IPPR

IPPR is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener and more prosperous society. We are researchers, communicators, and policy experts creating tangible progressive change, turning ideas that seem impossible into common sense realities. Working across the UK, IPPR, IPPR North and IPPR Scotland are deeply connected to the people of our nations and regions, and the issues they face.  

We have helped shape national conversations and progressive policy change for more than 30 years. From making the early case for the minimum wage and tackling regional inequality, to proposing a windfall tax on energy companies, IPPR’s research and policy work has responded directly to the crises facing society. 

Today, our work drives social, democratic, environmental and economic progress by securing: 

  • Well-funded and reformed public services (health, care, housing, education) and social security that ensures everyone has access to the basics they need to flourish. 
  • A renewed democracy which gives everyone a voice in society, ensures equal access to our rights and passes power down to people, places, and communities. 
  • A modern, green economy that delivers prosperity and justice to all people and places through actively shaping markets for social good and tackling concentrations of wealth and power. 

Our major projects all aim to support this. IPPR’s Centre for Economic Justice is reshaping the debate on the UK economy, building on our landmark commission report, Prosperity and Justice. Our Fair Transition Unit looks at how to achieve net zero and restore nature both quickly and fairly, expanding on the findings of our cross-party Environmental Justice Commission. Through our Commission on Health and Prosperity we are making the case that good health is a keystone of a strong economy; and we are addressing the challenge of place-based inequalities through our work on progressive ‘levelling up’. 

IPPR receives funding from a wide range of sources including leading trusts and foundations, and has been awarded the highest rating (A) for transparency from Open Democracy’s Who Funds You? project.


Latest reports

Modernising elections: How to get voters back

This report from UK think tank IPPR puts forward policy approaches to improve turnout and reduce inequality at UK general elections. Elections are the defining feature of modern democracy. They are the process by which we express a desired future en masse. It is the mass dimension that matters most; it is the mass dimension...

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The childcare challenge: How can the new government deliver a real childcare guarantee?

This report from UK think tank IPPR seeks to reimagine childcare as a proper public service, capable of driving progress on the opportunity mission goals. Can we reimagine childcare as a proper public service? The newly elected Labour government has picked up where the previous government left off, by committing to continuing the plans to...

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Earning vs owning: Rescuing opportunity in the asset economy

This report from UK think tank IPPR puts forward a new typology of wealth and expands the conversation from wealth tax to a broader range of policy instruments. Life chances are increasingly determined by what you inherit, not what you do. But what can we do about it? More people own assets today than in...

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From the frontline: Empowering staff to drive the NHS reform agenda

This report from UK think tank IPPR puts forward a new approach, based on ideas of democracy and decentralisation, as the way to achieve better decision-making throughout the NHS. The return on public investment has weakened since the pandemic; more money is not leading to many more patients being treated overall. At the same time,...

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Transforming asylum accommodation

This report from UK think tank IPPR calls for an end to the ineffective use of resources on unsuitable accommodation and proposes a reimagined approach to asylum housing. Asylum accommodation costs have soared in recent years, with billions of pounds being spent on housing people in inadequate conditions, which is both a waste of public...

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Bookkeepers or changemakers? Understanding the chancellor’s choices ahead of the budget

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at understanding the chancellor's choices ahead of the budget. Voters believe the government should be "changemakers, not just bookkeepers." New polling from IPPR and Persuasion UK reveals the public want ministers to focus on investing in public services rather than just balancing the budget.

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Low capital gains tax is not a sensible way to support entrepreneurs

This report from UK think tank IPPR argues that raising Capital Gains Tax is the fairest way to generate revenue for fixing our public services. Raising Capital Gains Tax in the upcoming budget is the fairest way to generate revenue for fixing our public services. It won’t affect working people, nor will it discourage entrepreneurship,...

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The heatwave: Unlocking the economic potential of UK heat pump manufacturing

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at unlocking the economic potential of UK heat pump manufacturing. It is a clear example of how the transition to net zero can foster economic growth, sustain qualified jobs, alleviate regional imbalances and reduce the cost of living via energy cost saving. Previous IPPR analysis points to...

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The security blind spot: Cascading climate impacts and tipping points threaten national security

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at climate change poses both immediate and long-term threats that are at least as serious as the Covid-19 pandemic. The new UK government has initiated a Strategic Defence Review and is undertaking a review of national resilience. Security threats resulting from climate change should be at the...

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Budgeting better: How the UK could start to improve its fiscal framework and boost growth

This report from UK think tank IPPR considers how to work towards a better and more comprehensive fiscal framework. The new Labour government’s growth mission is to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7. But growth is low, and UK is at the bottom of the G7 for investment, and the plans...

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Stronger rights, better results: managers’ attitudes to workers’ rights

This report from UK think tank IPPR, the TUC and Persuasion UK today assesses the level of support for increasing workers' rights amongst managers. Labour’s manifesto pledged to strengthen employees’ protections at work. In this research, our goal was to assess levels of support for increasing workers’ rights amongst managers, and explore the opinions of...

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Our home: A progressive agenda on international nature

This report from UK think tank IPPR urges government to follow up quickly on its commitment to place ‘international nature’ at heart of foreign policy. A healthy natural world is a non-negotiable life-support system for every person on earth. It underpins all of our lives in fundamental ways. However, our joint life support system is...

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Our greatest asset: the final report of the IPPR Commission on Health and Prosperity

This report from UK think tank IPPR central contention contends that better health is Britain's greatest untapped route to prosperity. The nation’s health challenges have reached historic proportions, and change is needed. Led by an understanding that the boldest health reforms only come when there is a strong social and economic case for them, this...

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Healthy industry, prosperous economy

This report from UK think tank IPPR proposes a new approach to harmonise public health and industrial policy. If we want both health and prosperity, then public health and economic strategy need to work in lockstep – but this is not the case today. While there is a tendency in health policy to focus on...

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Half of us: turnout patterns at the 2024 general election

This report from UK think tank IPPR takes a first look at who spoke in the 2024 UK general election. One-half of adults in this country voted at the 2024 general election, the lowest share of the population to vote since universal suffrage. This report takes a first look at who spoke in the 2024...

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