Resolution Foundation Podcasts

All developed countries are grappling with a falling birth rate, and the UK is no different. While the UK’s birth rate has often fluctuated, it has fallen sharply since 2012, and a rebound anytime soon looks unlikely. There are cultural and economic drivers behind the recent shortfall; and the implications will be both immediate and pose challenges well into the future. Is the UK’s declining birth rate worth worrying about in the first place? What explains the recent trend of falling birth rates? Should policymakers be acting on this, and if so, what could be done? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest research on the significant implications of Britain’s plunging birth rate, we will hear from leading experts on why it matters, how, and if, policymakers should respond, and what we can learn from across the globe.

The dream of owning your own home is a powerful life goal for many. Once realised, it comes with better living standards, as well economic security. But many families are failing to get over the barriers to accessing a mortgage – from finding a deposit to passing banks’ affordability tests. Indeed, many would say such regulation has gone too far and it is time for a loosening.   To what extent has falling home ownership among young and lower-income families been driven by regulation, wider market conditions or government policy? How many people are on the margins of home ownership, and what is stopping them from making that next step? Should policy makers intervene to support home ownership, and what are the risks of intervention in terms of elevated house prices, mortgage debt and loans on the Government’s balance sheet?

In his new book Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them, British Labour Party Politician and the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North Liam Byrne draws on original research from across Europe and America to explore why populism has seduced voters worldwide. Liam sets out populism’s ‘five tribes’ – and which of these voters can still be won back by the centre. Drawing connections between rising inequality and the growing appeal of populism, Liam sets out a game-plan to tackle the populist surge. The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate key questions – and answers – raised by Liam’s book. He will be joined by Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, alongside David Guake and Gaby Hinsliff, to unpack this timely call to action.

Britain has long seen lower intergenerational social mobility than many of its peers, with those from lower-income backgrounds receiving lower earnings as adults than those from more affluent backgrounds. University is often seen as the ticket out of this social mobility trap, but is this true? Unpacking the factors driving persistent earnings gaps for young people based on their background is vital if we’re to lift living standards for those from lower-income backgrounds. How significant is the earnings gap between graduates from different backgrounds and how does this change over time? To what extent can this be accounted for by educational choices and where people work – and how much cannot?

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The Government came into office promising to tackle policy uncertainty by limiting major fiscal events to one a year. They failed to deliver this last year, but are determined to deliver a ‘policy free’ Spring Forecast next week. Have they achieved greater policy certainty, or been scuppered by the cost of policy U-turns, public service pressures, major changes in the UK economic outlook, or problems that need fixing before the Autumn Budget?   Speakers David Miles Member of the Budget Responsibility Committee at the OBR Dharshini David BBC’s Deputy Economics Editor James Smith Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation

The Treasury promised us a boring non-event, which on the day was massively over-shadowed by events in the Middle East anyway. Ruth Curtice discusses the merits of annual fiscal events, the difficulty of getting growth going, and what to expect in the Chancellor's upcoming (and unprecedented) *second* Mais Lecture, with James Smith (Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation) and Giles Wilkes (Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government).  Read 'Understatement of the year' on our website today, for the full detail of our Spring Forecast response.

Catch up on a recording of our recent event discussing the outlook ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Forecast. The Autumn Budget was barely three months ago, but the UK has experienced plenty of economic and political drama since then. In the short time between OBR forecasts, there have been encouraging signs on the public finances and the outlook for inflation. But growth remains sluggish and uncertainty elevated amid rising geopolitical tensions. There are some signs of productivity ‘green shoots’, but the risk is they are indicative of higher unemployment.   Speakers Karen Ward - Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset Management Yael Selfin - Vice Chair and Chief Economist KPMG in the UK Andy King - Specialist Partner at Flint Global James Smith - Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice - Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)

Britain does not feel like a nation at ease – and hasn’t done for a very long while. By more than two-to-one, Britons last year judged the country to be on the “wrong track” rather than heading in the “right direction”. Ruth Curtice, the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, discusses the experiences and prospects for the nation's poorer half with Scarlett Maguire and Tom Clark.

The Resolution Foundation has documented two decades of UK economic underperformance and stagnant living standards.   18 months into a government elected on a mandate of change and growth, and following the publication of Mountain climbing, we're assessing their growth strategy – its intentions, its achievements, and its prospects moving ahead into an uncertain world. Lord David Willetts, the President of the Resolution Foundation, is joined by Sophie Hale, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, and Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors.

The UK has made good progress towards net zero in recent decades. But the agriculture sector stands out as having made barely any progress. To meet our legally-binding climate targets, agriculture and land use will need to decarbonise seven times quicker this decade than in the past 15 years. Fundamental changes to how we make food and use land will be needed. But decarbonisation in this area is hard and any efforts will need to overcome considerable political and living standards barriers to reform.   How can policy makers meet the decarbonisation challenge while protecting living standards for farmers and consumers, while also upholding food security? How can better-designed land-use policy play a role? How should the sector’s generous subsidy system be overhauled? And who should pay for greening food production? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of our latest policy proposals on the farming sector, we wil

The roll out of Universal Credit began way back in April 2013, a process that has been beset by delays, design changes, controversy and criticism from across the political spectrum. But 13 years on, the roll out is almost complete and Universal Credit is here to stay. As we approach this crucial milestone and the Government is undertaking its own internal review of the benefit, now is a good opportunity to take fresh look at UC’s design and structure and ask what operational changes could be made to improve the experience and outcomes for the seven million families claiming UC today. How could changes to Universal Credit improve income stability for its claimants? How could the interaction between the benefit system and work be smoother? What could be done to improve trust in Universal Credit? And can make Universal Credit be made to work better without breaking the bank?

Resolution Foundation Research Director Lindsay Judge talks you through the learnings from recent benefit reforms in Scotland, joined by Louise Murphy and Ben Geiger. Read 'Delivering dignity' on our website today to learn more.

Adult social care is a vital public service. But this is not reflected in the pay and job quality on offer for England’s 1.5 million social care workers. Low-pay, zero-hours contracts, and breaches of labour market rules are worryingly widespread, and have contributed to a longstanding recruitment and retention crisis. The Government has rightly sought to address this by setting up a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB), that brings together workers and employers to draw up a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA). But there are still big questions about how to turn this worthy ambition into deliverable improvements across the sector. How can the ASCNB be set up quickly while delivering lasting improvements to care workers’ conditions? Which workers should be covered by the FPA, and what terms and conditions should be included? And how should the FPA be enforced in a sector currently rife with labour market non-compliance? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person event and interactive webinar to debate a

Immigration is one of the most salient and polarised issues among the British public – and one that successive Government policy initiatives have failed to resolve. Now central to the UK’s political debate, the issue regularly makes headlines and is used as a device by parties to win public opinion. Seen by some as a missing part of the UK’s growth strategy, and by others as having gone too far, any discussions are often binary and divisive. And while politicians recognise the need to get immigration policy right; they continue to be torn over what strategy is best, let alone how to deliver it. In his latest book Why Immigration Policy Is Hard, Professor of Economics at the LSE and former Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee Alan Manning makes the case that while immigration policy will never satisfy everyone, that doesn’t mean it can’t be (and needs to be) done much better. Using cutting-edge international research, Alan seeks to inform debate by first building a picture of migration across the world, t

The Chancellor has prepared the pitch for a tough second Budget, with tax rises expected as part of a fiscal strategy designed to reassure markets that the UK’s public finances are firmly under control. But the Chancellor has also promised to protect the NHS, boost growth and support families with the cost of living. Acting decisively on all of these priorities would be no mean feat as part of a Budget that takes more than it gives. How tough a settlement has the Chancellor delivered on tax rises and spending cuts? To what extent have manifesto pledges been breached? How much will the measures announced help or hinder economic growth? Who are the main winners and losers? And to what extent has this Budget laid the groundwork for the rest of the Parliament? Speakers Richard Hughes Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Kamal Ahmed Columnist at the Daily Telegraph Yael Selfin Vice Chair and Chief Economist at KPMG James Smith Research Director at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice Chief Exec

Please note that due do technical difficulties the last couple of minutes of this event are not included in the recording. November 13th 2025 The Budget run-in has centred around what taxes the Chancellor will need to raise to meet her fiscal rules. But housing could potentially play an equally decisive role. Ambitious planning reform could deliver the economic growth that Britain so desperately needs, the current mess of property taxation is ripe for reform, and better support for families in rented accommodation could raise living standards and reduce child poverty. Successive governments have failed to grapple with Britain’s housing challenges, but can the Chancellor afford not to grasp it? How can planning reform be strengthened, and what might it mean for growth? How much appetite is there for touching the terrible twin taxes of stamp duty and council tax? And how should housing feature in the Government’s new Child Poverty strategy that will sit alongside the Budget? SPEAKERS Emily Williams Director o

The Resolution Foundation has recently published research assessing how the Government can help families with high energy bills. Our Chief Executive discussed the proposals with Jonathan Marshall (one of our Principal Economists) and Adam Scorer, the Chief Executive of National Energy Action. Tune in to learn about the drivers of Britain’s stubbornly high household energy bills, and how reform of the costs added onto bills offers a route for helping families with the cost of living this winter. To learn more, read 'Splitting the bill' on our website today: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/splitting-the-bill/

After delivering her first Budget last autumn, which included the biggest tax rises in decades to fund a major boost to public services, Rachel Reeves said that she would not be coming back with more tax increases. Fast forward 12 months and she’s about to do just that given a deteriorating outlook for the public finances risk the fiscal rules being broken. So the task for the Chancellor at this Budget is to show that she is serious about meeting her rules, boosting growth, and relieving cost of living pressures. Delivering all three in one Budget is an unenviable task. How has the UK’s economic outlook changed since March? To what extent is our economic future being shaped by present uncertainty, or past poor performance? How much tax and spend tightening might the Chancellor need to? And how can she raise more revenue in a way that does the least harm to economic growth and living standards?

The number of 16-24 year olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is increasing, and drawing more political focus. Policy makers are right to worry about this major living standards concern – not earning or learning in early adulthood can stunt careers and earning potential for many years into the future. But if we’re to help NEETs we need to understand who they are and why they’re NEET, so that solutions are based on actual rather than imagined problems. How many young people are NEET in Britain today? What’s driven the recent change, and how does it differ by age and gender? What are the key education and labour market problems facing young people today, and what can policy makers do to help them?