Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Running out of road? How to avoid (net) zero car taxation

The UK is decarbonising its stock of cars quicker than most people expected – last year there were over a million Electric Vehicles (EVs) on our roads. This is great news for both people and the planet, as EVs are cheaper and cleaner to drive. But this transition presents challenges too – not least to the £32 billion of annual tax revenue collected from vehicles.
How can policy makers encourage the switch to EVs in a way that doesn’t land the Treasury with a fiscal hole, or low and middle income families with unfair tax bills? Are there tensions between decarbonising and decongesting our roads? And how can we build political support for vital – but contentious – reforms to road taxation?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research on reforming road taxation, we will hear from leading experts on how to make the taxation of vehicles fit for the UK’s net zero transition.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/where-the-rubber-hits-the-road/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/running-out-of-road/ 

Turnaround cities: How post-industrial cities around the world have transformed their economies

In a services-based economy like Britain, its cities should be leading its economic growth. But in fact England’s major cities outside London are actually less productive than the national average, and many have struggled to adjust to our post-industrial landscape. This is a common challenge for many cities in western economies. But while some cities have been left behind, others – from Lille to Dortmund, Bilbao to Pittsburgh – have turned around their economies and forged ahead.
How have industrial cities around the world successfully responded to major economic change and disruption? What policy lessons are there for cities across Britain? And what role should cities play in a new economic strategy for Britain?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from a new Navigating Economic Change essay on eight turnaround cities around the world, we will hear from leading experts on what cities across Britain can learn from those that have successfully transformed their economies.
Read the essay: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/lessons-from-successful-turnaround-cities-for-the-uk/ 
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/turnaround-cities/ 

We need to talk about inflation: What history has to teach us about surging prices

Book launch event for We Need to Talk About Inflation by Stephen King
From investors and academics, to governments and central banks, almost everyone had assumed high and persistent inflation was dead and buried. But with inflation having soared to double-digits, people the world over are confronting a new economic reality of surging prices.
Reflecting on six key lessons from across the history of inflation, Stephen King’s new book We Need to Talk About Inflation examines the political and social upheaval it can cause and proposes ways for policymakers to avoid repeating the failures of the past.
What are the causes of today’s inflation surge? How worried should consumers and policymakers be about persistently high inflation? And how should fiscal and monetary policy makers respond?
To mark the launch of Stephen King’s new book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a launch at its Westminster office. Stephen will be joined by leading macroeconomic expert Silvia Ardagna for a discussion on the outlook for inflation across the world in the years ahead.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/we-need-to-talk-about-inflation/ 

Still coping? How families are faring as the cost-of-living crisis enters its second year

The UK’s cost-of-living crunch has entered its second year. While inflation should fall significantly in the coming months, the crisis is far from over. Prices are rising more slowly rather than falling. And the significant government support provided last year is being scaled back, while fast rising interest rates will affect more and more homeowners in the months ahead. Many people have used savings or support from friends and family to cope with the crisis so far – but this support is finite.
How is the cost-of-living crisis evolving as it enters its second year? How is the squeeze playing out across different families and generations? And what should policy makers be looking out for in the months ahead?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our latest cost-of-living survey – supported by the Health Foundation – we will hear from leading experts on how the cost-of-living crisis has impacted the UK and evolved over time.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/hoping-and-coping/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/still-coping/ 

Playing by the rules: A new approach to enforcing workers’ rights - Session 3: Keynote speech from Angela Rayner MP

Keynote speech by Angela Rayner MP, followed by Q&A with Resolution Foundation Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome. The event will conclude with a keynote speech from Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner MP, followed by networking drinks.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/ 

Playing by the rules: A new approach to enforcing workers’ rights - Session 2: The solution

Speakers include: Patricia Rice, Low Pay Commissioner; Matt Warman MP, Co-chair of the APPG on the Future of Work; John Kelly, Irish Workplace Relations; Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation; and Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/ 

Playing by the rules: A new approach to enforcing workers’ rights - Session 1: The problem

Speakers include: Kate Roberts, Head of Policy at FLEX; Kate Shoesmith, Deputy CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation; Alan Bogg, Old Square Chambers; Hannah Slaughter, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation; and Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome. 
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/ 

Good work: How to renew the UK’s economic strategy and put better jobs at its heart

The minimum wage has more than halved the share of low paid workers across Britain over the past two decades. This is a huge success – but it is far from job done. While low-paid workers today earn more, they are too often trapped on short-hours, facing poor working conditions or lacking the advantages higher earners take for granted – from sick pay to control over when they work. Too many jobs are seen as low status, even when they are highly valued. Good work should be a core objective of a renewed economic strategy for the UK – but it will require a new policy agenda, going far beyond the minimum wage, to achieve it. This will bring trade-offs that need to be confronted not wished away: better jobs for some will mean higher prices for others.
How much higher can the minimum wage go? What are the top priorities for wider improvements in the quality of work? Who will win, and who will lose, from efforts to spread good work? And what wider changes might a radical strategy to improve the quality of lower paid work in Britain bring for our economy?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from Low Pay Britain 2023, we will hear from leading experts on the future of lower paid work.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/low-pay-britain-2023/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/good-work/