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Resolution Foundation
@resolutionfoundation.org
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The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank dedicated to lifting living standards in the UK.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · Nov 12
Hello and welcome to all our new followers 👋

To ensure you're getting all the best analysis and insights, we've made a starter pack of all our staff on Bluesky. Make sure to give them a follow too ⤵️
go.bsky.app/5Anuz76
resolutionfoundation.org
Random rebates? Working-age Council Tax Reduction now varies wildly across Great Britain ⤵️
Chart showing Annual Council Tax left to pay if a family receives the maximum amount of Council Tax Reduction and has an average per dwelling Council Tax Liability, by local authority (left panel), and number of local authorities where the Council Tax left to pay falls into each band (right panel): GB, 2025-26
February 10, 2026 at 10:35 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
The Unsung Britain conference is now hearing from Ashwin Prasad, the Chief Executive Officer of Tesco UK.

"My perspective as a major employer in this country is that far fewer people are in work than could be."
February 10, 2026 at 10:33 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Working isn't working. Our analysis confirms that work is not a guaranteed route out of poverty.

In the latest data, the majority (55 per cent) of non-pensioner families in poverty had someone in work. This is up from fewer than two-in-five families in the mid-1990s.
Chart showing working age families by employment status
February 10, 2026 at 10:05 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
🚨 New Living Standards Outlook published today! 🚨

This year will see a welcome boost to living standards... which we sadly expect to be short-lived.

@louisemurphy.bsky.social explains 👇 buff.ly/siFTYAC
February 10, 2026 at 9:58 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
The energy crisis denied many in Unsung Britain warmth.

This chart shows how many people were unable to sufficiently heat their homes through the energy price shock 👇
CHart showing Proportion of individuals living in households unable to keep their accommodation warm enough, by group: UK
February 10, 2026 at 9:45 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
We're now hearing from our brilliant first panel.

Tune into the livestream here to find out what they have to say ⤵️ buff.ly/TbXMmu8
February 10, 2026 at 9:36 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Mike Brewer is now addressing the conference about the key findings of our analysis 🧵
February 10, 2026 at 9:28 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
📢 Published today! 🚨

Unsung Britain represents an 18-month investigation into the lives of the 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country.

Read more 👉 buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
I’ve noticed a difference between when the 14-year-old was very little to when my 10-year-old was very little. Within four years, you could feel the slide.
February 10, 2026 at 9:25 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Ruth Curtice addresses the Unsung Britain conference.

"Britain's poorest families are poorer today than they were 20 years ago".

Watch along here 👉 buff.ly/TbXMmu8
February 10, 2026 at 9:09 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
An 11 ppt swing from mortgagers to renters over the 3 decades since 1995 means that 8.6 million people in lower-income families rent from a private landlord.

These people spend on average 43 per cent of their total household budget on rent.

Read Unsung Britain now ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
Chart showing proportion of non pensioner low to middle income families in different tenure types In 1994-95, three-in-ten families in Unsung Britain had a mortgage. But by 2023-24, renting privately was the most common tenure (29 per cent), with the proportion living with parents (15 per cent) almost as high as the share of mortgaged families (17 per cent).
February 10, 2026 at 8:45 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Unsung Britain is working harder, for limited rewards.

The 20-64-year-old employment rate for people in lower-income families rose by 11 percentage points over the last 30 years...

..but earnings growth has petered out since 2005.
Chart showing employment rate for adults aged 20-64 Chart showing change in various component of income and mean equivalised disposable household income
February 10, 2026 at 8:30 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Unsung britain – the poorest half of the country – can now expect to wait a lifetime for the doubling of living standards which used to happen every 40 years.
Chart showing annualised growth rate of median income for unsung britain The big slowdown: Between 1975 and 2005, the typical incomes of the poorer half of working-age families doubled. By contrast, if progress continues to crawl in the way it did between2005 and 2024, a further doubling would take over 130 years.
February 10, 2026 at 8:15 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
NEW analysis 📢 Britain's poorer half is working harder and getting less in return.

Our new book reveals the people of Unsung Britain are more likely to be in work, caring for a loved one, or sick themselves but their incomes – and opportunities – remain stagnant 🧵⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
I’ve noticed a difference between when the 14-year-old was very little to when my 10-year-old was very little. Within four years, you could feel the slide.
February 10, 2026 at 8:03 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
🚨 Major NEW research published today 🚨

Our book Unsung Britain reveals that squeezed families now face waiting more than a lifetime for the doubling of living standards we used to enjoy every 40 years.

Full findings here 👉 buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country are widely courted by politicians. But despite working harder they have seen their disposable incomes stagnate, as they grapple with shrinking pay rises, higher costs and a growing struggle with their health and care needs. “The stalling of disposable incomes means that many families’ hopes of home ownership have evaporated and work is not a guaranteed a route out of poverty. “If politicians want to regain the trust of the families of Unsung Britain, they need to get the economy growing again so that pay rises pick up, while also putting their specific needs at the heart of efforts to turn the country around. If they fail to do so, the economic malaise facing Unsung Britain risks fuelling further political disruption.”
February 10, 2026 at 8:00 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Failing to pursue closer integration with the EU creates tension with the Government’s growth ambitions.

The Brexit impact on GDP per person may be bigger than feared; the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.

Read more ➡️ buff.ly/VWHNFCb
Figure 17 shows a range of estimates of the impact of Brexit on GDP per person, using similar methods to the aforementioned study to compare the UK to other countries.The estimates vary based on the economic variables (such as educational attainment and openness to trade) used to match the UK to the countries which make up its counterfactual path. The range reflects the challenges in accurately identifying a counterfactual – we cannot observe how the UK would have grown had it remained within the EU – but it suggests the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.
February 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
We asked claimants what was the biggest problem with UC, and one issue came up more than any other ⤵️
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
We *can* decarbonise agriculture without harming living standards. 🌱

Here's how⬇️
1 farms must go green Agriculture is the only major sector where emissions have barely fallen in the past 15 years. We’ll need to make progress on this front soon, in order to meet our legally binding net zero commitments. Failing to do so this decade would add £12 billion to the capital cost of achieving net zero. 2 and the hit tohousehold budgetsshould be minimal Struggling household budgets are in no state to absorb further rises in the cost of essentials. Happily, decarbonising food production should only increase food prices by less than 1 per cent – around 50p on a weekly shop. 3 but will need to be carefully managed Our analysis reveals a striking mismatch between the low costs of decarbonisation and the existential risk it could create for the worst-off farmers.If these farmers are prevented from passing on the cost, it would drive average farm income down by a fifth (from £43,000 to £35,000). 4 subsidies are not the only way Farmers already recieve generous subsidies. Instead of increasing these, the Government should regulate supply-chains, putting the regulatory burden on the biggest and best organised actors, like supermarkets. Subsidies should focus on supporting the farmers who will need to convert farmland to forests or restored peatlands
February 9, 2026 at 4:02 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
Britain’s ‘unsung’ army – a million people in poorer working-age households now have full-time unpaid caring responsibilities .
Mike Brewer, Deputy Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain is getting older and sicker, while a greater share of its population have a disability. While these trends affect the whole of society, they are starkest in the poorest half of working-age families across the country. “But while we talk a lot about the effects of ageing and ill-health, we barely discuss their implications on demand for unpaid care. That’s despite Britain having an ‘unsung army’ of one million people who do at least 35 hours of unpaid care work every week. “It is time to provide better support for these carers and their families, just as we have done with working parents in recent decades. Carers’ deserve greater financial support in Universal Credit, more help to stay in work if they want to, and decent social care system to help relieve the pressure on families.”
February 9, 2026 at 3:15 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
2026 may be the start of a new era when deaths outnumber births in the UK

This would be a seismic demographic shift and mean that future population growth was reliant on net internal migration, which the latest data suggest is also plummeting.

Research Director @GregoryThwaites explains ⤵️
February 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
Slowing dynamism is a key culprit in slowing productivity growth.

One standard measure of dynamism is job churn - this mostly fell in the UK in the two decades before the pandemic.

Jobs lost to exiting firms in 2024 were the highest since 2011, but other components of job reallocation remain weak.
Figure 8 shows one standard measure of dynamism known as job churn, which sums up employment growth in new and growing firms and employment losses in shrinking or closing firms. When churn is high, firms are growing and shrinking rapidly. Churn mostly fell in the UK in the two decades before the pandemic, as it did around the world. Churn has been broadly flat over the past decade, having fallen markedly in the decade before that. But a close look at Figure 8 reveals that job destruction among exiting firms picked up in 2024 to its fastest rate since 2011. This is not a turnaround by any means, and is offset by lower destruction among incumbent firms, but it is a ‘green shoot’ of improvement to the supply side of the economy.
February 9, 2026 at 1:30 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
What would be the cost to consumers of decarbonising UK food production?

@zackleather.resolutionfoundation.org explains that even if all the costs were passed on to shoppers, it would increase food prices by less than 1 per cent – the equivalent of around 50p on a weekly shop.
February 9, 2026 at 12:15 PM
resolutionfoundation.org
How exactly is the Government trying to get growth going again?

@sophiehale.bsky.social, Resolution Foundation research director, explains 📽️

Catch up on the full discussion ⤵️ buff.ly/BkUQlF9
February 9, 2026 at 11:46 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
April 2026 will mark a true milestone for the UK benefits system: the end of the thirteen-year rollout of Universal Credit that has brought together all means-tested working-age benefits.

But there are still further improvements to be made ⤵️ buff.ly/TjrE4OW
1. UC will soon be fully rolled out Thirteen years aer its introduction in 2013, UC will be fully rolled out in April. At this point, just under half of all children in the UK (42 per cent) will be living in families recieving UC. But despite its huge role in modern life, UC remains a source of anxiety for many. The Government must improve the system, and rebuild trust with claimants. 2. key problems remain Despite its long period of implementation, problems remain, like the five-week-wait for support, inflexible assessment periods, and the confusing structure of its online portal. But, there are aordable and fair solutions to all of these problems. But technical or structural improvements need to be complemented by a fundamental ‘culture reset’ that puts dignity and respect at the heart of UC. The Government should work directly with claimants to deliver this possibly via the co-production of a Charter of Rights and retraining of staff. 4. which needn’t break the bank The sixteen policy recommendations outlined in the Foundation’s analysis would cost an estimated £400 million in one-off costs, and between £700-900 million in additional benefit expenditure each year. This marginal increase in the year-on-year benefit spend would be worth it to transform claimants' day-to-day experiences of the system.
February 9, 2026 at 11:15 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
Good news about the British economy?!

UK productivity – how much the economy produces per hour worked – grew more in the past year than in the previous seven years combined.

In our latest Substack, Research Director @gthwaites.bsky.social takes a closer look 📈
UK productivity grew more in the last year than in the previous seven combined
Gregory Thwaites on a genuinely surprising number, and what it means for the Bank of England
buff.ly
February 9, 2026 at 10:30 AM
resolutionfoundation.org
🚨 We're publishing a book tomorrow!

Unsung Britain combines analysis & policy with in-depth conversations to understand the needs of lower income families – and we're hosting a major conference.

With keynotes from Andy Burnham @andyburnham.bsky.social & Ken Murphy.

Register➡️ buff.ly/2tG8LsY
February 9, 2026 at 9:15 AM