This report from UK think tank RUSI examines whether ESG standards are the scapegoat for stalling defence growth. Europe’s defence industry needs investment to meet growing security demands. The real problems are not ESG standards, but bureaucracy, banks’ reputational concerns and the general defence market.

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum recommends developing a Renewal Investment Tracker to shine a light on public investment. If the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy is to succeed, it will need to maximise the UK’s economic growth potential in a highly uncertain and rapidly changing global context, while at the same...

This report from UK think tank Labour Together looks at a new type of state with more energy and the will to get things done. In a new paper by Morgan Wild and Peter Hyman, they argue that for today’s times, a new type of state is needed. One that has more energy and will...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at how people engage with democracy. What has shifted us towards a more autocratic, rather than democratic, world? While there is nothing new about a politically divided citizenry, the current state of democracy strongly calls for an analysis of the diverse motivations of...

This report from UK think tank New Economics Foundation looks at transforming the Office for Budget Responsibility into the Office for Fiscal Transparency. The UK’s fiscal framework has a democratic deficit. The OBR has an effective veto over decisions about how much money the government spends and on what. We propose replacing the OBR with...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the care gap in England. There exists a damaging geographical and demographic ‘care gap’ in England that means access to care for older adults is increasingly based not on need but on other factors – some perhaps less surprising, like local levels of deprivation...

This report from UK think tank Localis examines reorganisation, local government and the future of English devolution. The English Devolution white paper, published in December 2024, set in motion a chain of events raising a series of fundamental questions about the arguments underpinning it. In this short report from Emeritus Professors of local government, Colin...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores how local economic strategies can be powerful drivers of prosperity and growth. As the government continues progress on the ‘devolution revolution’, it is more important than ever for strategic authorities to use their devolved powers in a coherent and strategic way. This report sets...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation puts the 2025 Spending Review into context. June 11th saw the Chancellor reveal the results of the first ‘zero-based’ review since 2008, the first stand-alone Spending Review since 2019, and the first three-year plan since 2021. It was the Government’s chance to say what its priorities...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how ministers can prepare for a potential crisis and learn lessons in the aftermath. Crises are among the greatest challenges a minister will face while in office. The minister in charge of the response will have to get to grips with a complex...

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum takes stock of the government’s progress and offers answers to build a more responsive state. Setting mission-driven government up to succeed requires a radical overhaul of the state: not just its structures and processes, but its culture, capabilities and ways of working. In our submission...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation sets out six key takeaways for how business should think about proactively engaging with the proposals. Given the Government’s statements on how it views business’ use of overseas workers, the White Paper provided an opportunity for the Government to put its money where its mouth...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at prioritising prevention in the 2025 spending review. Homelessness is an issue that blights the lives of many people, including families and children. A cost of living crisis, on top of a decades-long housing crisis, has left hundreds of thousands without adequate or safe,...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government presents a draft Bill designed to improve the management, functioning and oversight of the civil service. Since our foundation, the Institute for Government has argued for improved accountability in government and researched ways to achieve it. In recent years we have led calls for a...

This report from UK think tank Power to Change sets out concrete recommendations to government and political parties to renew our democracy through grassroots civil society. This research shows that our democracy is in poor health but people who are involved in associational organisations – from book clubs to community businesses to working men’s clubs...