Sadiq Khan needs to stop boasting and start building, warns CPS
This week, Sadiq Khan has been promising radical action to fix London’s housing problems. But new figures confirm that London’s affordable housing programme, overseen by the Mayor, continues to fall woefully short of targets. In the year April 2024 to March 2025, a total of 3,661 affordable homes were started under the programme. This is… View Article
Immigration White Paper: right rhetoric, but light on solutions
Responding to the Government’s new Immigration White Paper, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘The publication of today’s Immigration White Paper shows that the Labour Party has, finally, accepted the arguments put forward by the Centre for Policy Studies and others that migration is not an unmitigated economic good, that various visa routes such as… View Article
Press coverage for CPS welfare briefing
A new briefing from the Centre for Policy Studies highlights areas of oversight, or lack of ambition, in recent proposed changes to the welfare system announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall. The briefing by CPS Tax and Fiscal Researcher Daniel Herring argues that despite aiming to make £4.1bn in savings by 2029/30, the… View Article
Labour’s welfare plans neglect key areas, says new CPS briefing
Despite the Government’s planned welfare reforms, health-related benefits are still projected to grow three times faster than the economy as a whole – increasing by an average of 5.3% a year over the remainder of the 2020s, compared with the expected GDP growth rate of 1.6% Labour have correctly acknowledged the scale of the problem… View Article
Press coverage for the CPS’ response to the Spring Statement
CPS Director Robert Colvile said ‘the Chancellor’s Spring Statement was fatally undermined by a failure to acknowledge that her own actions have contributed to Britain’s economic woes, and continue to do.’ (Read the full response here) His comments were picked up by the Daily Express, the Telegraph, and Guido Fawkes, with CPS Research Fellow Dr… View Article
Spring Statement: No more tax rises, but for how long?
Responding to the Spring Statement, CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘Given where Rachel Reeves found herself, the Chancellor should be congratulated for not making things worse – in particular, by raising taxes again. ‘It was also welcome to see the Government focusing on reducing the welfare bill, cutting the size of the Civil Service and… View Article
Coverage for MTC25: Remaking Conservatism
Sparking renewed interest in the theme of remaking conservatism, speakers and panels at the Margaret Thatcher Conference 2025 have captured headlines in Britain and beyond. A keynote speech by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid, achieved a significant amount of coverage in the Spanish press, including the front page of leading Spanish… View Article
Labour’s overly statist approach to Net Zero risks hurting households
The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon budget, released today, sets the targets for Britain’s carbon emissions covering the years 2038-42 The pathway set out relies heavily on electrification, with rapid continued uptake of EVs and heat pumps. To accomplish this, one of the CCC’s key recommendations is ‘making electricity cheaper’ Yet Ed Miliband’s ideological dash… View Article
Press coverage for ‘Here to Stay’
The latest briefing from the Centre for Policy Studies, ‘Here to Stay’, is a comprehensive estimate of the costs of long-term migration, specifically for those eligible and likely to claim Indefinite Leave to Remain in the coming years. The report had immediate impact, featuring in leader columns for the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Express,… View Article
Recent migration wave may cost country billions, warns CPS
Earlier this week, the Conservative Party shone a spotlight on the need to reform the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) system Today, new CPS research shows that between January 2021 and June 2024, just over 2 million visas were issued to migrants who will be eligible to apply for ILR in the UK The first… View Article
CPS responds to the Chancellor’s growth speech
Responding to Rachel Reeves’ speech this morning, CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘The vast bulk of the Chancellor’s speech was hugely welcome – and indeed echoed arguments the Centre for Policy Studies has been making forcefully for years. She is right that growth needs to be the absolute priority, that excessive and often conflicting regulation… View Article
CPS responds to ONS population data
Responding to the ONS population figures released today, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘Once again, ONS population projections have net migration running at unsustainable levels – 340,000 per annum from 2029 onwards and accounting for the entirety of the population growth. The reality may in fact be even higher given the projections assume net… View Article
Papers cover CPS analysis on cost of employing lowest paid
New analysis by CPS Tax and Fiscal Researcher Daniel Herring has found that this year will be the most expensive on record for businesses who employ workers on the minimum wage. Due to the rise in employer’s National Insurance in the Budget and the dramatic reduction in the threshold at which it is paid, 21.3%… View Article
Cost of employing low-wage workers to hit record high in 2025, according to new analysis
Businesses employing low-wage workers will see a massive hike in their tax bills in 2025 The Chancellor’s decision to raise employer’s National Insurance has led to a whopping 60% tax increase for businesses employing the lowest paid In 2024, an employer paid £1,617 in NICs for each full-time employee on minimum wage. In 2025 they… View Article
