Reports

The myth of “left behind”
This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities looks at why a city-focused industrial strategy will not increase place-based discontent. A common argument in the aftermath of the Brexit vote was that people’s political discontent was the result of the widening divide between city and town. Yet, data shows that constituencies with stronger connections...

Rebalancing European joint fires to deter Russia
This report from UK think tank RUSI considers the role of land-air integration in achieving the suppression and destruction of enemy air defences. NATO land forces are overwhelmingly dependent on air power for fires. Without large-scale US assistance, however, European air forces would currently struggle to roll back dense and integrated air defence systems (IADS)...

Opinion on climate change policy during the 2024 general election
This report from UK think tank Green Alliance examines public opinion on climate change policy during the 2024 general election. In the lead up to the 2024 general election, concerns emerged about whether public support for climate and nature policy was weakening. With political narratives increasingly focused on the costs of net zero and the...

Yanked away
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at the post-pandemic productivity divergence between Britain and America. Britain’s record of productivity growth in the 2010s was dismal. But halfway through the 2020s things appear to have got worse not better, with official data likely understating the scale of Britain’s ongoing productivity crisis. America...

Winning the industrial war: comparing Russia, Europe and Ukraine, 2022–24
This report from UK think tank RUSI focuses on the key policy issues that have shaped military-industrial production in Russia, Ukraine and European NATO. During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian defence industry has managed to significantly increase defence production. Ukraine has also done this, although to a lesser extent. European members of NATO,...

The economic miracle of Great Britain
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation discusses using DB pension surpluses more productively. In late January, the Chancellor announced changes would be made to existing defined benefit (DB) pension regulations to allow surpluses from these schemes to be released. These assets could then be used for purposes including investment back into...

Planes, trains and automobiles: how green transport can drive manufacturing growth in the UK
This report from UK think tank IPPR states that upcoming industrial strategy must make 'buying British and buying green' the easy option. Transport is essential to our lives. Unfortunately, it is currently also the largest source of UK domestic carbon emissions. Along with investment in infrastructure, the production of green transport equipment – electric trains...

Generating hope
This report from UK think tank Localis looks at how the Local Power Plan can build on best practice and overcome local barriers to drive energy decarbonisation. Elected on a platform with strong emphasis on energy security and decarbonisation, the UK Government has set a goal of ‘clean power’ by 2030 and established Great British...

European digital defence priorities in an uncertain world
This report from UK think tank RUSI assesses the digital defence capabilities, priorities and challenges facing five European states. The research, which assesses the digital defence capabilities, priorities and the challenges facing five European states - the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Spain – says that countries often possess robust digital technologies but struggle scaling...

2030 and beyond: Great British Energy’s role in the green transition
This report from UK think tank IPPR offers an implementation strategy for GBE’s success. The UK government created Great British Energy to help deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity. Achieving this requires bold, but focused, actions, without burdening GBE with conflicting objectives. In this report, we offer an implementation strategy for GBE’s success. We outline...

How to get Britain working (and pay the bills)
This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice examines short, medium and long-term solutions to Britain's human and economic challenge. ‘How to Get Britain Working’ calls on the Government to embrace a once in a lifetime opportunity to deliver welfare reform: delivering both economic and human benefit to ensure more people are...

Beyond the office? How remote and hybrid working can help close the disability employment gap
This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation explores the role remote and hybrid working can play in helping disabled people to stay in, or re-join, the labour market. Overnight, the Covid-19 pandemic opened up a new era of workplace flexibility for millions of people with a great increase in working remotely. Today, one...

Decreasing transport poverty in Europe through public EV chargepoints
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the EU's EV landscape, key challenges and policy changes. This briefing examines the EU's EV landscape, key challenges, and policy changes to ensure equitable access to this transformative tech. KEY POINTS Transport poverty affects households and businesses when adequate transport is not available, accessible,...

Strategic security: the case for a new paradigm for national security
This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society suggests a pivot to ‘securitisation’ as a new national security paradigm. We need a new doctrine for a new world. With more global instability than at any time since the Second World War, we are faced with challenges that are not only of a different...

The geopolitics of critical minerals
This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines the geopolitics of critical minerals. The average global citizen rarely thinks or talks much about rare earth elements (REEs). However, these 17 metallic elements are indispensable to everyday life, forming the backbone of high-tech devices such as mobile phones, cameras, computer hard drives and...
Related Events
22 May 2025
Location: Online
Think tank: Centre for Cities
Green Book red flags: Is the Green Book really a problem?
This event hosted by UK think tank Centre for Cities will explore the reality of the Treasury Green Book. Ahead of the Spending Review, Centre for Cities and expert panellists take on the perennial debate on the role of the Green Book. Starting with a 10-minute presentation from a member of the Centre for Cities’...
9 June 2025
Location: Online
Think tank: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Confronting the housing crisis: The bold steps needed to deliver affordable homes for all
This event hosted by UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Prospect magazine will discuss ideas that could help shape a stronger, fairer housing system in the UK. Radical change is needed to redesign the UK’s housing system. That’s why it is encouraging to see the Labour Party make tackling the housing crisis a...
Related Articles
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...