This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust explores the educational backgrounds of leading figures across many sectors. The six years since Elitist Britain 2019 have been a time of political and social turbulence at home and abroad, including wars, a pandemic, a cost of living crisis, and five prime ministers. Racial diversity and...

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society considers how a National Occupational Health Service could work with others in keeping people well at work. Since Labour was last in power, the number of working-age people reporting a disabling condition has increased by 4.3 million. And over 300,000 people leave work with health problems...

This report from UK think tank the Jobs Foundation shows how businesses are creating the vital 'rungs' that help people climb into stable employment. The Government’s Get Britain Working white paper is a big step in the right direction towards helping to create the two million jobs our economy needs to keep these ladders open...

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society makes the case for strengthening sick pay for the self-employed. Self-employed workers account for 13 per cent of all people in work. There are more self-employed people than work in manufacturing, and four times as many as work in finance and insurance. Yet they have historically...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research examines the evolution of nursery prices in England in the wake of 2024 childcare reform. A major expansion of free childcare entitlement in England is currently underway. The policy has significantly expanded the number of parents who are eligible to receive childcare, as well...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores how to incentivise employers to create more opportunities for disabled workers. Improving employment outcomes for disabled people is essential not just for raising living standards across Britain, but for supporting economic growth, reducing inactivity due to ill health, and curbing health-related benefit spending. While policy...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice builds on their landmark report, to offer a new plan to all political parties. Few issues are as explosive in British politics as welfare reform. But just as the smell of cordite following the blazing row over winter fuel payments is wafting away, an...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the Government’s employment reforms. The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) currently making its way through parliament is a big deal for low-paid workers, who stand to gain the most from its changes. But it’s also a big deal for the country, with the row between business...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research examines the experiences of self-employed Universal Credit claimants. When Universal Credit (UC) is fully rolled out in 2026, the proportion of claims with one or more self-employed earners is expected to reach around one in ten, equivalent to around 700,000 households. Self-employed people therefore...

This report from UK think tank Localis argues that local authorities must now lead the response to tackling worklessness. Tackling worklessness, long a stated goal yet persistently unmet by government, has become a structural crisis demanding locally driven reform. With over nine million economically inactive working-age adults, the challenge stems from overlapping issues: long-term illness,...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research recommends reforms to the UK’s current parental leave policies. The policy brief, written by Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg, Dr Alistair Hunt, Lily Zelezetskii and James Bailey, evaluates a reform to UK paternity leave, and finds that expanding paternity leave to six weeks (taken flexibly in...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the role of place in driving regional pay inequalities. Pay varies dramatically across England. In 2024, average weekly wages range from £610 in Liskeard to £1,130 in London. Is this because high‑earning areas attract inherently higher‑earning people, or because the jobs located there pay more...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at reconciling UK migration policy with the energy transition. In the recently published immigration white paper, the British government promised to reduce net migration by only offering skilled worker visas to applicants with jobs that pay over £38,700 a year, and which require...

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust focuses on what England can learn from apprenticeships systems worldwide to deliver more effectively for young people. In England, more than three quarters of a million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, training or work (NEET), with poorer young people most at risk of this...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation examines workers' views on health and employment in 2025. The UK workforce faces a complex web of health and employment challenges that could result in more people prematurely leaving the labour market. While Covid-19 may have accelerated this trend, the underlying drivers pre-date it – the...