This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation highlights other barriers holding UK businesses back from expanding. The UK is an attractive place to start a business, but those start-ups find it harder than in other countries to scale up. This SMF report looks beyond the issue of access to capital to highlight...

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance canvasses industry leaders to understand the challenges and opportunities facing the market. As the UK’s car manufacturing sector gears up to produce electric vehicles, attention is turning to the battery supply chains needed for the car industry to thrive. We surveyed and spoke to industry leaders to...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Cities looks at the UK’s 344 innovation hotspots and their potential to address the UK’s sluggish productivity growth. The UK is home to 344 innovative hotspots, with clustered New Economy firms accounting for approximately £18.5 billion and 200,000 jobs to the national economy. Although the clustered...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at how to work towards a new public employment service. The UK’s employment support system is characterised by three core flaws. It is failing to meet the needs of our current or future economy. Extrinsic motivation is crowding out personal ambitions. Provision is too narrow and focussed...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation assesses the case for social tariffs as a mechanism to ensure access to essentials. As the cost of living crisis intensifies, there are growing concerns that the market is unable to provide affordable access to essential goods and services. This SMF interim report investigates the...

This report from UK think tank CLES looks at the claims on both sides of the debate and explores how freeports could be done differently. Freeports have been contentious since their announcement. Trade unions, public bodies, think tanks and commentators have all voiced concerns that they will accelerate the extraction of wealth from hard-pressed communities...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies argues that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill could undermine dynamism in digital markets. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill is a proposed new law which is intended to ‘stamp out unfair practices and promote competition in digital markets’. It would...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at realigning the policy ecosystem to unleash private investment for sustainable growth. The UK is a low investment nation. Low business investment is a big driver of this. Low investment is one reason behind the UK’s weak productivity growth, which in turn is the main...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the modern mutual sector and how to support it. This report by the Social Market Foundation provides a comprehensive overview of the modern mutual sector, exploring its key opportunities and challenges. Mutuals offer significant benefits, including economic benefits such being more resilient than...

This report from UK think tank the David Hume Institute looks at the role that trust can play in strengthening the economy. Labour market disputes, concerns about public contracts and declining trust in government and institutions have risen up the news agenda in recent times.  All of these things impact on our economy but the...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at how the cost of living crisis is shaping the way employers approach financial wellbeing at work. This employer briefing draws on Work Foundation research exploring how the cost of living crisis is shaping the way employer approach financial wellbeing at work. Illustrating current practice...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at worker surveillance in the UK after the pandemic. Worker surveillance is as old as work itself, but new technology is making it easier and cheaper than ever. Data suggests that workplace surveillance practices have hugely expanded during the pandemic and are here to stay – though...

This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at new approaches to energy resilience among SMEs. In this latest Civitas publication, Dr Jim McConologue and Aaryaman Banerji look into energy resilience among SME manufacturers in the UK. The importance of SMEs within the manufacturing sector and across the UK economy should not be overlooked. There...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at what drives the poverty premium in insurance. This report from the Social Market Foundation think-tank presents new evidence and analysis on experiences of the poverty premium in insurance market. Insurance can provide a vital form of resilience in times of financial strain, and,...

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at helping mid-sized businesses to scale up. Focus is skewed towards both the smallest and largest companies in the UK, who benefit from support not offered to the “Forgotten Medium.” Scaling up MSBs would boost the UK’s growth prospects, in particular in areas of...