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Mike Brewer

@mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
5.6K followers 1.3K following 289 posts

Deputy Chief Executive Resolution Foundation, CPAG Trustee & Visiting Prof in Practice at LSE Social Policy. 'Calm, Measured, Withering' tinyurl.com/y6wxlxhj). 'Cool, calm analysis' (More or Less, 8/10/25). He/him

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Reposted by Mike Brewer
Louise Murphy @louisemurphy.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Most people agree PIP could work better: spending on the benefit is rising fast, yet many claimants are let down by poor-quality decision-making. We surveyed over 2,500 PIP recipients. Here are five common myths about PIP reform, and the hard truths behind them. 🧵
resolutionfoundation.org
Hard truths • Resolution Foundation
This report examines how Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in England and Wales should be reformed to better meet its aim: to contribute to additional costs of disability to enable disabled people…
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
‘Talk is cheap’ says @gilesyb.bsky.social and what a para to explain how that works gileswilkes.substack.com/p/uk-growth-...
This is then promulgated through surveys into the media and back into politics.
Journalists calling spads hear what spads read in the media about what businesses who read newspapers say in response to surveys, and opinion pieces are written about how bad it is. Business groups report widespread depression. Well-crafted notes from investment banks land in the inboxes of well-connected Great or Good people with charts and paragraphs reporting how bad things are. The vibes are really bad! Very senior well connected people call Downing Street and report that sentiment is really bad, and hear back from No10 advisers that they too have heard it is bad. Ad hoc roundtables convened by Whitehall hear from serious besuited people who have read some well-crafted notes and excoriating Sunday Times pieces that the vibes are bad, and they worry that the Government literally doesn't understand the following stunning insight: businesses much prefer lower taxes to higher.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Ikr ... imagine having tax and NI removed.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
The thing is...their recommendations are fairly technocratic and sensible, but the rhetoric at the start is a bit much.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I love the HMT quote saying they don't comment on rumours, including those briefed to you by HMT employees.
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Reposted by Mike Brewer
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 08/10/2026
And please read our new report, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org Counting the cost: The impact of five years of high inflation on living standards, by @alexclegg.bsky.social @zackleather.resolutionfoundation.org @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social @jamessmithrf.bsky.social & @jonnymarshall.bsky.social
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Just comparing last week's pensions discourse with this week's £100k childcare discourse. In both instances, you have groups who are generally deemed "wealthy". For one, it's unthinkable to contemplate taking their state benefits away. For the other, there is outrage if you try to give it to them
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I'm sure RF will be there with a distributional assessment of the entire manifesto package in 2029!
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not every measure has to be pro-poor. And the consensus is that this massive cliff edge when you hit £100k is damaging to work incentives.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Ooooh I was in Shrewsbury and Montgomery last weekend. Had a glorious walk up some hills Luckily with a car.
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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This would make it about the same as Middlesbrough www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
London Labour council warns it may raise council tax by 150%
Hammersmith and Fulham says it faces ‘biggest financial challenge in living memory’ as government cuts bite
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
For those of you not yet subscribed to RF's Top of the Charts, here's yesterday's. We cover artificial lawyers, generational health drift, the end of grandmothers (maybe), and the growing impact of the criminally under-discussed benefit cap. www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/lock...
resolutionfoundation.org
Lock, stock and two missing grandmas • Resolution Foundation
Morning all, This week, we got a step closer to the end of the triple lock – the State Pension should keep pace with earnings growth, but good riddance to the ratchet! Keep an eye out for fresh analys...
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Nuffield Trust @nuffieldtrust.org.uk · 30/09/2026
NEW: The Prime Minister’s commitment to social care reform is clear. After he yesterday pledged a National Care Service that is free at the point of use, @camille-oung.bsky.social looks at what “personal care” means and calls for clarity on terminology. www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/wh...
nuffieldtrust.org.uk
What does the Prime Minister mean by a National Care Service?
The Prime Minister’s commitment to reforming social care has become emphatically clear again this week. After he pledged a National Care Service that is free at the point of use, Camille Oung looks at...
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is your semi-regular reminder that pensioner poverty: a) is real b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Do Americans not go dogging? Or do they call it something else? (Can't believe I am typing this)
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It’s a mark of the corruption of our whole way of thinking about the world that trying to meet a planetary emergency is routinely described as “ideological”, while continuing to accelerate it is presented as “pragmatic” and “economic”.
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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Our report from June explains how the replacement for the triple lock will work (we called it a 'smoothed' triple lock). It's a much better policy than the current triple lock - State Pension is protected from inflation spikes and tracks earnings long term, but the expensive ratchet is removed.
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Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
What's that Andy? You want to look at the different options for the UK's relationship with the EU? If only someone had set them out already... ukandeu.ac.uk/introducing-...
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My daughter studied the first Blair government in A Level *** History *** .... and she did that 5-7 years' ago.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If there is any social security benefit that you would not want people to spend on alcohol, it would be the winter fuel allowance. Lets do it.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 23/09/2026
The UK's two main taxes on housing – Council Tax and Stamp Duty – are grossly unfair and economically harmful. How can we tax residential property better? Join the discussion tomorrow⤵️ buff.ly/j8wVML0
Britain’s big repair job
Fixing our broken taxes on housing
Thursday 24 September 2026
9:30 am - 10:45 am
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Stephen Hunsaker @hunsaker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Local Housing Allowance, the cap on housing support that helps 1.9 million low-income private renting families, has been frozen since April 2024. Rents haven't. The gap between rents and support hits a record this October. Our new spotlight shows why the Budget should end the freeze 🧵
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
There's always a tax story.... (At Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings)
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
There was a Prospect or Guardian piece doing just this a few months ago (sorry)
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Louise Murphy @louisemurphy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
DWP has just published a flurry of new data on how PIP and UC-Health assessments are carried out (face-to-face or via phone, video or paper) and whether this impacts who gets awarded health-related benefits. Five takeaways 🧵
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Jo Hutchinson @jojohutchinson.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
<TAPS THE SIGN> <AGAIN> if the government wants fewer young people out of work on disability benefits with ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, it will have to provide actual meaningful NHS care for them, not just in theory, but in practice. Not just guidelines, but commissioned services in every ICB.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Wait...was the seating plan randomised?
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 10/09/2026
🏠 Local Housing Allowance is back in the headlines off the back of Conservative Party plans to cut it by a further £4 billion. But what is the reality of housing support today? 🏠
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 10/09/2026
The defence versus welfare debate was back in PMQs this week. Over the summer, we took a closer look at how this trade-off is being misrepresented, and why it's important we have a clear picture of how we spent the peace dividend while it was around⤵️ buff.ly/AI2XDyg
resolutionfoundation.substack.com
Defence versus welfare – the trade-off is being misrepresented
Ruth Curtice takes a closer look at the 'defence versus welfare spending' debate, and explains why it's important we have a clear picture of how we spent the peace dividend while it was around.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"It is probably too early to chalk up an apparent TFP revival to AI. Although nearly half of UK businesses are using AI in some form ... only around one-in-twenty firms say they are using it extensively."
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Where are you getting "AI improving productivity" from? Our latest analysis is here www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
resolutionfoundation.org
The Macroeconomic Policy Outlook: Q3 2026 • Resolution Foundation
On the whole, the 2020s has been a disastrous decade for UK productivity growth. But an under-discussed revival appears to be underway. While the much-maligned Labour Force Survey’s headline number is...
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In or close by Sheffield on 7th October? If so, join me as I try to come up with something half-way coherent on the problems & possibilities for UK social policy research on poverty & social security for @sheffielduni.bsky.social Annual Social Policy Lecture www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc...
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Reminds me of when a newspaper in the UK ran a horrified piece saying words to the effect of "Starmer's new economic adviser thinks Brexit harmed UK economy". Starmer would have had to have hunted VERY hard to find one with differing views.
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Surprising this story isn't getting more coverage...
portsmouth.co.uk
Protestors confuse Pakistan cricket team for migrants after gathering at hotel
Misinformation caused groups of people to gather at The Marriott Hotel
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I read (almost) all in draft - all really good. Take 15 substacks from insightful thinkers and put them between 2 covers.
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Perhaps you are wondering what to make of Chancellor John Healey's speech this morning? Well, wonder no more www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/john... Tl;DR - there was no need for a brand new theory, and we are getting a small taste of what delivering on it means, compared to Starmer.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
John Healey’s speech: continuity is no crime | Institute for Government
The summer’s Reeves to Healey switch was more continuity than change.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
yes
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 04/09/2026
This week, @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social is at the helm of Top of the charts, and he's asking who’s afraid of the big band bond vigilantes. Read now for the latest on bland bots, treacherous transitions, and whether it pays, or hurts, to be a manly man ⬇️ buff.ly/3hR0VdV
Chart showinf longer-term UK government bond (gilt) yields
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 02/09/2026
Many countries in the OECD raise more tax as (a proportion of GDP) than the UK did in 2025-26... ... but NONE achieved this with a lower compulsory payment wedge for an average worker. Read 'Thin end of the wedge' here 📉 buff.ly/UGrO4bY
chart showing Compulsory payment wedge for a single earner on that country’s wage for an average worker (horizontal axis) and tax revenues as a proportion of GDP (vertical axis): OECD, 2024 and 2025
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 01/09/2026
⏰ Coming up this week! Some local areas will be much more affected by the net zero transition than others. Join @kirstysnp.bsky.social, @melanieonnmp.bsky.social, @jamessmithrf.bsky.social & @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social to discuss two areas at the heart of this change. Register ⤵️ buff.ly/h14rcWO
Re-industrialising the North?
Net zeroing in on Aberdeen and Grimsby
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Stephen Hunsaker @hunsaker.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I have a new report out today with @simonpittaway.bsky.social on Britain's productivity revival – which is real, if it you measure it properly. And it isn’t being driven by the economy shedding low-paid jobs. 🧵
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The government's own literal pensions minister also called for the abolition of the triple lock in a past life. Why is this seen as a gotcha?
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Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This looks like another one for the #devowatch Team. You cannot both want meaningful devolution and abhor postcode lotteries. Discuss.
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Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Nothing in planning legislation can make a non-viable pub viable. It'll likely just mean a closed and vacant pub sits empty for years, or decades, instead of being reused as housing or something else. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Changing pubs into offices or homes to be made harder under new rules
The rules will come into force on Monday along with other changes to planning policy.
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 12/08/2026
Solo working, not just screen time, has driven the surge in time young adults spend alone. More people are solo working throughout the day when compared with a decade ago.
Proportion of 18-69-year-olds doing paid work and non-paid work activities alone, by time of day: UK
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 11/08/2026
Estimates suggest over 21,000 social care workers were underpaid the minimum wage in 2024. The true figure is likely higher still once we account for the unpaid travel time which often brings home carers’ average pay below the minimum wage. Read more 👉 buff.ly/87cXtSI
Bar chart showing share of workers on the National Living Wage underpaid by sector in the UK (2024), with education highest (~55%) and social care highlighted at 22% — about 21,300 care workers underpaid.
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
That reads like "we'd LOVE to tow an iceberg up the Thames but the boring bureaucrats won't let us"
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Yes. Next question!
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Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Burnhamonics. Not to be confused with a Bunharmonica
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