The Social Market Foundation is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank, standing proudly in the centre-ground of politics since 1989. We bring together people of all parties and none to develop evidence-based policies that support a fair society and a strong economy.
Publication
A capital idea? A change of approach to helping small firms to increase their investment
SMEs will have a key role in closing the UK’s investment gap with other economies. However, to ensure that SMEs can make such a contribution a more strategic policy approach towards SME investment is needed – one that goes beyond the focus on corporation tax rate and more generous capital allowances.
| Published: | 23 October 2024 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Richard Hyde |
Publication
Taking responsibility: How the government can improve enforcement of farmed animal welfare laws
Most Britons eat meat, but consumers increasingly care about where it comes from. In this report, we set out to understand how farmed animal welfare standards are enforced, and how that enforcement can best be improved.
| Published: | 21 October 2024 |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Aveek Bhattacharya, John Asthana Gibson |
Publication
Things worth knowing: The role of assumed knowledge in youth transitions from education to employment
This report examines how access to 'assumed knowledge' - certain unspoken, untaught information that helps them ‘get ahead’ - varies among young people based on socioeconomic background, and the way it hinders social mobility.
| Published: | 17 October 2024 |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Dani Payne, Jamie Gollings |
Media Release
Social Market Foundation responds to rise in tuition fees and maintenance loans
Social Market Foundation responds to rise in tuition fees and maintenance loans
| Published: | 04 November 2024 |
|---|
Media Release
Social Market Foundation responds to Autumn Budget 2024
The Social Market Foundation's response to the Autumn Budget 2024 follows below:
| Published: | 30 October 2024 |
|---|
Media Release
‘End self-regulation of farming to reduce animal suffering’, think tank says
Only 2.3% of animal welfare breaches are prosecuted, despite a third of official farm inspections uncovering non-compliance.
| Published: | 21 October 2024 |
|---|
The fight to restore trust in UK institutions and political system
In this essay by Richard Baker MP, he explores the erosion of public trust in UK institutions, fueled by scandals and nationalist strategies that capitalize on distrust. Leaders like Salmond, Sturgeon, and Farage have used anti-establishment narratives to reshape political loyalties—and there's an urgent need for UK leaders to rebuild confidence in the system itself.
Post-Truss and Hunt, can Rachel Reeves win round the OBR on her supply side growth strategy?
This is not the first government to attempt a modern supply side strategy to get growth. Both Truss-Kwarteng and Sunak-Hunt tried it, the latter more successfully than the former. For success to materialise before the decade is up, Labour will have to dissuade the fiscal watchdog against caution, or better yet – simply prove them wrong.
Labour need to make a stronger argument that they can deliver supply-side growth
With growth seemingly elusive, many remain skeptical about strategies pursuing it. But by the OBR’s own analysis, Labour’s plans deliver growth in the long-run – so why won’t Starmer-Reeves make a clearer case for their approach? Director Theo Bertram explores.