NEF in the news, March 2020

Push to end low pay may have to be scrapped, UK government warned
Alfie Stirling made the case for the recovery to the coronavirus crisis to strike a balance between valuing employment rates and employment quality in the Guardian. 

Tearing Apart Britain’s Safety Net
Alfie Stirling wrote for Tribune on how coronavirus shines a light on the huge mistake made by government in cutting a £34 billion hole in Britain’s safety net over the last decade.

Until cuts are reversed, Sunak’s support for the self-employed will fall short
Alfie wrote for the Guardian about how although the chancellor’s help for the self-employed is timely and welcome, millions remain left out and at the mercy of a decimated benefits system.

Covid-19: Making the UK welfare system fit for purpose
Alfie spoke to Ian Dale about how the government should have done more to prepare the UK for a recession and what it needs to do now to strengthen the social safety net for those most affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The impacts of austerity on the UK Covid-19 crisis
Miatta Fahnbulleh appeared on the political panel for Drivetime with Dan Wootton to discuss whether the government’s choice to impose austerity measures over the last 10 years has made the UK less prepared to tackle the coronavirus crisis than other countries.

Covid-19: Strengthening the social safety net
Alfie spoke to Ian Collins about the measures we need to see from government to build a stronger social safety net and support workers during the coronavirus crisis and into the future.

Supporting workers during the covid-19 crisis
Miatta appeared on All Out Politics with Adam Boulton to discuss the measures the government has already put in place for workers during the outbreak, and make the case for it to go further, particularly around supporting the self-employed.

Covid-19: the government must go further 
An open letter signed by NEF and 97 other economists, academics and research organisations calling on the government to do more to protect workers, particularly the self-employed, was covered in the Times and the Guardian. 

Coronavirus: interest rate cut and how we can protect families
Miatta responded on Sky News to to the Bank of England cutting interest rates to 0.1%, and explained that a big fiscal stimulus and expanded social security was vital to protect workers and families.

Government should introduce a rent holiday
Hanna Wheatley called on the government to do more to support renters during the coronavirus crisis on London Live.

The government’s response to coronavirus
Miatta Fahnbulleh appeared on Dan Wooton’s Drivetime show on talkRADIO.

Where will we be after coronavirus? Politics Weekly podcast
Miatta Fahnbulleh appeared on the Guardian Politics Weekly podcast to talk about the possible consequences of the UK government’s response to Covid-19.

The Bank of England has a new boss. What should his top priorities be?
NEF, in collaboration with openDemocracy, asked eight leading economists to give advice to the man replacing Mark Carney at the top of the central bank.

The coronavirus crisis
Miatta appeared on Julia Hartley-Brewer’s talkRadio show to discuss coronavirus.

Economic impacts of coronavirus
NEF CEO Miatta Fahnbulleh spoke to Shelagh Fogarty on LBC about the impacts coronavirus will have on our economy and the measures the UK government should put in place to protect families.

Achieving a wellbeing economy
NEF CEO Miatta Fahnbulleh discussed the idea of measuring economic success by factors other than GDP on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.

The UK coronavirus response and the impacts on the economy, Brexit and social care
Miatta Fahnbulleh discussed the delay phase of coronavirus, developing precautions from the UK government and the impacts of the crisis on Brexit and the social care sector on BBC 2 Politics Live.

2020 budget: the Guardian panel’s verdict
Miatta Fahnbulleh wrote a response in the Guardian to the measures Rishi Sunak announced in his first Budget.

Verdict on the 2020 Budget
Miatta Fahnbulleh gave her verdict on the Budget to LBC’s Iain Dale.

This Budget Won’t Fix Britain’s Broken Welfare System
Alfie Stirling wrote for Tribune about the Budget’s failure to restore the social safety net.

To create a resilient and ​‘levelled-up’ UK, the budget must be green
Alfie Stirling wrote for the Guardian on how the chancellor could ​‘level up’ regions through green investment to tackle inequality and the climate crisis at the same time.

What can we expect from Budget 2020?
NEF CEO Miatta Fahnbulleh went on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme ahead of the Budget to discuss what the chancellor might announce.

How Labour can go beyond Tory ​‘levelling up’ and drive real economic equality
NEF CEO Miatta Fahnbulleh wrote for the Guardian on calling on the next Labour Leader to put building a different type of economy at the top of their list.

Andrew Bailey urged to keep climate focus at Bank of England
NEF was one of over 1010 signatures on a letter calling on new Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to keep climate focus. The letter was covered in City AM, Left Foot Forward and Financial Reporter. 

Self-isolation is a luxury that gig economy workers can ill afford
Aidan Harper wrote for the Guardian on how self-isolation to limit the spread of the coronavirus may not be an option for low-paid, insecure workers.

Why don’t we treat the climate crisis with the same urgency as coronavirus?
Alfie Stirling was quoted in an article by Owen Jones in the Guardian about how the economic measures in response to a recession triggered by coronavirus should be linked to solving the climate crisis.

The UK needs a budget that meets the scale of the challenges we face
Lukasz Krebel wrote for openDemocracy on the need for the rules of public spending to be rewritten to support green investment.

Should the chancellor rethink plans to get rid of entrepreneurs’ relief in the Budget?
Alfie Stirling responded no in a CityAM debate about whether the chancellor should rethink plans to get rid of entrepreneurs’ relief.