In this week’s budget the chancellor needed to do three things: shore up the recovery with a big investment package, act on the climate crisis and protect struggling families.
Larger than expected spending on public services was good news, but was overshadowed by a failure to mention the climate crisis just days before the UN climate summit. The chancellor said he wanted to build a new economy coming out of this crisis, and this was his chance. But instead he opted to slash fuel passenger duty on domestic flights and ducked the chance to bolster a flailing economy with a bold green stimulus programme.
And while he rightly cut the universal credit taper rate – as NEF had called for – our latest research shows that that the poorest fifth will still be £380 a year worse off due to his earlier £20 benefit cut. We continue to campaign for the policies Britain really needs, including a Living Income and a Great Homes Upgrade.
Upskilling Britain for a high-wage future A Future Skills Scheme will help workers and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Read our report by Alex Chapman, Chaitanya Kumar and Alfie Stirling.
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Explainer: what is Cop26? The UN climate conference will take place in Glasgow next week. Michael Jacobs explains everything you need to know.
No place like home The minimum wage doesn’t apply to live-in nannies and au pairs which, explain Miranda Hall and Veronica Deutsch, allows employers to exploit these workers
Weekly Economics Podcast: Is austerity back? At the height of the pandemic, politicians promised to do whatever it took to keep the economy going. Now the chancellor talks about“fixing the public finances” and preventing“soaring debt”. What do these phrases mean and what are some of the alternative ways of thinking about our economy? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Dora Meade, head of messaging at the New Economy Organisers Network, and NEF senior economist Frank van Lerven.
Weekly Economics Podcast: What really happens at a UN climate summit? In a week’s time, 25,000 people will descend on Glasgow for the UN climate summit, known as Cop26. So what happens at a UN climate conference? Are negotiators in an events centre really going to stop runaway climate change? Ayeisha is joined by Nathan Thanki, co-coordinator at the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.
“It’s not just the cut in Air Passenger Duty that sends a woeful message. It’s the fact that the chancellor did not mention the word climate in his entire speech.” Watch Miatta Fahnbulleh’s powerful appearance on BBC Question Time this week.
The government’s net zero plan is impressive, but it is high risk Finally we have a plan to reduce emissions, but much of it rests on technology that is yet to be tested at scale, writes Chaitanya Kumar in the Guardian.
Is it too soon to end furlough? Miatta Fahnbulleh appeared on Channel 4 News to discuss whether it is too soon to end the furlough scheme.
The impact of cutting universal credit Alfie Stirling spoke to the BBC about cutting Universal Credit.
