Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

A new long-term plan for growth

How should the Government set its new Industrial Strategy?
 
The Government is gunning for growth, and a new Industrial Strategy lies at the heart of this agenda. But while an Industrial Strategy is supposed to set long-term policy thinking, it also comes to the fore in acute political crises, as Ministers have already found with threatened closures to steel plants and car factories. As the new Government sets out fresh long-term thinking on how it can support British industries, what should inform a new Industrial Strategy for the decisive decade ahead?
How should industrial strategy balance a front-footed focus on leveraging the strengths of many of its services sectors, with a more defensive approach to protecting vulnerable industries, like advance manufacturing? To what extent should place feature in a national strategy, and should any of that strategy be devolved to City-regions and local areas? Where does policy help or hinder firms’ expansion? And how much difference can a new Industrial Strategy make in terms of boosting jobs, living standards and economic growth?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of key highlights from new RF research and a speech from Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, a panel of Britain’s leading politicians and policy experts discuss how a new Industrial Strategy might succeed in boosting growth.

Trade in the age of Trumponomics: Navigating Britain’s trade in a post-Brexit, intra-Trump world

British firms are still adjusting to the Brexit shock that has affected UK firms’ ability to trade with our biggest trading partner bloc. Now a new shock is looming from the country we trade most with via threats of universal tariffs from the President-Elect Donald Trump. But the impact of these huge trade shocks will differ across different sectors, and across importing and exporting firms. Understanding where the UK’s trade strengths and vulnerabilities lie will be crucial as the Government develops a new trade strategy for the decade ahead.
Which sectors have been vulnerable to recent shocks, and which have continued to grow? How have firms responded to Brexit in the way they trade, and what does this mean for people’s lived experience of trade trends? Is Britain’s status as a services superpower under threat? And what does this mean for the Government’s new UK trade strategy that can navigate a post-Brexit, intra-Trump world?
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 major new research on how the UK’s trading relations are evolving, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for devising a new UK strategy in a turbulent world for trade.

An Uneven Inheritance: Examining wealth inequalities within and between generations

British household wealth has been on a rollercoaster ride in recent years. Increased saving during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted wealth, only for interest rate rises during the cost-of-living crisis to wipe out wealth gains.
Since the late 1970s overall measures of wealth inequality have been relatively stable. But this hides big changes in wealth gaps both within generations, and between them. And as wealth is passed down through generations, the state of wealth in Britain today has huge implications for current and future living standards, for young, old and middle-aged alike.
How has recent economic turbulence affected Britain’s story of growing wealth, and growing wealth gaps? How have higher interest rates affected wealth inequality, and how might wealth transfers through inheritances and gifts affect future trends? What are the long-term implications for continued wealth inequality, particularly for younger generations? And is there a role for policy in tempering these trends?

Many helping hands: How intergenerational transfers support lifetime living standards

Transfers between generations – from care given to younger or older relatives, to gifts, inheritances and a roof over one’s head – play a vital role in society. But despite their importance to family living standards, they are often misunderstood. If we’re to better appreciate how modern Britain operates, we need to understand the economic significance of these intergenerational transfers, and what they mean for individuals and families.
How has the extent and intensity of care provided across generations changed over time, and for what reasons? Have demographic and economic changes increased the need for intergenerational support? Who can access intergenerational financial support, and who provides it? And what does this mean for different people’s ability to work, live comfortably and get ahead in a career?
Speakers:
Ann Berrington, Professor of Demography & Social Statistics University of Southampton
Eliza Filby, Author and historian of generations and contemporary values
Molly Broome, Economist, Resolution Foundation
David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

Unsung Britain: Understanding the stresses and strains of low-to-middle income families

There are around 13 million low-to-middle income families across Britain today. This diverse group of families are at the heart of the country’s economic prospects, and any government’s political mandate. And yet they are poorly understood – who they are, how their lives have changed, and the stresses and strains they are under. In order to better understand low-to-middle income Britain, the Resolution Foundation is launching a new 12-month project –with support from JPMorganChase – which will also investigate what can be done to boost their living standards. 
The Unsung Britain project was launched with new research, and a speech by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook at an event at our Westminster offices.
Speakers:
Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning
Polly Toynbee, Author and Columnist at The Guardian
Abigail McKnight, Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the LSE
Lalitha Try, Economist at the Resolution Foundation
Gavin Kelly, Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

No pain, no gain? Assessing what the Budget means for the UK economy

The first Budget of the new Parliament is a particularly important one, giving the Chancellor a unique opportunity to set the economic framing for the next five years. It’s also often a chance to take painful decisions – post-election tax rises are a time-honoured tradition. 
The Resolution Foundation hosted its traditional ‘morning after the night before’ event to debate and answer questions about the Budget. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its overnight analysis of Autumn Budget 2024, we heard from leading experts – including the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes.

Getting the green light:How can we fairly share the costs of decarbonising transport?

The next big hurdle on Britain’s path towards a green economy is decarbonising every-day travel. Emissions from getting around – from cars, vans, buses, trains and planes – make up the greatest share of the country’s carbon footprint, and have hardly shrunk in the past decade. So, if we want to go green, we need to overhaul the ways in which families get from A to B. Moving from polluting petrol to cheaper electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring lower income families can access EVs or affordable public transport, and that flying pays its way, are vital if the transition is to achieve widespread public consent and support.
How can we support lower-income families to access EVs which are more expensive at the point of purchase, but cheaper to run? Will public transport continue to get more expensive relative to driving in the future, and if so how can we support families who don’t or can’t drive? And with high emissions flights bouncing back after the pandemic, how can we ensure that frequent flyers pay their way in the net zero transition?
 

Tough medicine: Assessing the Chancellor’s options in her first Budget

Painful post-election Budgets are a time-honoured tradition in Britain, and the new Government’s upcoming fiscal event will be no exception, with the PM and Chancellor already warning of tough decisions being made. Expectations are being set for higher taxes, higher borrowing or lower spending – or perhaps a combination of all three.
What tax and spend decisions might the Chancellor consider in order to put the public finances on a more even keel, and what might this mean for family finances? Can the tough medicine in the Budget be squared with the need to kickstart growth? How might the new Government navigate the politics of a post-election Budget? And what could this mean for the rest of the Parliament?
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 new research – the last in a five-part series about the economic challenges facing the new Government – we will hear from leading experts on the Chancellor’s options in her first Budget.