FEATURED PUBLICATION
Who Wins Under Labour?
‘Who Wins Under Labour?’ shows how fiscal drag – where frozen tax thresholds pull more workers into higher tax bands as wages rise – will quietly erode living standards for millions of middle earners over the coming years.
Read more
Power to the Markets
Labour’s ideological approach to Britain’s electricity market risks raising prices for households and could prevent the country from meeting growing demand at the lowest cost, according to a new report. ‘Power to the Markets’, published today by the Centre for Policy Studies, with support from the European Climate Foundation, argues that central planning and politically… View Article
A Productivity Toolkit for Britain
A sluggish public sector and the closure of productive private sector industries are hampering growth and risking significant future tax hikes, according to a new report published by the Centre for Policy Studies. ‘A Productivity Toolkit for Britain’ by former Conservative cabinet minister and now peer John Redwood delivers a thorough diagnosis of the productivity… View Article
A Year of Talk – But Where Are The Houses?
Despite the government pledging to make house building a priority, there is little sign Labour can deliver on their housing ‘ambitions according to new analysis from the Centre for Policy Studies. 2025 was a record breaking year for discussion, with figures showing ‘planning reform’ was mentioned a record-breaking 520 times in parliament. However, on numerous… View Article
Who Wins Under Labour?
‘Who Wins Under Labour?’ shows how fiscal drag – where frozen tax thresholds pull more workers into higher tax bands as wages rise – will quietly erode living standards for millions of middle earners over the coming years. Some of the worst hit will be those earning around £50,000, who face jumping from a 28%… View Article
Dithering not Delivering
Ministers are stifling major infrastructure projects through dithering and delay, new analysis shows. Despite Labour’s pledge to accelerate delivery, ministerial indecision has added nearly four years of cumulative delay in 2025 alone, and the Government is already falling behind its target of deciding on 150 projects by 2029. A briefing by the Centre for Policy… View Article
The Cost of Labour
The costs of employing young people entering the workforce have skyrocketed since Labour came to power, according to new analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies. The research builds on earlier CPS analysis, which showed that Rachel Reeves’ first Budget made 2025 the most expensive year on record for businesses employing those on the minimum… View Article
Britain’s Broken Budgets
Ahead of Rachel Reeves’ second Budget later this week, new analysis from the Centre for Policy Studies argues we need to do away with our current system of fiscal rules as they have failed to improve the public finances since their introduction in 1997. ‘Britain’s Broken Budgets’ by CPS Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy… View Article
A Migration Revolution
New analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies of revised ONS population data, released this week, highlights the extent to which earlier population figures understated recent demographic change in the United Kingdom. The revised long term international migration data published by the ONS shows that the country experienced faster population growth and greater churn between 2021… View Article
Tax Reforms for Growth
A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies and six other leading think tanks sets out proposals to reform Britain’s tax system. ‘Tax Reforms for Growth’, co-authored by experts from the Centre for Policy Studies, CenTax, IPPR, the Adam Smith Institute, the New Economics Foundation, Bright Blue, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, outlines seven… View Article
Axing the Admin?
The Chancellor this week promised a ‘blitz on bureaucracy’, with a headline target to save business £5.6 billion a year by the end of the parliament. However, a new briefing by the Centre for Policy Studies argues that this is woefully unambitious, because it is built on deeply flawed calculations. Keir Starmer originally promised to… View Article
The UK’s International Tax Competitiveness 2025 Update
The latest edition of the International Tax Competitiveness Index, published today by the US-based Tax Foundation, shows the UK continuing to languish in 32nd place out of 38 OECD countries in terms of overall tax competitiveness — ahead of only Italy and France in the G7. The Index is an annual ranking of 38 OECD countries… View Article
The City That Doesn’t Build
Despite the clear need for more houses in London, the capital is building at less than a quarter of the per capita rate of the rest of England, according to new analysis published by the Centre for Policy Studies. ‘The City That Doesn’t Build’ by CPS Head of Housing and Infrastructure Ben Hopkinson shows that… View Article
The Responsible Society
It is 100 years since Margaret Thatcher was born in Grantham. Fifty years since she took over the Conservative Party. Thirty-three years since she was forced from office. Today’s voters are not Thatcher’s children, but Thatcher’s grandchildren – even great-grandchildren. So why do we still care? In a powerful new essay for the Centre for… View Article
Breaking the Cycle
The UK has a low-growth, low-productivity, low-wage economy – but a high-spend, high-tax, high-borrowing state. Before the 2008 financial crisis, a 21-year-old would have seen the economy double in size by the time they were aged 47 and their living standards rise accordingly. Now they would have to wait until they are at least 64,… View Article
Wealthy Nation, Healthy Nation
Scotland must focus on policy delivery over constitutional debate for the next decade to become the wealthiest, healthiest and best-educated part of the UK, according to a new essay collection spearheaded by former Scotland Office Minister Malcolm Offord. The analysis in ‘Wealthy Nation, Healthy Nation’ brings together senior medical professionals, education experts and economists to… View Article
Rail’s Last Chance
Britain’s railways are bleeding £1.4 billion annually despite passenger numbers returning to near pre-pandemic levels, with the Government’s radical overhaul to create Great British Railways risking catastrophic failure without urgent course correction, according to new research from the Centre for Policy Studies. The research by Tony Lodge sets out a four-point plan to save Britain’s… View Article
