Policy area: Financial policy

Reports

Hitting the buffers

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation previews the key decisions for Autumn Budget 2026 in the context of another rise in the cost of living. This briefing note previews the key decisions facing the Chancellor at Autumn Budget 2026. It assesses how the economic backdrop is likely to affect the OBR’s fiscal...

Read more →

Whose capital?

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society makes the case for building democratic accountability into Britain’s pension system. Over recent decades, economic power in the UK has shifted away from democratic institutions and towards markets, corporations and financial actors. Governments remain accountable for economic outcomes, yet many of the decisions that shape wages,...

Read more →

North Korean crypto-to-fiat activity

This report from UK think tank RUSI offers actionable recommendations for the defence and security sector to mitigate proliferation financing risks. This paper delivers critical insights into how North Korea exploits virtual asset-to-fiat conversion services to launder billions in stolen cryptocurrency, directly supporting its weapons of mass destruction program. By analysing the intersection of blockchain-based...

Read more →

Rethinking property-led regeneration

This report from UK think tank CLES challenges conventional property-led regeneration and sets out a new approach to urban development. This publication challenges conventional property-led regeneration and sets out a new approach to urban development that delivers greater social, economic and environmental value for local communities. Using a free downloadable viability tool, it presents a...

Read more →

UK FATF mutual evaluation taskforce: Second meeting report

This report from UK think tank RUSI analyses the UK's evolving anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks ahead of the 2027 FATF mutual evaluation. This paper provides a timely and authoritative analysis of the UK’s evolving anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) risks ahead of the 2027 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation...

Read more →

Much ado about PuFins

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines how the UK’s public financial institutions can unlock billions for investment. This briefing note examines the UK’s public financial institutions – affectionately nicknamed the ‘PuFins’ – and asks whether they could help the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, square his commitment to the existing fiscal...

Read more →

The great escape

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores why Britain is stuck in a fiscal funk and how we can break free. This report is the first in a series on the size and shape of the state, and how the public finances can be better managed in an era of low growth...

Read more →

Private capital in UK defence

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines how UK defence sector challenges and policy reforms impact private capital investment. This paper analyses how the UK government can increase private capital investment in the UK defence sector to help finance the development of innovative technologies and scaling up production capacity. The paper finds that, while...

Read more →

FATF greylisting and financial inclusion

This report from UK think tank RUSI offers policy solutions to balance financial integrity with financial inclusion. This paper reveals how FATF greylisting – the designation of countries as ‘jurisdictions under increased monitoring due to strategic deficiencies in their anti‑money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes’ – can unintentionally undermine financial inclusion....

Read more →

Algorithms of evasion: The rise of AI-enabled proliferation financing

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how AI is revolutionising proliferation financing and sanctions evasion. This paper explores how AI is revolutionising proliferation financing (PF) and sanctions evasion, particularly by states such as North Korea and Iran. The report warns that a shift from AI-assisted to autonomous, 'AI-enabled' evasion tactics, including the mass...

Read more →

May 2026 Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker

This report from UK think tank the David Hume Institute explores the results of their quarterly survey data collected just after the Scottish Parliament election. The findings of the first Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker since the Scottish Parliament Election bring into focus the scale of the challenge facing the new MSPs. Despite growing confidence in...

Read more →

The impact of fraud on financial inclusion in the UK

This report from UK think tank RUSI identifies how fraud undermines financial inclusion in the UK and offers actionable policy solutions. This paper reveals how payment fraud undermines financial inclusion for low- and middle-income households in the UK. Drawing on a survey of 2,000+ adults from LMI households, it demonstrates that fraud disproportionately impacts those...

Read more →

See it. Say it. Sort it.

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation sets out how the Government can reset Britain’s economic policy. This briefing note sets out how the Government can reset Britain’s economic policy following disastrous local election results, arguing that an honest assessment of where the country stands is the indispensable starting point for repairing its...

Read more →

Strengthening Belgium’s financial response to organised crime

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how Belgium could break the criminal business model through a finance-led approach. This paper highlights the importance of Belgium taking a finance-led approach to dismantling criminal networks that operate in the country and across Europe. ​It examines systemic challenges, such as resource constraints, fragmented coordination and legal...

Read more →

The macroeconomic policy outlook Q2 2026

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation discusses the macroeconomic policy outlook in the second quarter of 2026. Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began nearly two months ago, global energy markets have been volatile. But the shock facing Britain has so far been smaller than that which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:...

Read more →

Related Events

22 October 2026

Location: Online / Resolution Foundation, 2 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA

Think tank: Resolution Foundation

Fixing broken labour markets

This event hosted by UK think tank the Resolution Foundation discusses what the UK and US can learn from each other. No two labour markets are alike. But in recent years the UK and the US have rhymed. Both have seen decent pay growth for the lowest earners, though by different routes: a rising minimum...

23 October 2026

Location: Online

Think tank: National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR)

Are higher real interest rates here to stay?

This event hosted by UK think tank NIESR explores the economic forces that underpin the rise in real interest rates and assesses how persistent they are likely to prove. For much of the period following the Global Financial Crisis, policymakers, businesses and investors became accustomed to an environment of persistently low real interest rates. Low...

29 October 2026

Location: Online / Resolution Foundation, 2 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA

Think tank: Resolution Foundation

Pleasing people and satisfying markets

This event hosted by UK think tank the Resolution Foundation discusses what the Budget has revealed about the state of Britain and Burnham’s government. Budget 2026 need to deliver on three fronts – easing cost of living pressures, taking forward the Prime Minister’s economic agenda and reassuring the markets about the state of the public...

3 November 2026

Location: Adam Smith Institute, 23 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3DJ

Think tank: Adam Smith Institute

The Next Generation with Michael Simmons

This event hosted by UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute explores why the Office for National Statistics needs more scrutiny. Join us for our next Next Generation drinks on Tuesday, 3rd November! We are delighted to welcome Michael Simmons, Economics Editor at The Spectator. Michael is one of Westminster’s sharpest journalists, known for unpacking...