1/ 📉 Real earnings growth in the UK has slowed sharply and the hit is falling hardest on lower earners. A quick thread on what the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) tells us 👇

Rents have increased by a fifth in recent years since Local Housing Housing allowance was frozen, up £210 a month!! The strain of this freeze on private renters is immense; in April around 40% of private renters in receipt of LHA said they didn't have enough to cover rent.

Calling housing academics, researchers and economists - we've put out a tender for research on private landlord profits; how substantial are they, how are they distributed, from rent vs. capital etc. Apply at the link below! Budget up to £40k including vat. Please reshare!!

Calling housing academics, researchers and economists - we've put out a tender for research on private landlord profits; how substantial are they, how are they distributed, from rent vs. capital etc. Apply at the link below! Budget up to £40k including vat. Please reshare!!

New report: Taxing landlords more is good, actually. Since 2016, tax reforms helped slash the growth of the private rented sector and boosted first-time buyers—without hurting existing tenants. A big housing story hiding in plain sight? ⬇️

ONS have published new private rented affordability analysis for 2024. Ratios of rents to incomes dipped in 2022/23 as incomes climbed faster than rents. Rents have been catching up so affordability has worsened again and seems likely it will continue to worsen through 2025...

We’re hiring a Media Manager 📢 Can you identify compelling news stories that resonate with the mainstream media and political debates? Do you thrive in shaping strategy and working with colleagues to turn policy ideas into media successes? Apply: jrf.octo-firstclass.co.uk/candidates/c....

Ahead of tomorrow’s Monetary Policy Report, look at how real earnings have stagnated since September. They’re up just 0.3% between September 2024 and the latest May 2025 data, just a fifth of the growth over the same period in 2023-24. (1/5)

💰 How much public wealth do you think was given away for free via Right to Buy?  1bn? 10bn? 100bn?  Try 200 BILLION pounds.  🧵 Here's how Britain’s most infamous housing policy became its biggest housing disaster — and near the largest privatisation in British history.

Govt dropped cuts to PIP, but today's Committee report highlights MPs' concerns that many disabled people will be pushed into poverty by remaining cuts to Universal Credit's health element. In evidence to the inquiry I warned of the hardship this will cause. 1/5 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

New job alert 📢 We're hiring a Senior Policy Advisor for our Scotland office. If you believe as passionately as we do that we can deliver a fairer Scotland free from poverty then this job could be for you. 🔽 1/3

There are now twice as many children living in temporary accommodation as when Labour were last in Government. Arresting this escalating crisis needs to be a key priority for Government.

New English Housing Survey analysis out today, some findings ⬇️ 'Vulnerable' families, those receiving a disability benefit or other means-tested benefits, were much more likely to be living in poorer quality and damp homes.

Some interesting trends in private rental inflation stats.. Rental growth is currently highest in areas where rents have typically been much lower - e.g. in parts of the North East of England (9.7% growth, joint highest rate for the region), and seaside areas.

Much of the Government's intention for cutting PIP and UC is to motivate people to find a job But cutting social security can't 'incentivise' people into jobs that don't exist New @jrf-uk.bsky.social analysis shows there are simply too few jobs for the Government's argument to hold

LHA is an easy target for politicians and has never recovered from the Osborne nuking in the 2010s. Deliberately cutting this support, and then failing to uplift it has been a hallmark of policy failure within housing and welfare.

Todays rental price statistics show the rate at which rents in the private rented sector have been increasing in recent years is out of control. Since Jan2020 rents have shot up by £300 a month, up 31%, over 2.5x the rate of growth in the preceding 5 years (12% growth)

New stats show over 1 in 20 households in England contain a 'concealed household', additional adults (i.e. adult children) would would prefer to be rent or buy but cannot afford to do so. 1.5 million households - HUGE! These tend to be concentrated in higher income households..

If you want your great grand children to have the option of living in social housing, get your social housing application in today.. New NHF analysis shows social housing is simply not an option for families in across many local authorities, with impossibly long waits. ⬇️

More private renters are now in poverty than social renters. 4.8 million private renters are in poverty, up almost 300,000 on the previous year. Of these, almost 2 million are only in poverty when we factor in housing costs – around 40% of those in poverty.

All ethnic minority groups in the UK continue to face persistent poverty with no signs of improvement from last year. 📊 New DWP figures show people in Bangladeshi households are still 3x more likely to be in poverty compared to white households, and Pakistani households are 2.5x more likely.

New poverty rate figures show the West Midlands, London and the North West had the highest child poverty rates with over a third of children in poverty. In Scotland (where things are being done differently) the child poverty rate is joint lowest for the UK at 23%.

Last week the government proposed cuts to disability and long-term sickness benefits. These cuts will leave some disabled people significantly worse off. 📢 By 2029/30, someone that loses PIP daily living and LCWRA will be over £800 per month worse off 1/4

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall's speech today laid out plans to cut disability and sickness benefits by billions. ❌ No truly moral choice would leave disabled people without support designed to allow them to lead a dignified life, or facing hardship. 1/4

Yesterday, a Government press release claimed the number of people “considered too sick to work” had "quadrupled" since the pandemic (a "383% rise"). This is incorrect. In fact, it’s not even close. It's more like 40%. This thread explains why 🧵1/7

The devastating new homelessness data brought to mind the two charts below www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/hous...

Inflation is up by 3%, but private rents are up by 8.7% across the UK and 11%(!!!) in London. Across GB, it means paying ~£100 more per month on average since Jan 24, or ~£200 more per month since Jan 23. In London, £220 more per month since Jan 24, or ~£400(!) more per month since Jan 23.

Our 'Ask Me Anything' session on Reddit is now live! www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics...

Why do ethnic minorities in the UK live in households that spend so much more income on housing than White British adults? Turns out the answer is complex. Our latest report, released today, dives into the root causes. Let’s explore the key insights👇🏾

High housing rents are pulling people into poverty 📢 Our UK Poverty report found that private renters have a much higher than average poverty rate. The government can make a difference. Find out how in this video 1/2

Excellent thread explaining trends in ‘in-work’ poverty over recent years. Secure, affordable housing not the only factor but still key..

In-work poverty has become increasingly prevalent over the last few decades. A relatively modest percentage increase (10% in-work poverty rate in 2001/02 to 12% in 2022/23) translates to a huge 55% increase in the number of workers in poverty to 3.9 million, up 1.4 million since 2001/02.

Data published today for England shows: ▶️ record high rates of overcrowding in social housing ▶️ record high underoccupancy in owner occupied housing

Based on the current policy landscape and economic forecasts, our modelling anticipates that child poverty will not fall in any English region over the next five years. In some, we expect to see it climb The story is different in Scotland where they’ve made different decisions..

New UK Poverty Report; Geography headlines The highest poverty rates in England are in the West Midlands (27%), the North West of England (25%) and London (24%). Rates were lower in the south of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Why drives different rates of poverty?

4.3 million children are in poverty UK govt won’t see progress on child poverty by 2029 even with high economic growth 📢 Our analysis shows under our central scenario only Scotland will see child poverty rates fall by 2029 in part due to social security policies 1/5

📅 SAVE THE DATE! On Thursday 30th January at 10:30am, we'll be discussing our annual UK Poverty report out next week, and how policies that address drivers of poverty can make a real difference to the lives of those most affected. Don't miss out, sign up here: events.zoom.us/ev/AlxlUn_TR...

Some great jobs at JRF going, closing soon - get your applications in! ⬇️

Two new jobs in our policy team working on housing and work, come work with us!! ⬇️

Two new job roles in our Northern Ireland office 🚨 Are you passionate about delivering change? Do you have experience of working on antipoverty issues? Are you a team player who can work with colleagues across the sector in Northern Ireland? Sounds like you? Read this thread 🔽 1/3

Two exciting new roles going in our new JRF Northern Ireland team ⬇️ Perfect job for anyone with experience in policy and/or analysis and wanting to focus on solutions to poverty and inequality - come join our team! Please share!

Some of these figures are very stark: - 40% of landlords unwilling to let their property to people receiving housing benefit - 20% unwilling to let to people who don't have a UK passport - Almost half unwilling to let to those requiring adaptions to the property

New survey data finds that where landlords ended a tenancy: - 1 in 10 did so to hike the rent, - 7% did so because a tenant made too many complaints, - A quarter to sell the property. The main reasons cited for ending a tenancy is because the property is not cared for, arrears or ASB.

New Private Landlord Survey data out today. Thread with some interesting results: - Almost a third of landlords now say they plan to sell some or all of their properties, up from 15% in 2018 - Around 2/3rds of these cited recent legislative or tax changes, although 40% cited 'investment viability'

Burning injustices: New figures published today show babies born in areas with the highest child poverty rates can expect to live 5 years fewer than those born in the areas with the lowest rates of child poverty.

@jrf-uk.bsky.social's latest Cost of Living Tracker makes for grim reading, particularly for low-income ethnic minority households who all face an elevated risk of hardship. Around 8 in 10 households with a Black respondent are at very high risk of going with essentials such as food and heating.🧵1/

@jrf-uk.bsky.social latest cost of living tracker out today shows why living standards must drive Starmer's reset. Hardship remains entirely unchanged, with a warning of worse to come - 7m families going without essentials, including 5.4 without enough food - 4.3m in arrears Thread on findings: