New Economy Brief is taking an Easter break this week. But with the news yesterday that the government will cap student loan interest rates at 6% from September, here's our recent Brief on the student loans mess and how to fix it ⬇️

Last month Baroness Louise Casey said the UK faces “a moment of reckoning” on adult social care. After years of inaction from successive governments, will her independent commission help to finally deliver real change? www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/a...

After months of defending the student loans system, Rachel Reeves finally acknowledged last week that there are issues. Fixing it isn't "front of the queue" though -- but should it be? This week's New Economy Brief investigates: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/the-student-loans-squeeze

This week’s New Economy Brief assesses the implications of the US-Israel war on Iran for the UK economy, and looks at what can be learned from the last energy shock: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/a...

Extreme weather is damaging homes and causing systemic risks to the financial and economic system. What happens when climate change makes homes uninsurable? This week's New Economy Brief takes a look: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/w...

Reform UK have watered down their plans to “challenge every single tenet” of economic policy. So what does Reform’s economic platform look like now? This week we digest what we know so far – and what happens when rhetoric meets the realities of governing: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/r...

More than half of the UK's train operating companies are now back in public hands, with the rest due to follow by the end of 2027. How is Labour's grand plan for renationalisation going? This week's New Economy Brief takes a look. www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/great-british-railways

Four years ago Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up energy prices and triggered a cost of living crisis. Inflation has eased but remains above the Bank of England’s 2% target: the crisis isn’t over. This week we look at why, and what government can do. neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

Almost two thirds of people in the UK have cut back on essentials due to the cost of living. The crisis isn’t over — it’s getting worse. Today we're launching the Cost of Living Action campaign, calling on the Government to end this crisis and ensure it never happens again.

Special Educational Needs provision in England is at breaking point, left under-resourced by austerity, with demand and costs rising. With a Schools White Paper imminent, we look at the impact of the crisis on families, councils and the wider economy: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

Andy Burnham recently argued that “the four horsemen of Britain’s apocalypse are deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit”. His solution? 'Manchesterism'. But what is Manchesterism? This week’s New Economy Brief takes a look: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/e...

What's going on with US foreign policy? Is there an economic explanation for the current wave of aggression, or is it pure power politics? This week’s New Economy Brief explores how economic interests are shaping US policy towards Venezuela and Greenland: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/a...

Governments are turning to private finance for the investment needed to halt ecological destruction. We unpack the challenges and controversies of funding solutions with private capital, and explore alternatives: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/why-private-finance-alone-cant-restore-nature

The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos takes place next week. Elected leaders, corporate CEOs and the global business elite will once again converge for the Met Gala of geopolitics and economics. This week we examine what's on the agenda: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/s...

The Child Poverty Strategy is finally here. It will reduce child poverty and scraps the 2-child limit — a big win for campaigners. But questions remain about ambition and the government's approach to wider benefits reform. This week we take a closer look. neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/l...

We also find an association between intensity of austerity and productivity. Weak demand and growth alongside rising employment results in falling productivity. We therefore find evidence that austerity contributed to the so-called productivity puzzle.

New research! Austerity and the labour market in the UK. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Headline result: austerity reduced wages, increased employment rates, and contributed to weak productivity. 1/n

Last month world leaders gathered in Belém, Brazil, for COP30. As ever the event was contested and verdicts on the outcome have been mixed, to say the least. This week we unpack what happened at COP30 and what it means for progress on climate change: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/c...

Is another crisis brewing? The recent collapse of US car companies Tricolor and and First Brands has got people worried and sent ripples through the financial sector. This week's New Economy Brief takes a closer look. neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/e...

This week’s New Economy Brief goes a little deeper than your usual post-Budget summaries and asks: why are we in this mess and how do we get out of it? neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/w...

Fears are mounting that the AI bubble will burst. How might this affect the UK? This week's New Economy Brief takes a look. www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/the-ai-bubble

The National Wealth Fund recently celebrated its first birthday. This week's New Economy Brief explores how it has developed so far, whether its ambition matches the scale of the challenges facing the UK economy, and how to increase its impact: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

The Renters' Rights Act became law last week - the biggest change to private renting in a generation. Will it "transform the experience of private renting", like the government says? This week's New Economy Brief takes a closer look: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/a...

On the International Day of Care and Support, this week’s New Economy Brief explores what the Carer's Allowance scandal tells us about how our economy and society undervalue care: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/w...

Ahead of Budget, where do voters stand on tax and the dilemmas facing government? Big new @persuasionuk.bsky.social report out today on this. TL;DR as risky as breaching the manifesto is for Lab - failing on public services, cost of living and child poverty is *far riskier* for Lab. 🧵

Last week the world’s finance ministers gathered in Washington DC for the IMF and World Bank’s Annual Meetings. This week we give a brief summary of key themes from the meetings and what they mean for the upcoming UK government’s Autumn Budget: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/r...

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at risk, with an annual $4.2tn gap between funds committed & what's needed to achieve them. This week we cover discussions about the SDGs at last month's UN General Assembly & look ahead to COP30. neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/f...

This week's New Economy Brief looks at the crisis in local government funding - its roots, its consequences and possible solutions: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/c...

What could the government’s new focus on 'contribution' mean for policy? This week's New Economy Brief explores the economic themes in the Chancellor's speech and what they might signal ahead of the Autumn Budget: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/l...

10 years ago in a landmark speech, Mark Carney warned of the threat the climate crisis poses to financial security - but the Bank of England is yet to heed it. We joined 10 other organisations in calling on MPs to change that. Full story in @theguardian.com 👉 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

What was in the US-UK Tech Prosperity deal? How does it fit into wider trade negotiations with the US? And what are the implications of conceding to the demands of the ‘Big Tech’ lobby? We explore all this and more in this week's New Economy Brief: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

This week we’re looking at the recent challenges to the Federal Reserve’s independence from the Trump administration and their broader implications for central banking – including whether the current approach is fit for purpose: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/c...

Welcome to Rip-Off Britain. A country remade by privatisation. Our latest project — Who Owns Britain? — explores how a radical experiment transformed our society and shapes your life. 🧵

As the UK gvt welcomes USA President Donald Trump & tech CEOs today, the future of the Digital Services Tax seemingly hangs in the balance. Our Policy and Advocacy Manager was on BBC News making the case for taxing highly profitable Big Tech. Read more: taxjustice.uk/blog/digital...

High on the agenda at this year’s TUC Congress is to ‘organise the unorganised’. This week we look at sectoral collective bargaining, including looking at the government’s plans for Fair Pay Agreements and the economic case for extending them in the UK: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

This week, we explore the tax options the Chancellor has available to raise revenue at the Autumn Budget – and how different reforms could impact the economy and public finances: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/c...

Failing to learn the lessons of the past? This week we look at the Chancellor's recent financial services reforms and the analyse the risks of relying on deregulation to deliver growth: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/w...

This week's New Economy Brief looks at whether the government’s proposals for stronger regulation will fix the water sector, and explains the economic and political arguments being put forward for public ownership: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/f...

🚨 NEW from our #UBS Hub “On the Horizon: Climate-Induced Inflation and the Price of Food” 📈 Our latest report shows how climate shocks are already driving up food prices — and could push nearly 1 million people into poverty by 2050 Excl. in @theguardian.com: buff.ly/DztJhiC

What will 3C of warming do to the UK economy? This week we explain why net zero is cheaper and climate damages are more expensive than previously thought, and why we need fiscal reforms to enable more investment in tackling and adapting to climate change: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

The government's new Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness strategy risks undermining its industrial policy & growth mission. Here's my analysis: www.linkedin.com/pulse/govern...

This week we evaluate key parts of the new Industrial Strategy, a 10 year plan to grow 8 key sectors comprising around 1/3 of the UK economy. We focus on clean energy and advanced manufacturing, the risks of de-risking and lessons from other countries: www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/e...

The UK desperately needs a public bank that is laser focussed on delivering for climate, nature and living standards. The National Wealth Fund is an opportunity to have just that. Read our new briefing for how it can be strengthened: bit.ly/4eoQcdI 1/5

The UK govt softened tax reforms on the superrich because of a widely reported “exodus” of millionaires fleeing the UK. Our new study w/ @patmillsuk.bsky.social & @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social shows that the "exodus" was a complete fiction. #BogusExodus #TaxTheSuperRich taxjustice.net/press/millio...

Ahead of the Spending Review, this week we look at how the political battles over cuts may keep playing out in the coming weeks and months. Is there a case for a fiscal reset to put the government on a better economic and political trajectory? neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

We want to make sure Rachel Reeves MP sees some important % and ££s: 🇬🇧 80% of UK millionaires support a 2% tax on wealth over £10m 🇬🇧 81% think it’s patriotic to pay their fair share We’re proud to pay and here to stay #taxthesuperrich #taxwealthnotwork

It's good to see Swati Dhingra highlight how important strategic investments are for responding to inflation driven by supply factors like our reliance on fossil fuels in response to questions from @jeevunsandher.bsky.social on the Treasury Select Committee 👇

🧵New polling from @investinbritain.bsky.social by @survation.bsky.social reveals a majority of Labour MPs want the Chancellor to change course on fiscal policy. 1/8 thetimes.com/article/6448...

Tackling the childcare crisis. This week, we explore the economic case for childcare investment and the arguments for counting it as capital rather than current spending. www.neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...

Earlier this week IMF recommended OBR should only assess fiscal rules once a year to reduce pressure for policy action. But I don't think that will be enough... The benefits of having only one OBR forecast a year increasingly outweigh the costs www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/imf-...