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Resolution Foundation 19 episodes Oct 28, 2026

High Resolution is a podcast from the Resolution Foundation, an independent UK think tank focused on living standards. It examines the economic issues that shape people’s daily lives across Britain, including work, wages, wealth, housing affordability, tax, benefits and public services. Through sharp analysis and expert guests, it aims to explain what is really happening to living standards and what could be done to improve them. The show also points listeners to the foundation’s research and analysis.

Episodes

Small change? Oct 28, 2026 28:23 Was John Healey's Budget worth the wait? Tom Clark is joined by Ruth Curtice and Sophie Hale to discuss the first fiscal event of the Burnham government. The Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis will be published on our website at 8am on Thursday 29th October. Follow us on: Substack: https://buff.ly/DVmDK0j X: https://buff.ly/iEgrHkX Bluesky: https://buff.ly/bDdYTzP YouTube: https://buff.

Room to breathe? Oct 23, 2026 36:12 What can we expect from the first Budget of the Burnham administration? Ruth Curtice and Greg Thwaites break down the economic challenges and political trade-offs facing Chancellor Healey. Read 'Hitting the buffers' now to learn more about the Resolution Foundation analysis discussed in this episode: https://buff.ly/IHFxUUr Follow us on: Substack: https://buff.ly/DVmDK0j X: https://buff.ly/iEgrH

The winter of our discontent Oct 14, 2026 33:32 After five years of high inflation how much can households, and the public finances, handle? Ruth Curtice discusses the long-running cost of living crisis, and scope for Government response at the Budget, with Dhara Vyas and James Smith. Read 'Counting the cost' now to learn more about the impact of the cost of living crisis: https://buff.ly/QbGKuKU Read 'Hitting the buffers' for a preview of the

Pensions deadlock? Sep 24, 2026 35:35 Could the end of the triple lock be in sight? Ruth Curtice discusses the first fourteen years of the triple lock, and considers what might come next, with Claer Barrett and Morgan Vine. Read 'What a ratchet!' now to learn more about the Resolution Foundation analysis discussed in this episode: https://buff.ly/20MUI6g Follow us on: Substack: https://buff.ly/DVmDK0j X: https://buff.ly/iEgrHkX Bl

Devolution, defence and debt... Sep 9, 2026 34:01 Can Burnham convert vibes into policy? Ruth Curtice discusses 'the three Ds' with Anand Menon and Andrew Carter. Read 'Policy landscape 2026' now to learn more about the Resolution Foundation analysis discussed in this episode: https://buff.ly/zfOPOQA Follow us on: Substack: https://buff.ly/DVmDK0j X: https://buff.ly/iEgrHkX Bluesky: https://buff.ly/bDdYTzP YouTube: https://buff.ly/HC3ypdf

Here we go again: What is the public hoping for – and worrying about – from the Burnham era? Jul 23, 2026 28:55 What would 'feeling better off' really look like to voters – and how long will they give a new Prime Minister to deliver it? What do people want from the Burnham era, what are they worried about, and is disillusionment with mainstream politics still deepening? Where does the country’s mood simply match reality, and where is it even gloomier? Ruth Curtice speaks to Luke Tryl, Executive Director o

New Prime Minister, old constraints: what can a ‘reset’ really deliver? Jul 20, 2026 38:38 Does Burnham understand the scope of the fiscal hole he's inheriting? Hemmed in by his party's manifesto and his predecessor's fiscal rules, what options remain for him to deliver his promised change on living standards? What, exactly, will Manchesterism look like in Westminster? Ruth Curtice – Chief Executive Resolution Foundation (Host) Simon Pittaway – Senior Economist, Resolution Foundation Lo

The generation game Jul 14, 2026 35:54 Is the promise of generational progress broken for good? Or are things about to turn around for Gen Z? Professor Bobby Duffy and Lord David Willetts join Ruth Curtice to discuss how Gen Z are really faring, how that differs from previous generations, and what Government do to support young people moving forward. Ruth Curtice – Chief Executive Resolution Foundation (Host) Lord David Willetts – Pre

Happy birthday Brexit! Jun 22, 2026 35:20 Ten years on, how has Brexit shaped Britain today? And what comes next? Anand Menon and Sophie Hale join Ruth Curtice to discuss how a decade of Brexit has shaped our economy, our trade and our politics. Ruth Curtice – Chief Executive Resolution Foundation (Host) Anand Menon – Director of UKICE, Professor European Politics & Foreign Affairs at KCL Sophie Hale – Research Director Resolution

Will new technologies make or break our jobs? Book discussion with Sarah O’Connor Jun 9, 2026 30:39 New technologies have been creating and destroying jobs for millennia. In recent decades, automation has upended the way many people work, and now artificial intelligence threatens further upheaval. The impact of these trends is often described in headline job numbers. But what do they actually mean for the way we live our daily working lives? In a groundbreaking new book, prize-winning Financial

How to win a trade war: Book discussion with Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown Jun 3, 2026 36:46 Trade wars are becoming a feature of the modern global economy and are being tied to actual wars too. Britain has played its part by voting to leave the EU, while President Trump has taken trade disruption to a new level. While it can be hard to identify ‘winners’ from trade wars, it’s easy to identify losses – so having the right strategy is crucial, especially for a mid-sized, open economy like

Earning it back May 20, 2026 34:05 Are higher living standards the key to electoral success? Both the Government and the opposition are scrambling for new policies and messages to win back unconvinced voters. Is this new political landscape ultimately shaped by the lack of growth in household incomes? How much of the remainder of this Parliament ought to be focused on living standards? And what options really are there – whoever is

A shock to the system Apr 14, 2026 32:27 Can the Government – or the public – afford another energy crisis? RF Chief Executive Ruth Curtice speaks to Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt and Chief Executive of Ipsos in the UK and Ireland Kelly Beaver to ask how the Government can respond to pressures on global energy supplies and how the public feel about the prospect of another spike in bills. Follow us on: Substack: http

False starts? Mar 20, 2026 35:46 Why are so many young people both out of work, and not in school? Research Director Lindsay Judge speaks to Principal Economist Nye Cominetti and Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation Gavin Kelly, to get to the bottom of who's becoming NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and why - and how we can reverse that trend. Read 'False starts' now for more great Resolution Foundation analy

Understatement of the year? Mar 19, 2026 34:28 The Treasury promised us a boring non-event, which on the day was massively over-shadowed by events in the Middle East. Ruth Curtice discusses the merits of annual fiscal events, the difficulty of getting growth going, and what to expect in the Chancellor's upcoming (and unprecedented) second Mais Lecture, with James Smith (Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation) and Giles Wilkes (Senior Fel

Who are 'Unsung Britain'? Mar 19, 2026 28:27 Britain does not feel like a nation at ease – and hasn’t done for a very long while. By more than two-to-one, Britons last year judged the country to be on the “wrong track” rather than heading in the “right direction”. Ruth Curtice, the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, discusses the experiences and prospects for the nation's poorer half with Scarlett Maguire and Tom Clark. Read Unsun

Growing pains Mar 19, 2026 37:45 How's the Government's growth agenda going? 18 months into a government elected on a mandate of change and growth, and following the publication of Mountain climbing, we're assessing their growth strategy – its intentions, its achievements, and its prospects moving ahead into an uncertain world. Lord David Willetts, the President of the Resolution Foundation, is joined by Sophie Hale, Research Dir

Brave New Welfare Mar 19, 2026 29:19 What can Westminster learn from Scotland on reforming disability benefits? Resolution Foundation Research Director Lindsay Judge talks you through the learnings from recent benefit reforms in Scotland, joined by Louise Murphy and Ben Geiger. Read 'Delivering dignity' on our website today to learn more: https://buff.ly/v0J2uQj Follow us on: Substack: https://buff.ly/DVmDK0j X: https://buff.ly/iEgr

When the levies break? Mar 18, 2026 22:15 How should the Government support households with energy bills? In October 2025, the Resolution Foundation published research assessing how the Government can help families with high energy bills. Our Chief Executive discussed the proposals with Jonathan Marshall (one of our Principal Economists) and Adam Scorer, the Chief Executive of National Energy Action. Tune in to learn about the drivers of

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