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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 BuildAxing 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
Britain and the ECHR: Past Myths, Present Problems and Future Options
The myth that the European Convention on Human Rights was a British creation enthusiastically adopted by Churchill and Attlee is fundamentally false, according to explosive new research from the Centre for Policy Studies that reveals the true scale of Britain’s constitutional crisis. The comprehensive analysis by Rt Hon Lord Peter Lilley, who served in Cabinet… View Article
How Many Homes Does the UK Need?
Decades of lacklustre housebuilding and recent record migration have left the UK with a shortfall of more than 6.5 million homes, according to new research from the Centre for Policy Studies that reveals the devastating scale of Britain’s housing failure. The debut research by Ben Hopkinson, the CPS’ new Head of Housing and Infrastructure, shows… View Article
The Cost of the British State
In the wake of the Spending Review, public spending is still on course to reach almost £1.5 trillion in nominal terms and £1.4 billion in today’s money by 2028/29 – representing a real-terms increase of 23% on 2019/20. This means that Government spending per adult is set to reach around £24,190 in today’s money by… View Article
Welfare Reform: Why Labour Must Go Further
New research from the Centre for Policy Studies outlines the scale of the challenge facing the Government in its goal of bringing welfare spending down and getting more Britons into work. The recent reforms announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall aim to make £4.1bn in savings by 2029/30. But the overall bill for… View Article
Here To Stay? Estimating the Scale and Cost of Long-Term Migration
NOTE: The Office for Budget Responsibility fiscal data contained within this report is the subject of dispute, meaning that the overall cost estimates should no longer be used. We will be publishing an updated estimate in due course. This does not impact on the visa data or projections for the numbers likely to gain ILR… View Article
Punching Down
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
Common Ground Conservatism
How can the Conservative Party recover from electoral catastrophe? A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies, built around an extensive programme of quantitative and qualitative research led by James Frayne, argues that the party needs to return to the ‘common ground’ first identified by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph in the 1970s. Built on… View Article
The Great Grid Gamble
Ed Miliband hailed a recent report from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as vindicating his plan to decarbonise the grid by 2030. But new analysis shows that the NESO report is built around a series of assumptions designed to cast Miliband’s plans in the best possible light, rather than reflecting the reality of the… View Article
Budget Briefing: The Age of the Super-State
New analysis from the Centre for Policy Studies shows that, as a result of changes announced in this week’s Budget, state spending is set to increase to an astonishing £1.5 trillion by 2029/30. The briefing paper argues that the measures announced by Rachel Reeves show Labour reverting to its traditional view that the state can… View Article
