How can cities policy help the net zero agenda?
As COP26 comes to a close what are some of the changes we can make in cities that can help with the net zero agenda? A greater uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is required By Rebecca Foster (Bright Blue) The UK’s pledge to reach net zero by 2050 will ultimately require significant changes to the way...
In its constitutional centenary could power be better shared within the UK going forward?
As the United Kingdom celebrates its 100th year in its current reconfiguration we asked how power should be shared going forward. Focus on how to embed metro mayors and combined authorities into major public investment decisions By James Heywood (Centre for Policy Studies) The UK is one of the most centralised nations in the developed...
How does global trade work?
The growth and extent of world trade is staggering. In 1950, trade accounted for just 8.6% of world output (GDP). By 2008 it accounted for an astonishing 60% of world GDP, involving $20 trillion in goods and over $5 trillion in services. Despite setbacks — financial crises, wars (including Trump-style trade wars) and even pandemics...
How would you reform Universal Credit for a recovery from Covid-19?
Ahead of the Spring Budget we look at how Universal Credit could be reformed in the recovery from Covid-19. For Universal Credit to provide an adequate safety net it must be properly funded By Paul Hackett (The Smith Institute) If Universal Credit is to provide an adequate safety net it must be properly funded. Making...
How to…do data visualisation
The coronavirus pandemic has been defined by data. How that data has been communicated and presented has really mattered. There have been some great examples of how to do it – think the early representations of ‘flattening the curve’ and charts from the likes of the Financial Times, Our World in Data and others –...
What’s in President Biden’s foreign policy in-tray? (Part 2)
President Biden arrives in office with a full foreign policy in-tray, albeit one that will have to compete for attention with myriad domestic priorities from tackling run-away virus to repairing the foundations of its own democracy. Most of America’s traditional allies will let out a huge sigh of relief that his predecessor has left the...
What’s in President Biden’s foreign policy in-tray? (Part 1)
The Taiwan Straits maybe the most volatile point in the Asia-Pacific. Even if this thin strip of water, separating Taiwan and China, is not the site of a great power collision this year it nevertheless will be a source of tension between Beijing and Washington. The Communist Party of China claims Taiwan as “an inalienable”...
How to…engage with the House of Lords
The House of Lords is an extraordinary place, full of gold leaf, ushers in full white tie dress and an imposing throne. Few other countries have legislative chambers quite like it. It is hard to miss as a physical presence but is often overlooked by think tankers and policy professionals promoting new policy ideas. Any...
How to…rebrand your think tank
At the start of October my organisation transformed from the New Local Government Network to simply New Local. We swapped our plain black acronym for bold lettering and a hot pink colour scheme and unveiled a new website and logo. Post-transformation, it seems like a no-brainer: we now enjoy a name and brand that accurately...
How can the UK’s industrial strategy support the ‘levelling up’ agenda?
'Levelling up' has become one of the big agenda items for this government but how can it be helped by industrial strategy? Use the Spending Review and R&D Place Strategy to increase support for business innovation in lagging regions By James Blagden (Onward) In recent decades the UK’s regions have diverged so much that we...