This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at regionally rebalancing wealth, power and opportunity. Our economy and democracy are not yet designed to help all places thrive. Reducing regional inequality, or levelling up, remains imperative for both improving the fairness of society and the efficiency of our economy. If the UK was more regionally...

This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at how Islamophobia is defined by local authorities. Islamophobia Revisited by Hardeep Singh builds on a previous collection of essays on Islamophobia published by Civitas in August 2019. Hardeep Singh returns to this topic, and in Islamophobia Revisited conducts a thorough investigation into how Islamophobia is defined...

This report from UK think tank Onward looks at tackling the crisis on England’s coast. England’s coast holds an important place in Britain’s history. Towns and cities along the shoreline once welcomed holidaymakers from across the country and hosted industries that exported around the world. Today, the coast is in crisis. Cheap international travel has...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at a new policy framework for the UK’s towns. Towns are the backbone of our economy, the heart of our communities, and the engine of job creation. Yet they often face significant challenges, including funding allocation, skills challenges, infrastructure issues and digital adoption. In...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at six tests for a government serious about reducing regional inequalities. Central government is not set up to deliver this government’s promise – or Labour’s plans – to reduce regional inequality. This report sets out how central government has undermined past attempts to reduce...

This report from UK think tank Localis looks at how Community Land Trusts can deliver affordable housing. The Government has recognised the benefits that second homes and short-term holiday lettings can bring to local economies and to the tourism sector in terms of increasing consumer choice and distributing tourism across the country. At the same...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the most pressing governance challenges in Northern Ireland today. In Northern Ireland, mention of constitutional change normally means just one thing: United Kingdom versus United Ireland. The ‘constitutional question’ that this juxtaposition connotes – whether or not a majority of the people in...

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at how the Social Value Act damages British procurement. In this paper, our Director of Research Maxwell Marlow analyses the Social Value Act 2012 and its effects on the procurement process in the UK. The Social Value Act, and accompanying Social Value Model, stipulate...

This report from UK think tank Onward looks at how local government funding misses areas with fewer opportunities. Grants to local authorities are targeted on deprivation, missing parts of the country that might be more affluent overall, but have some of the lowest levels of social mobility. Inner-city boroughs are the winners while smaller towns...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Welsh Affairs warns against the effects of political pessimism if we are to overcome our ‘democratic malaise’. Our report, Building Bridges: Wales’ democracy – now, and for our future, calls for measures to strengthen Wales’ democracy beyond the electoral cycle and warns against the effects of...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the newly-launched Office for Local Government and the potential to make government more effective. The newly-launched Office for Local Government (Oflog) has the potential to make government at all levels more effective – but there is a risk that Oflog will be held...

This report from UK think tank Localis looks at a modern agenda for public service integration. Perhaps the greatest of the myriad challenges facing local government is the continued delivery of local public services against the headwinds of rising inflation and inexorable demographic pressures. With the dozen missions outlined in the Levelling Up White Paper...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how England’s counties and cities can make a success of devolution. This report sets out how politicians and officials can master the art of the devolution deal to give new devolved institutions a greater chance of success. It welcomes the cross-party consensus behind...

This policy briefing from UK think tank City-REDI looks at improving economic performance and social inequality in the West Midlands. A policy briefing on the STEAMhouse, a Birmingham City University (BCU) asset. The briefing explores its contribution to improving economic performance and social inequality in the West Midlands.

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance looks at how the government must provide incentives for domestic green industries to grow. Pressure is mounting on the UK to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Net Zero Industries Act. But the UK’s economy is currently flagging, experiencing challenges with lack of purpose,...