Zachary Leather
@zackleather.resolutionfoundation.org
Climate policy @resfoundation.bsky.social
While esteemed colleagues won prestigious awards for great work last, I'm also proud to have won 2.5kg of smarties for best report title of the year, the best return on writing two words I'm ever likely to get
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
November 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
While esteemed colleagues won prestigious awards for great work last, I'm also proud to have won 2.5kg of smarties for best report title of the year, the best return on writing two words I'm ever likely to get
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
The Government released it's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan this afternoon, the first chance this Government has had to set out how it wants to reach net zero.
For the first time, it adds up. But the decisions the Government is making on how to make it add up are far more important
For the first time, it adds up. But the decisions the Government is making on how to make it add up are far more important
October 30, 2025 at 12:19 PM
The Government released it's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan this afternoon, the first chance this Government has had to set out how it wants to reach net zero.
For the first time, it adds up. But the decisions the Government is making on how to make it add up are far more important
For the first time, it adds up. But the decisions the Government is making on how to make it add up are far more important
Reposted by Zachary Leather
💡💡💡 New @resfoundation.bsky.social note out today on cutting energy bills – and how paying for some costs on bills differently will see the poorest households more than £100 per year better off 💡💡💡 1/
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Splitting the bill • Resolution Foundation
This note looks at the factors behind stubbornly high energy bills and how ministers could act to ease pressure on households. It considers how change can be enacted to work for vulnerable families an...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
October 16, 2025 at 9:33 AM
💡💡💡 New @resfoundation.bsky.social note out today on cutting energy bills – and how paying for some costs on bills differently will see the poorest households more than £100 per year better off 💡💡💡 1/
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Salary sacrifice is a poor way of subsidising.
More cash for those with higher tax rates (meaning more income) is the opposite of what we should be doing - getting solar panels onto the rooves of fuel poor families. Poorer families have less salary to sacrifice, meaning less or no subsidy for them
More cash for those with higher tax rates (meaning more income) is the opposite of what we should be doing - getting solar panels onto the rooves of fuel poor families. Poorer families have less salary to sacrifice, meaning less or no subsidy for them
October 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Salary sacrifice is a poor way of subsidising.
More cash for those with higher tax rates (meaning more income) is the opposite of what we should be doing - getting solar panels onto the rooves of fuel poor families. Poorer families have less salary to sacrifice, meaning less or no subsidy for them
More cash for those with higher tax rates (meaning more income) is the opposite of what we should be doing - getting solar panels onto the rooves of fuel poor families. Poorer families have less salary to sacrifice, meaning less or no subsidy for them
Reposted by Zachary Leather
This is good from Simon Wren-Lewis on why the country's fiscal woes are not caused by OBR forecasts, the bond market or (most improbably) the frequency of fiscal forecasts.
This weeks post: Misunderstandings on the left (and elsewhere) about the OBR, independence and the bond market mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/09/misu...
The government delegating some technical tasks to independent experts doesn't create a democratic deficit, but it does avoid wishful thinking.
The government delegating some technical tasks to independent experts doesn't create a democratic deficit, but it does avoid wishful thinking.
Misunderstandings on the left (and elsewhere) about the OBR, independence and the bond market
I often see pieces from those on the left criticising the OBR. Here is Louise Haigh , for example, talking about the “rigid orthodoxy of t...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
This is good from Simon Wren-Lewis on why the country's fiscal woes are not caused by OBR forecasts, the bond market or (most improbably) the frequency of fiscal forecasts.
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Most of this change in energy bills being driven by an increase in standing charges, which are up for both gas and for electricity into Q4
August 27, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Most of this change in energy bills being driven by an increase in standing charges, which are up for both gas and for electricity into Q4
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Ready for your next step? We're hiring! 📣
If you have strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to raising living standards in the UK, you might be the right fit for our team.
Find out more about becoming an Economist or Research & Policy Analyst ⤵️ buff.ly/7MNZRR4
If you have strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to raising living standards in the UK, you might be the right fit for our team.
Find out more about becoming an Economist or Research & Policy Analyst ⤵️ buff.ly/7MNZRR4
August 26, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Ready for your next step? We're hiring! 📣
If you have strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to raising living standards in the UK, you might be the right fit for our team.
Find out more about becoming an Economist or Research & Policy Analyst ⤵️ buff.ly/7MNZRR4
If you have strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to raising living standards in the UK, you might be the right fit for our team.
Find out more about becoming an Economist or Research & Policy Analyst ⤵️ buff.ly/7MNZRR4
Great to see Guardian cover our research today - it's flats and smaller houses that are most at risk of overheating, so should be no surprise that vulnerable families will be more at risk.
Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!
Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!
August 11, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Great to see Guardian cover our research today - it's flats and smaller houses that are most at risk of overheating, so should be no surprise that vulnerable families will be more at risk.
Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!
Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!
New research from us today on how Gov should approach some tricky trade offs in its Warm Homes Plan
⚡⚡ New @resfoundation.bsky.social note out today looking at how the Government should prioritise its £13 billion Warm Homes Plan budget ⚡⚡ www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
No country for cold homes • Resolution Foundation
The Government’s imminent Warm Homes Plan aims to overhaul England’s housing stock so homes are cheaper and cleaner to keep warm. This note sets out how it can best work to improve living standards fo...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
August 7, 2025 at 11:27 AM
New research from us today on how Gov should approach some tricky trade offs in its Warm Homes Plan
New data further proof that the ZEV mandate is doing its job - SMMT reckons we'll hit 23.8% BEV this year - 4 points up on 2024 and more than enough to meet the ZEV mandate's 28% target with all its flexibilities.
NEW DATA: UK car market continues shift to electric
EV +9.1%
PHEV +33.0%
Petrol -14.7%
Diesel -7.9%
Hybrid -10.0%
Data from SMMT
EV +9.1%
PHEV +33.0%
Petrol -14.7%
Diesel -7.9%
Hybrid -10.0%
Data from SMMT
August 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
New data further proof that the ZEV mandate is doing its job - SMMT reckons we'll hit 23.8% BEV this year - 4 points up on 2024 and more than enough to meet the ZEV mandate's 28% target with all its flexibilities.
Good to see the flexibility roadmap out today. Flex is key to a cheaper energy system, so great that Gov is committed to this. Especially big savings coming for those with big techs like EVs and heat pumps.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Clean flexibility roadmap
A roadmap setting out the government’s vision for a clean, flexible, consumer-focused electricity system.
www.gov.uk
July 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Good to see the flexibility roadmap out today. Flex is key to a cheaper energy system, so great that Gov is committed to this. Especially big savings coming for those with big techs like EVs and heat pumps.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Shame to see rising block tariffs suggested. A bad idea for poorer families that use lots of energy, but also not great for incentivising people to consume more electricity in electric cars or heat pumps
Ed Miliband has been urged by more than 100 Labour MPs to explore overhauling UK energy bills.
He is understood to be considering a number of options for progressive energy pricing, inc discounts for the least intensive consumers – known as rising block tariffs
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
He is understood to be considering a number of options for progressive energy pricing, inc discounts for the least intensive consumers – known as rising block tariffs
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
More than 100 Labour MPs urge Ed Miliband to explore radical energy bills overhaul
Living Standards Coalition writes to energy secretary calling on him to do more to help struggling households
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Shame to see rising block tariffs suggested. A bad idea for poorer families that use lots of energy, but also not great for incentivising people to consume more electricity in electric cars or heat pumps
It's a shame that zonal pricing won't happen (but about time we make the decision!). The good news is that when it comes to electricity price signals, zonal isn't where the biggest gains are
July 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
It's a shame that zonal pricing won't happen (but about time we make the decision!). The good news is that when it comes to electricity price signals, zonal isn't where the biggest gains are
Changing how we generate electricity means we also have to change how we use it.
That means pricing electricity when and where it's expensive, to make our system more efficient and bring bills down - worth £200 a household. But there are risks to manage.
[thread]
tinyurl.com/y7z2u269
That means pricing electricity when and where it's expensive, to make our system more efficient and bring bills down - worth £200 a household. But there are risks to manage.
[thread]
tinyurl.com/y7z2u269
Flex appeal • Resolution Foundation
Britain needs to transform its electricity system for net zero, shifting from fixed prices to time-and-location varying tariffs. This could save £18bn annually by 2040, but it requires careful design ...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
June 24, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Changing how we generate electricity means we also have to change how we use it.
That means pricing electricity when and where it's expensive, to make our system more efficient and bring bills down - worth £200 a household. But there are risks to manage.
[thread]
tinyurl.com/y7z2u269
That means pricing electricity when and where it's expensive, to make our system more efficient and bring bills down - worth £200 a household. But there are risks to manage.
[thread]
tinyurl.com/y7z2u269
Salary sacrifice for heat pumps (shorturl.at/0D5lf) not the way forward - we should be making heat pumps cheaper for poorest not the richest
As we showed for the EV scheme, salary sacrifice locks most low-income households out of meaningful subsidy and chucks huge sums to the highest earners
As we showed for the EV scheme, salary sacrifice locks most low-income households out of meaningful subsidy and chucks huge sums to the highest earners
May 14, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Salary sacrifice for heat pumps (shorturl.at/0D5lf) not the way forward - we should be making heat pumps cheaper for poorest not the richest
As we showed for the EV scheme, salary sacrifice locks most low-income households out of meaningful subsidy and chucks huge sums to the highest earners
As we showed for the EV scheme, salary sacrifice locks most low-income households out of meaningful subsidy and chucks huge sums to the highest earners
Great to see that solar on new homes may happen - here's more from us earlier this year on how we can make the best of the 'rooftop revolution'
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Today @resfoundation.bsky.social published new work on solar panels, and how the Government can make the best of its 'rooftop revolution' [THREAD]
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Sunny day savings • Resolution Foundation
The new Government’s plan to decarbonise the electricity system brings with it the lofty aim of tripling total solar capacity by the end of the decade. Although much of this will be driven by large-sc...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
May 1, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Great to see that solar on new homes may happen - here's more from us earlier this year on how we can make the best of the 'rooftop revolution'
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Reposted by Zachary Leather
🚨 🚨 🚨 New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out today on decarbonising home heating, looking at what shape policy should take so that poorer households can be more involved 🧵
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Turning up the heat • Resolution Foundation
Decarbonising home heating is one of the knottiest parts of the net zero transition, with big implications on families’ finances and behaviour. This report examines progress so far and discusses what ...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
April 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM
🚨 🚨 🚨 New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out today on decarbonising home heating, looking at what shape policy should take so that poorer households can be more involved 🧵
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out this morning from @emilyfry.bsky.social, @camronaref.bsky.social and I which uses the first ever comprehensive analysis of public service use across the income distribution to show how we can make public services better for low-to-middle income families.
April 9, 2025 at 10:33 AM
New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out this morning from @emilyfry.bsky.social, @camronaref.bsky.social and I which uses the first ever comprehensive analysis of public service use across the income distribution to show how we can make public services better for low-to-middle income families.
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
Great from @ben-cooke.bsky.social - the crucial difference between rooftop and utility scale solar is it's utility scale that will push the electricity price down (a bit), but rooftop solar cuts bills a lot for those that get it
Great from @ben-cooke.bsky.social - the crucial difference between rooftop and utility scale solar is it's utility scale that will push the electricity price down (a bit), but rooftop solar cuts bills a lot for those that get it
Super-sized farms or rooftop panels? The new divisions over solar
Government targets for solar panels will only require 0.3 per cent of British land, but those whose homes will back on to them are pushing for an alternative
www.thetimes.com
March 11, 2025 at 2:39 PM
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
Great from @ben-cooke.bsky.social - the crucial difference between rooftop and utility scale solar is it's utility scale that will push the electricity price down (a bit), but rooftop solar cuts bills a lot for those that get it
Great from @ben-cooke.bsky.social - the crucial difference between rooftop and utility scale solar is it's utility scale that will push the electricity price down (a bit), but rooftop solar cuts bills a lot for those that get it
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Paying off the locals might seem like a good way to increase support for new grid infrastructure. But it's a regressive way to tax and redistribute money - the @resfoundation.bsky.social has shown that the beneficiaries are likely to be better off. www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
March 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Paying off the locals might seem like a good way to increase support for new grid infrastructure. But it's a regressive way to tax and redistribute money - the @resfoundation.bsky.social has shown that the beneficiaries are likely to be better off. www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Want to work in a thinktank? But worried it's only for "usual suspects"?
Think again -- and sign up for webinar--this Weds 330-6pm--from @resfoundation.bsky.social & loads of other top tanks all looking for hidden talent
www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worki...
Think again -- and sign up for webinar--this Weds 330-6pm--from @resfoundation.bsky.social & loads of other top tanks all looking for hidden talent
www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worki...
March 3, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Want to work in a thinktank? But worried it's only for "usual suspects"?
Think again -- and sign up for webinar--this Weds 330-6pm--from @resfoundation.bsky.social & loads of other top tanks all looking for hidden talent
www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worki...
Think again -- and sign up for webinar--this Weds 330-6pm--from @resfoundation.bsky.social & loads of other top tanks all looking for hidden talent
www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worki...
Today @resfoundation.bsky.social published new work on solar panels, and how the Government can make the best of its 'rooftop revolution' [THREAD]
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Sunny day savings • Resolution Foundation
The new Government’s plan to decarbonise the electricity system brings with it the lofty aim of tripling total solar capacity by the end of the decade. Although much of this will be driven by large-sc...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
February 13, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Today @resfoundation.bsky.social published new work on solar panels, and how the Government can make the best of its 'rooftop revolution' [THREAD]
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Reposted by Zachary Leather
Aviation thoughts: 1) When ministers say airport expansion will be consistent with carbon budgets, an important question is "will those carbon budgets include international flights?". I believe the Government has not yet confirmed that our 2050 net zero goal actually includes these emissions at all!
January 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Aviation thoughts: 1) When ministers say airport expansion will be consistent with carbon budgets, an important question is "will those carbon budgets include international flights?". I believe the Government has not yet confirmed that our 2050 net zero goal actually includes these emissions at all!
Reposted by Zachary Leather
A thread on why the Government shouldn’t relax its targets on electric car sales
November 27, 2024 at 9:41 AM
A thread on why the Government shouldn’t relax its targets on electric car sales
Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will increase in Q1 2025, but only marginally compared to the current quarter (+1.2%), and Cornwall Insight predicts that the price cap will stabilise at current levels in Q2 2025.
November 22, 2024 at 11:34 AM
Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will increase in Q1 2025, but only marginally compared to the current quarter (+1.2%), and Cornwall Insight predicts that the price cap will stabilise at current levels in Q2 2025.