Reports
Improvement through empowerment
This report from UK think tank IPPR sets out how ‘improvement through empowerment’ - of both teachers and schools, can drive excellence in education. We need to shift the drivers of better schooling from high stakes top-down accountability to a system which empowers schools and teachers to innovate and improve. Policymakers in recent decades have...
Unlocking local action on clean air
This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at unlocking local action on clean air. There is an urgent need to address air pollution. Preventing the premature deaths of up to 43,000 people per year in the UK and reducing cases of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, dementia and asthma would be reason alone. Those who...
UK Economic Outlook (Autumn 2023)
This report from UK think tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research calls for renewed public investment. The latest quarterly forecast from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research calls for renewed public investment, rather than tax-cuts, ahead of the forthcoming Autumn Statement and next year’s General Election. Flatlining productivity and sluggish...
Charting new waters
This report from UK think tank IPPR is a progressive response to the Channel crossings. The surge in arrivals from people crossing the Channel in small boats has become an increasingly charged issue for government. The number of detected arrivals rose sharply from 299 in 2018 to 45,744 in 2022, and there have been more...
Mapping the supply of surveillance technologies to Africa
This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies documents which companies are supplying which types of surveillance technology to African governments. African governments are spending over 1US$bn per year on digital surveillance technologies which are being used without adequate legal protections in ways that regularly violate citizens’ fundamental human rights. This report...
A tale of two human rights lawyers
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation explores whether a Labour government could realise a better future in the UK for refugee protection with control. Judgment on the legality of the government’s ‘Rwanda plan’ response to the irregular migrant flows across the English Channel is currently awaited from the Supreme Court. In...
Homes for all
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute outlines a fair way to build housing where people want to live. Under the proposed ‘Homes for All’ scheme, the government would use Compulsory Purchasing Orders (CPOs), a legal tool which can be used to compulsorily buy land or property to support development that is...
Equality and empowerment
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society looks at a progressive proposal for fiscal devolution and economic development in England. England is generally agreed to be the most centralised nation of its size in the developed world, with central government involved in almost all aspects of how local authorities operate. Despite the extensive...
From missed chances to green advances: the case for a green industrial strategy
This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at the case for a green industrial strategy. The transition to net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. But claims of UK leadership in capturing the economic benefits of the transition to a green economy are wide of the mark. While the UK has...
Towards real social security: embedding a long-term approach to universal credit
This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at how we can build a strategic, ambitious and collaborative response to improve our social security system. Our safety net is failing to protect people from being pulled into poverty. Universal credit is simply inadequate to meet day to day living costs. This means despite temporary cost...
MPs’ staff, the unsung heroes
This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit provides new insights into who works for MPs. A good deal is known about the 650 MPs who sit in the House of Commons, and they are frequently the focus of research. Far less is known about the over 3,500 people who work for them across...
Public attitudes towards the plight of and policies for younger people
This report from UK think tank Bright Blue looks at the current public attitudes concerning how younger people are and should be supported by government. Younger people in this country are disillusioned with the Conservative Government. Only 1% of 18-24-year-olds in the UK intend to vote for the Conservatives in the next election, according to...
Why is the UK still party to the Iran Nuclear Deal?
This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at practical applications for the future of the JCPOA. At the time of publication of this report, the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78) is being held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, with the high-level General Debate...
Mapping the supply of surveillance technologies to Africa
This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at the supply of surveillance technologies to Africa. African governments are spending over 1US$bn per year on digital surveillance technologies which are being used without adequate legal protections in ways that regularly violate citizens’ fundamental human rights. This report documents which companies, from...
Review of the UK Constitution: Final report
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government concludes an 18-month long Review of the UK Constitution. The UK’s constitution has been tested to its limits and found in urgent need of reform. This report, published jointly by the Institute for Government and Cambridge University’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy, warns that a...