At our Unsung Britain conference last week, Claer Barrett raised the issue of those "doubly fiscally dragged" by frozen tax thresholds and student loan repayment thresholds. Hear from Claer⤵️

Benefitting less? The richer half of the country actually saw a bigger proportional increase in their benefit income (of 14 per cent) than the poorer half (of 4 per cent) over the past three decades, and the bottom quartile experienced a real terms fall in benefit income (of 13 per cent).

Our book Unsung Britain reveals that squeezed families now face waiting more than a lifetime for the doubling of living standards we used to enjoy every 40 years. Full findings here 👉 buff.ly/a300OG4

How can living standards stagnate, while people are working more? @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social explains ⤵️

The 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country are widely courted by politicians. But despite working harder they have seen their disposable incomes stagnate, as they grapple with shrinking pay rises, higher costs and a growing health and care needs. 👉 buff.ly/a300OG4

🚨Event on Thursday🚨 The Autumn Budget was barely three months ago, but the UK has experienced plenty of economic and political drama since. Join us to discuss the outlook for both the UK and global economy, and what this might mean for the upcoming Spring Forecast. Register➡️ buff.ly/oWC8ode

Unsung Britain has faced crushing costs in recent years. Explore our findings today, to learn how the living standards slowdown precedes the cost of living crisis ⤵️ buff.ly/a300OG4

What would be the cost to consumers of decarbonising UK food production? @zackleather.resolutionfoundation.org explains that even if all the costs were passed on to shoppers, it would increase food prices by less than 1 per cent – the equivalent of around 50p on a weekly shop.

Thinking of a career in think tanks? On Wednesday, we're hosting a webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector. We'll have speakers from numerous organisations sharing their insight and experience. Register here 👉 buff.ly/a3cO0df

April 2026 will mark a true milestone for the UK benefits system: the end of the thirteen-year rollout of Universal Credit that has brought together all means-tested working-age benefits. But there are still further improvements to be made ⤵️ buff.ly/TjrE4OW

Good news about the British economy?! UK productivity – how much the economy produces per hour worked – grew more in the past year than in the previous seven years combined. In our latest Substack, Research Director @gthwaites.bsky.social takes a closer look 📈

Unsung Britain represents an 18-month investigation into the lives of the 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country. Read more 👉 buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

Working harder, getting nowhere? @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social walks you through the experience of Unsung Britain, in our latest Substack ⤵️ buff.ly/ANatmtg

Disability is up everywhere, but still affects poorer families more than the better-off families. Read Unsung Britain here ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

2026 may be the start of a new era when deaths outnumber births in the UK This would be a seismic demographic shift and mean that future population growth was reliant on net internal migration, which the latest data suggest is also plummeting. Research Director @gthwaites.bsky.social explains ⤵️

We’ve seen a *massive* swing away from homeownership into expensive private renting. Mortgaged families dropped from 30% to 17% of Unsung Britain, while private renters nearly doubled. Almost as many people live with parents (15%) as own with a mortgage (17%).

"Ours is a farm landscape" 🌾 Fiona Reynolds argues that we can restore nature through farming. Catch the full discussion on decarbonising British agriculture 👇 buff.ly/fIA3BpU

What does this year hold for living standards? Happily, we expect to see a welcome boost... but it will sadly be short-lived. @louisemurphy.bsky.social explains 👇 buff.ly/siFTYAC

We *can* decarbonise agriculture without harming living standards. 🌱 Here's how⬇️

Britain’s ‘unsung’ army is the million people in poorer working-age households who now have full-time unpaid caring responsibilities.

To round off this week's Unsung Britain conference & book launch, today's Top of the charts is a – you guessed it – Unsung Britain special. @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social highlights a few areas that provoked debate this week, or really stood out from the past 18 months of research 👇

In some respects, Universal Credit has worked as intended. The system has successfuly reduced very high marginal effective tax rates and participation tax rates ⤵️

Benefitting less? The richer half of the country actually saw a bigger proportional increase in their benefit income (of 14%) than the poorer half (of 4%) over the past three decades, and the bottom quartile specifically, experienced a real terms fall in benefit income (of 13%).

Council Tax has become increasingly regressive. It now takes nearly 5% of income from the poorest families but barely 1% from the richest. For many, it's become a grinding monthly obligation to rival the Poll Tax.

Have less, pay more: The ‘necessities’ budget share has soared at the bottom end.

People have faced crushing cost rises in recent years. How much of a difference can governments make? We asked Scarlett Maguire ⤵️ Subscribe to our podcast to hear more 👉 buff.ly/WvWw08q

Unsung Britain has faced crushing costs in recent years. @lalithatry.bsky.social explains why inflation has not been experienced evenly across the income distribution 👇

Thinking of a career in think tanks? We're hosting a webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector. We'll have speakers from numerous organisations sharing their insight and experience. Register here 👉 buff.ly/a3cO0df

This week Andy Burnham, the @mayorofgm.bsky.social, addressed our conference about the need to refocus political debate on the people of Unsung Britain. Watch his speech in full here 👉 buff.ly/iVWFmbY

An 11 ppt swing from mortgagers to renters over the 3 decades since 1995 means that 8.6 million people in lower-income families rent from a private landlord. These people spend on average 43 per cent of their total household budget on rent. Read Unsung Britain now ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

At the launch of Unsung Britain, Ruth Curtice reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️

There have been various changes – or, more bluntly, cuts – to a host of benefit rates during the years after 2010 ⤵️

The 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country are widely courted by politicians. But despite working harder they have had to grapple with shrinking pay rises, higher costs and a growing struggle with their health. Read Unsung Britain today 👉 buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

The Government should prioritise bringing down energy bills by moving more of the cost of government policy into general taxation. Read Unsung Britain now ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

At the launch of Unsung Britain, Ruth Curtice reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️

Have less, pay more: The ‘necessities’ budget share has soared at the bottom end.

We’ve seen a *massive* swing away from homeownership into expensive private renting. Mortgaged families dropped from 30% to 17% of Unsung Britain, while private renters nearly doubled. Almost as many people live with parents (15%) as own with a mortgage (17%).

Council Tax has become increasingly regressive. It now takes nearly 5% of income from the poorest families but barely 1% from the richest. For many, it's become a grinding monthly obligation to rival the Poll Tax.

Disability is up everywhere, but still affects poorer families more than the better-off families. Read Unsung Britain here ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

Yesterday Andy Burnham, the @mayorofgm.bsky.social, addressed our conference about the need to refocus political debate on the people of Unsung Britain. Watch his speech in full here 👉 buff.ly/iVWFmbY

Is our regulatory system up to the task of tackling the cost of living crisis? We asked the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority 📽️

Benefitting less? The richer half of the country actually saw a bigger proportional increase in their benefit income (of 14 per cent) than the poorer half (of 4 per cent) over the past three decades, and the bottom quartile experienced a real terms fall in benefit income (of 13 per cent).

Speaking to the Unsung Britain conference yesterday, @claremoriarty.bsky.social from @citizensadvice.bsky.social emphasised the importance of joined up policy making ⤵️

Unsung Britain has faced crushing costs in recent years. @lalithatry.bsky.social explains why inflation has not been experienced evenly across the income distribution 👇

Our book Unsung Britain reveals that squeezed families now face waiting more than a lifetime for the doubling of living standards we used to enjoy every 40 years. Full findings here 👉 buff.ly/7WcqrbQ

At the launch of Unsung Britain, @ruthcurtice.bsky.social reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️

How can living standards stagnate, while people are working more? @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social explains ⤵️

Working harder, getting nowhere? @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social walks you through the experience of Unsung Britain, in our latest Substack ⤵️ buff.ly/ANatmtg

Britain’s ‘unsung’ army is the million people in poorer working-age households who now have full-time unpaid caring responsibilities.

Unsung Britain has faced crushing costs in recent years. Explore our findings today, to learn how the living standards slowdown precedes the cost of living crisis ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ