Ten years ago, the UK voted to leave the EU – a decision that was always bound to cause significant economic disruption. But it’s far from the only big economic shock we’ve experienced since – from pandemics to trade wars and now the AI revolution. While many will spend this anniversary looking backwards, it’s just as important to look forward and consider how we can navigate economic change in the decade ahead.

How has the UK’s trade in goods and services changed over the past decade, and how much is down to Brexit compared to other global shifts? How has the UK fared compared to its G7 peers? What does the past decade of economic change mean for the future of the UK’s industrial strategy? And are there strengths to leverage, as well as weaknesses to defend?

The Resolution Foundation has hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research marking ten years since the Brexit vote and just over five years of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, we will hear from leading experts on at the scale of economic change the UK has experienced over the past decade and how to boost growth over the next ten years.

Listen to High Resolution, our main podcast, here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f5tUJPYEowcKhNS7cnZLY

We spend a lot of time thinking about money, but almost no time thinking about how odd it actually is. No other abstract concept plays such a significant role in our everyday lives, with this system built entirely on trust.

The Bank of England, as the guardians of Britain’s money, have for the first time written a book about how it makes the world go round – and what happens when it breaks down. In their new book Money: The Inside Story, economists Rupal Patel and Jack Leslie pull back the curtain on how money is supposed to work, what happens when it doesn’t, and where it might be going next.

How is money created? What happens in a crisis? And what might new technologies mean for the future of money?

The Resolution Foundation has hosted an event to mark the launch of Jack and Rupal’s new book. Joining them on stage will be acclaimed author, journalist and co-host of the hit new FT Podcast The Story of Money Gillian Tett, who can shed light on how money has shaped history and taken down even the sharpest minds.

Listen to High Resolution, our main podcast, here: https://linktr.ee/highresolutionpodcast

Collective bargaining has long been crucial to worker power in Britain. But after decades of union decline, a collective voice is increasingly rare leaving workers to assert themselves individually in the workplace instead. Yet in reality, many workers in low-paid and precarious sectors such as hospitality, cleaning and warehousing – the focus of new Resolution Foundation research – feel they have little to no influence over the decisions that impact them, including on pay and hours.

How does the power balance between firms and workers play out in low-paid and precarious sectors? How have the key ways workers exert power changed? And what does this mean for wider labour market conditions and dynamism?

The Resolution Foundation has hosted an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of research featuring a new survey and qualitative interviews with Organise members in precarious sectors of the economy, we will hear from leading experts on how power is experienced at the bottom of the labour market, and the implications for employers and policy makers.

Read 'Take it or leave it' here: https://buff.ly/FpSAd0C

Listen to High Resolution, our main podcast, here: https://linktr.ee/highresolutionpodcast

Social security has been undergoing a quiet revolution across the UK. While attention has focused on the roll-out of Universal Credit, many other aspects of the benefits system are devolved, allowing governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take different approaches to welfare.

As newly elected MSs and MSPs prepare to take their seats in the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament, and as the issue of welfare reform continues to loom large over Westminster, understanding what these differences are, and what reforms have worked well, could help to improve the system for everyone.

What are the key differences in social security across the four nations of the UK, and is it fair that families may be entitled to very different amounts in different parts of the UK? Which reforms have worked best, and hold lessons for other governments? Should we go further in devolving social security, or does the partially-devolved, partially-reserved nature of social security cause problems for claimants in devolved nations? And what are the wider lessons for welfare reform?

The Resolution Foundation hosted an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from new research by the Safety Nets project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and which the Resolution Foundation has contributed to, on social security across the four nations, we will hear from leading experts on what lessons can be learned for further welfare reform.

The Labour Government has had a bruising start to the Parliament. It is trailing badly in the polls and is expecting a battering in the local, Welsh and Scottish elections in early May. Another relaunch and plan for a comeback in the second half of the Parliament is expected soon. But the parameters of this relaunch are hotly disputed.

With:

To read the report: See it. Say it. Sort it. • Resolution Foundation

Nearly one million 16-24 year olds across the UK today are not in employment, education or training. There are many drivers of the recent rise in NEETs, from the costs of hiring to worrying trends in young people’s mental health. But the UK has long had a higher NEET rate than many other advanced economies, and so we also need to look deeper at structural issues like the education and benefits systems.

With Alan Milburn’s independent review into tackling the NEETs challenge currently underway, now is the time to think how we can really improve the transition from education to employment for young people today.

To what extent are young people today disadvantaged in the labour market? How could the benefit system be reformed to improve outcomes for young people? Why does post-16 education continue to let down those not taking the traditional A-levels to university path? And what would a holistic package to address our NEETs problem look like?

Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, we do know that it is already adding to cost of living pressures, that inflation and the path of interest rates will be higher, and that growth rates for GDP and disposable incomes will be lower (and may turn negative). The Resolution Foundation is hosting a pair of events in April to unpack what the effects of the war are on the UK economy, and how policy makers should respond.

This second event will focus on the wider outlook for the economic and public finances.

How much might the war reduce the UK’s growth prospects? What fresh policy support might be needed in the face of a potentially acute and prolonged price shock? How will this affect interest rates and mortgages? And what might an outlook for lower growth, higher inflation, higher debt servicing costs and fresh policy support mean for the public finances, and the Chancellor’s fiscal rules?

Following a presentation of wider domestic economic implications of the war in the Middle East, the Foundation will be joined by leading experts in their fields to discuss what might unfold, and how the Government and Bank of England should respond.

The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.

Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, the increase in the price of oil and gas means we already know energy and petrol costs are set to rise. Knock on effects will hit food prices and wider inflation, not to mention the second-round effects on wage negotiations, interest rates, debt-servicing costs and wider economic growth. The Resolution Foundation is hosting a pair of events in April to unpack what the effects of the war are on the UK economy, and how policy makers should respond.

Part I will focus on the coming cost of living crunch.

What is the outlook for petrol prices, energy bills, the cost of a supermarket shop and wider inflation? How might this affect the outlook for family living standards? Can the Government respond to this coming cost of living crunch effectively? And how can it balance the need to provide clear, effective and targeted support with a price tag that the UK economy can afford?

The Foundation will be joined by leading experts in their fields to discuss the impact on households, and how the Government should respond.

Part II will focus on what the economic fallout of the war could mean for growth and the state of the public finances, and how this could shape future interest rate decisions and the next Budget. This event will take place on Wednesday 22nd April.