top of page
Blogs
A New Britain with a Social Guarantee
The Labour Party’s report on constitutional reform, A New Britain, paints a bleak picture of a country riddled with inequality, despair...
Maeve Cohen
Dec 19, 20226 min read
How do we deal with inflation?
People’s wages are falling in real terms while the cost of essential goods and services are rising at their highest rate in decades. The...
Maeve Cohen
Dec 5, 20224 min read
A Social Guarantee for Energy
This blog is a summary of our recent discussion paper which you can read here. It was great to see the Labour Party announce their...
Maeve Cohen
Oct 4, 20225 min read
We Need to Talk About Services
As policymakers try to cope with soaring living costs, most efforts are focused on disposable income. How to get higher wages, tighter...
Anna Coote
Sep 2, 20224 min read
Our energy system is broken. We need to rethink it.
At the centre of the cost of living scandal is the soaring price of household energy. It is time for a new approach to make sure everyone...
Maeve Cohen
Jul 5, 20223 min read
Austerity isn't over. So why have we stopped talking about it?
The biggest hit to disposable incomes since records began in 1950 is forecast by the Office of Budget Responsibility. A crisis without...
Maeve Cohen
Apr 27, 20224 min read
Universal Basic Services – the view from Scotland
As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, responses from governments at Westminster and Holyrood have taken distinctly different tones. ...
Rachel Statham
Apr 5, 20225 min read
A fresh look at the cost of living: the role of universal services
Soaring energy bills have opened up a debate about living standards and costs in the UK. But the cost-of-living crisis goes well beyond...
Daniel Button
Mar 22, 20224 min read
Lifelong Learning and the Social Guarantee
Lifelong learning – the opportunity for adults to take up learning across all stages of life – is rising up the political agenda. Unesco...
Tom Schuller
Mar 10, 20223 min read
Staying connected: the pandemic highlights the need for more internet training
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased reliance on digital technology, widening the gap between internet users and non-users. This...
Jill Wales
Feb 17, 20223 min read
On UBS, UBI and Silicon Valley
Martin Sandbu of the Financial Times echoes Silicon Valley titans by calling for a Universal Basic Income. In a lengthy video broadcast...
Ann Pettifor
Feb 10, 20223 min read
The North needs a Social Guarantee
The Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda is failing the North of England, which needs real transformation not empty political rhetoric....
Maeve Cohen
Jan 27, 20224 min read
Free green services can significantly reduce emissions and energy poverty
In a recent study, we find that giving everyone in society a basic amount of free, renewable electricity and access to free public...
Milena Büchs
Jan 13, 20224 min read
Decarbonising Public Services
A report launched this week by Unison details why it is so important to decarbonise public services. They account for 8% of UK carbon...
Maeve Cohen
Nov 12, 20214 min read
Public services are more sustainable: the NHS example
Planned emissions reductions by the UK National Health Service (NHS) in 2020-21 are on target to reach 1,260 kt of CO2 equivalent. The...
Ian Gough
Nov 3, 20215 min read
Support for UBS in South Korea’s election campaign
The idea of Universal Basic Services (UBS) is becoming a hot topic in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections in South Korea. ...
Eun Kyung Kim
Oct 26, 20212 min read
The Social Guarantee
Originally published in LabourHub on 30th June. There’s growing interest in a new social settlement and understandably so. The Covid-19...
Maeve Cohen
Jul 5, 20213 min read
Three important features of a Social Guarantee for young people
Reading ‘The Case for Universal Basic Services’ was a revelation for me. But I couldn’t help but feel there was something crucial missing...
Baz Ramaiah
Jun 23, 20214 min read
Covering All the Basics
British Columbia channels the Social Guarantee An intriguing trio of leading thinkers - Adam Smith (1759), Chief Joseph Gosnell of...
Ian Gough
Jun 15, 20212 min read
GP practices taken over by US health insurance giant
The recent take-over of 34 GP practices in London by a US health insurance conglomerate offers a stark reminder of why we need a Social...
Isky Gordon
May 19, 20213 min read
bottom of page