saw an unwelcome deterioration in the public finances, further reinforcing the need for the Chancellor to prioritise repair of the public … Continued

Chancellor must act to address record gap between local rents and support available to low-income renters More than 1.1 million low-income families are facing an acute cost-of-housing crunch as the gap between cheap local rents and the benefit support private renters can claim is set to reach a record high this October, with action needed … Continued

The Bank held interest rates as expected in its MPC meeting today (Thursday), with the real news coming from a welcome change in how it intends unwind Quantitative Easing (QE) and a gloomy outlook on the cost of living, the Resolution Foundation said today. James Smith, Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Bank’s … Continued

CPI inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in August, up again from 2.9 per cent in July, in line with market expectations, driven largely by higher petrol and diesel prices, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). With price rises not expected to peak until the winter, the renewed climb has ramifications for families, the Bank … Continued

Pay growth in the private sector fell to 2.9 per cent on a cash basis in the three months to July, its joint lowest rate since October 2020, with wages set to shrink significantly in the second half of the year as inflation rises, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest … Continued

Responding to the Chancellor’s first major speech on the economy today, Sophie Hale, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Chancellor struck an upbeat tone in a speech that provided a welcome return to emphasising the importance of growth, making the case for greater public and private investment. “Reducing the discount rate the Treasury … Continued

Living standards in Aberdeen are now below the UK average for the first time since 2003, with the city’s wage premium having fallen by three quarters since the early 2010s. Debates about extracting the final oil and gas reserves therefore risk missing the bigger picture on where the city’s future employment will come from, the … Continued

No OECD rich country with a higher tax-to-GDP ratio than the UK in 2025 was able to achieve this without placing a heavier burden on middle earners, suggesting it is unrealistic to say we can have higher defence spending without higher taxes on such workers, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). Thin end of the … Continued

Output per hour has increased at a respectable annual rate of 1.1 per cent on average over the past two years, rather than the dismal 0.2 per cent fall implied by flawed official statistics, with the UK’s productivity recovery present throughout the economy rather than via an AI boom or a retail-and-hospitality bust, according to … Continued

Strong growth in the first half of the year has failed to deliver a public finances windfall for the Chancellor as the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East takes its toll on borrowing costs, underlining the challenge he faces as he prepares for his first Budget, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday). With the Budget now less than ten weeks away, today’s … Continued

CPI inflation rose to 2.9 per cent in July, up from 2.6 per cent in June, driven by July’s higher energy price cap, with further rises in inflation likely later this year. While widely anticipated, this uptick is unwelcome news for families, mortgagors and the Government – the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). Today’s higher … Continued