Talking Pensions Solidarity
In 2002, the government established a Pensions Commission to forge a new long-term consensus on retirement provision. Its work was a triumph of long-term consensus-building.
Two decades on, however, that consensus is due for renewal. Rising numbers of pensioners face low living standards, alongside inequities within and between generations. Without further reform, pensioners’ prospects could deteriorate.
With the second UK Pension Commission now well underway, this report draws on new polling by Survation to examine public attitudes towards pensions. Senior Researcher Sasjkia Otto explores how people perceive their own pension savings and retirement income, before turning to their views of the pension system as a whole, the values that underpin it, and the central challenges and trade-offs it faces.
Pathways to Apprenticeships
21 September 2026
In this report, Joe Dromey sets out how we can strengthen pre-apprenticeship pathways, so that all young people have a clear route into a skilled job.
Pathways to apprenticeships Public Services / Education
Whose Capital?
4 September 2026
Featuring a foreword from Liam Byrne MP, this report sees Catherine Howarth make the case for stronger member representation and greater transparency across the pensions system. She sets out proposals for rebuilding trust in pension institutions and ensuring that the people whose savings create this extraordinary pool of capital have a meaningful voice in how it is governed.
Whose Capital? PensionsLatest from the Fabian Society
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The next step
21 September 2026
STEPHEN BEER AND PATRICK DIAMOND: Radical ethical socialism must provide the principles and values to guide Labour’s next phase of renewal
Continue reading Inequality / Labour party
Cheap medicine
14 September 2026
JATINDER HAYRE: The NHS’s growing use of non-doctors risks creating a two-tier health service
Continue reading Health
Holding the line
11 September 2026
PHIL BRICKELL: The AfD’s shock breakthrough in eastern Germany shows that Europe’s centre-left needs a new strategy
Continue reading Populism / European Union
The bounce
27 August 2026
ALASTAIR HARPER: Burnham has a chance to change Britain. He should seize it
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Shared contract
25 August 2026
JACOB TAYLOR: The government needs radical solutions to tackle youth unemployment and low growth – a local authority jobs guarantee could deliver both
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Chokehold
18 August 2026
MATT COLLINS: Britain's reliance on US tech leaves us dangerously exposed - the government must invest in home-grown digital infrastructure to build our digital sovereignty
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Building skills
This report examines the workforce and skills crisis facing the sector, with a particular focus on both the construction industry and engineering and building services trades. It sets out key policy recommendations to address the crisis and outlines ...
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Common Endeavour
In this series of essays, Labour MPs from across the ‘broad centre’ of the party set out how Labour can apply its values to the problems we face in the second quarter of the 21st century. The collection centres around four generational challenges: af...
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Uneven ground
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Pressing Reset
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Care to Share
In this pamphlet, which features a foreword by the former secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting MP, experts and policymakers identify the decisions the government will need to get right to build a National Health Service.
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Housing the future
This report sets out how the next Scottish government should use its powers to deliver a significant increase in housebuilding rates and tackle high housing costs. It analyses the main impacts of the housing emergency, and examines why Scotland hasn’...
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Adopt, innovate, transform
Drawing on survey data and insights from three focus groups, this report examines the challenges civil servants face in shaping the government’s AI agenda. It sets out five priorities to help address these challenges and unlock the full potential of ...
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Anatomy of success
This paper draws on previous lessons from past health service modernisation initiatives. It identifies key decisions the government must get right, if it wants to achieve its health goals over the next decade and deliver world-class care to all.
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Testing Times
The aim of this collection of short essays, edited by Ed Turner, Luke Raikes and Iggy Wood, is to dive into debates about devolution across Europe, often triggered by experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, to inform the UK as it considers reform in th...
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Quantity, however, is not th...
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Published in June 2026, amid record-breaking temperatures, this pamphlet aims to create tangible community assets, strengthen local democracy and “pride in place,” and give Labour a modern equivalent of one of its most iconic historical achievements.
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Nye's lost legacy
Against the backdrop of Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent investigation into healthy and inclusive work, Sasjkia Otto sets out an ambitious vision for a universal and integrated occupational health system, matched by rights and responsibilities. In ...
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Forward Planning
This report sets out how the government can ensure that owner-occupiers are able to age well in their own home. It identifies the scale of the challenge faced by older owner-occupiers, the barriers to improving housing, and the case for action. The r...
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Standard Issue
The US-Israeli war on Iran has prompted yet another shock to the budgets of British households, with potentially dire consequences for living standards. This is the second such shock in five years; but the cost-of-living crisis has been decades in th...
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Learning Lessons
In this report, Joe Dromey and Marcus Johns analyse the drivers of the teacher workforce crisis and the impact that it has on pupils and public finances. The report calls for a teacher recruitment and retention strategy that tackles the drivers of at...
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