New Economics Foundation

Profits without investment Financialisation and Europe's investment gap 03 August 2026 Across Europe, policymakers are turning to de-risking to finance the continent’s growing investment gap, which Mario Draghi’s 2024 report on European competitiveness identified to be around 800 billion. Derisking involves the public sector using government policy and funding, for instance through guarantees or …

Cost-of-living policies are all well and good, but they won't lead to structural change

The good work effect How high-quality work can lead a jobs recovery 28 July 2026 The UK labour market has not fully recovered since Covid-19. Our economic activity rate has continued to lag behind the best-performing economies. We remain the only G7 economy where the employment rate has still not returned to its pre-pandemic level. Job vacancies are at a five-year low, and have a worrying place-b…

The economic impact of a third runway at Heathrow Examining the national and regional costs of airport expansion 27 July 2026 As the government continues with its ambition to expand Heathrow, new findings from recently published official documents demonstrate less favourable national and regional economic impacts than has been previously publicised. The draft Heathrow expansion national policy st…

The UK has long had an interest in tackling illicit finance - because we are at the epicentre of the problem

The question is no longer whether we can tax extreme wealth effectively - it's whether we can afford not to

Energy security in an age of conflict Why the UK must lead a global clean power alliance 17 July 2026 Polly Billington is the MP for East Thanet. This essay is from the collection “Rethinking the UK’s role in a fractured world”, written by a cross-party group of MPs for the New Economics Foundation. The UK may have chosen to stay out of Donald Trump’s disastrous war with Iran, but we cannot escap…

Getting moving on the cost of living A plan to bring down bus and rail fares 17 July 2026 Transport is the largest expense, excluding mortgage payments, for rural households and the second largest for urban households. The contribution that public transport makes to meeting mobility needs at an affordable price has declined in recent years. Bus and rail fares have continuously risen since the 200…

School dinners can fight the cost-of-living crisis Universal free school meals as a bulwark against soaring grocery costs 15 July 2026 As the cost-of-living crisis began to bite in 2023, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all primary school children in the city would receive free school meals. With inflation sky rocketing, he believed this would save families money, give kids access to health…

How lower-cost finance could deliver bill savings to millions with no upfront costs

Our chief exec looks at the past four decades of NEF and what the future holds for the new economy movement

The economics of air transport in Europe Part two: air transport and tourism 29 June 2026 Since 2010, tourist numbers have grown rapidly across Europe, primarily enabled by growth in air passenger transport. Significant further growth is forecast, with movements by air likely to grow by around 10% over the next five years. This growth is facilitated by airport expansion and generoustax arrangemen…

Reflections from our joint event with Triodos Bank on the need to overhaul the financial system

Over 1 million young people are now “NEETs”. Here’s what should happen next. A five-point plan for young people not in work, education and training 28 May 2026 Today, former health secretary Alan Milburn released the first report of his wide-ranging review into the crisis facing young people in the UK. Over one million young people in this country are now neither employed, in education nor in tra…

Bold government action is the only thing that will stop the slide of our abandoned domestic tourism industry

A pathway to work How to connect young people to green jobs 20 May 2026 Young people’s labour market participation has become a central concern for policymakers and employers alike. The government has placed growing emphasis on reversing the rise in the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) alongside a wider ambition to expand the workforce required for th…

Rebuilding special educational needs and disability services in Birmingham Moving from extraction to accountability in special educational provision 15 May 2026 Special educational needs and disability (Send) provision in England is in deep crisis. Demand has surged as the number of children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England rose by up to 166% between 2015 and 2025, up 10% …

Relying on interest rate hikes to fight inflation would be a counter-productive reaction to the energy crisis

The private finance myth Towards a better balance of public and private infrastrucutre provision 21 April 2026 The EU and the UK need to build and upgrade a massive amount of infrastructure following decades marked by underinvestment. To give a sense of the scale of investment required, European Investment Bank (EIB) estimates suggest an annual economic infrastructure investment shortfall of arou…

The government must take a three-pronged approach to avoid a triple crisis of soaring inflation, reduced demand and possible recession.