Beyond the cost of living crisis
This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK examines affordability and financial resilience across the UK and its four jurisdictions in 2026. The cost-of-living crisis has been a defining feature of public discussion across the UK in recent years. When people cannot afford essentials, cope with unexpected costs or participate fully in society, the effects...
Working it out
This report from UK think tank Bright Blue proposes a new deal for the self-employed. The UK is currently home to 4.57 million self-employed: a number which has grown consistently over the past four decades. Yet, despite their growing numbers, the self-employed have access to a much poorer safety net than employees. This is even...
Motherhood, inside out
This report from UK think tank Theos reveals Britain does not pay enough attention to the profound transformation that comes with becoming a mother. Motherhood, Inside Out explores the profound process of matrescence – the transition of becoming a mother. Like adolescence, matrescence is a period of far-reaching physical, emotional, psychological, social, political and spiritual...
Slipping through the cracks
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation explores the challenges and barriers frontline services face in identifying gambling related harm. Gambling is a common practice in Britain, but can be highly addictive. This briefing explores the challenges and barriers frontline services face in identifying gambling related harms, drawing on existing literature alongside...
Care to stay
This report from UK think tank Re:State calls on local authorities to implement a cross-cutting, place-based strategy for the adult social care workforce. Re:State’s new report recommends an immediate, deliverable, and locally-led approach to addressing the adult social care workforce crisis. While the sector’s underfunding is a key driver of its chronic workforce issues, as...
Care to share
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society discusses building the national care service. Three years ago, the Fabian Society set out what a National Care Service should look like in a research report, Support Guaranteed. A year later, in its manifesto, Labour drew on the ideas in Support Guaranteed and committed to a...
Council tax reduction and universal credit: Winners and losers of the postcode lottery
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research explores how the different elements of scheme design in England are affecting UC claimants who work. Eligibility, entitlement and assessment criteria for Council Tax Reduction (CTR) – a means-tested discount on council tax for low-income, working-age people – have been left to the discretion...
Citizens advance
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines a state alternative to the bank of Mum and Dad. The Citizens Advance would give people a choice – receive a lump sum now in exchange for postponing the point at which they start receiving their state pension. Only those who had garnered 10...
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...
High housing costs in the private rental sector: The case for action
This report from UK think tank IPPR calls for a new system of rent stabilisation to cap excessive increases, linked to whichever is lower: inflation or wage growth. 45 per cent of all private renters in the UK have unaffordable rents. It's time for the government to act to limit rent increases. In the UK...
