Family Hubs pregnancy grant pilot – Interim report and early lessons
This report from UK think tank Nesta presents early insights into the programme's implementation and the experience of participants so far. About the pilot In April 2025, Camden Council began piloting the Family Hubs Pregnancy Grant. This is an offer of £500 to low-income pregnant people. Parents are notified of the grant and given simple...
Smart city surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI surveillance across 11 countries
This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies warns that surveillance is violating citizens' freedoms and their human right to privacy. This report provides the most comprehensive account to date of smart city surveillance in Africa. Expert researchers draw on their contextual experience of their own countries in detailed reports on Algeria,...
Tracking money and influence in the UK and Europe
This report from UK think tank RUSI explores transnational anti-rights mobilisation as a hybrid threat to UK and European democracy. This paper highlights the growing threat of transnational anti-rights mobilisation to the UK and European democracy, driven by foreign actors, funding and influence. It examines how identity-based narratives are strategically weaponised to undermine democratic resilience,...
How to build public support for defence spending in Europe
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform presents strategies for preventing a political backlash. As European governments look to spend more on defence to better deter security threats from Russia and others, a lack of public support for the spending trade-offs involved risks triggering a political backlash. A new CER policy...
Angels’ delights
This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities argues that geographic differences in equity investment reflects differences in the number of investable firms. Equity investment is at the heart of the Industrial Strategy, and it is predominantly urban. Over 80 per cent of equity deals and values are for businesses in cities. A few...
Mind the gaps – why restrictions on less healthy food and drink advertising fall short
This report from UK think tank Nesta explores the changing face of food and drink advertising. Obesity is a critical public health challenge in the UK, with two-thirds of adults now living with excess weight, and levels of childhood obesity in the UK among the highest in Europe. In January 2026, the government implemented new statutory restrictions on...
Hostile states and the Far Right: Converging tactics
This report from UK think tank RUSI examines how hostile states exploit far-right gender and identity narratives to polarise societies and weaken democracies. This paper highlights the critical intersection between hostile state actors and transnational far-right movements, revealing how gender and identity-based narratives are weaponised to polarise societies, weaken democratic institutions and disrupt international alliances....
Paternity allowance: Six weeks for self-employed and worker dads
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research assesses the costs and benefits of introducing a new entitlement for self-employed and worker fathers. Although designed to promote gender equality, parental leave policies in the UK have yet to close the gap in uptake, with women taking significantly more leave than men. Authors...
The genius of Adam Smith
This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argues that individuals pursuing their own self-interest can promote the public good when channelled through his ‘system of natural liberty.’ Smith’s ‘system of natural...
Cooking on gas
This report from UK think tank Onward calls for a change in approach that places greater emphasis on affordability and energy security. The report Cooking on Gas argues that a large share of the UK’s high energy prices is the result of policy choices rather than unavoidable market pressures. It highlights how taxes, levies and...