Latest Publications

To address seeming ‘overreliance’ on international labour, the Labour government’s big idea is more joined-up policy on immigration and skills. This briefing sets out why this approach is unlikely to deliver lower levels of immigration, but how it can still be a political success by showcasing immigration as not only supplementing, but supporting, local skills.

Objectors to assisted dying policy often cite Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme to exemplify the danger of doing so, including concerns about due process and eligibility. The following briefing is designed to evaluate where Canada has gone wrong, why it should not deter policymakers in Britain, and how we learn from Canadian mistakes to ensure assisted dying can be safe.

Trust in government is at a historic low. In this paper, Steve van Riel argues that overcoming falling levels of trust will require rethinking how we understand the concept. He sets out aims to help policymakers look a layer beneath the abstract concept of trust, and be “strategic about where greater trust will really make a difference”.

Fraud is a growing problem around the world. This report provides a sense of the scale of fraud across 15 countries, highlights the need for international collaboration to make a meaningful impact on fraud and identifies key obstacles hindering counter-fraud efforts and how to overcome them.

With Labour Party having vowed to achieve the fastest growth in the G7, the SMF has brought together leading economic experts to provide independent analysis of the party’s proposed approach – and the gaps it needs to fill.

Fraud is not just a problem for the UK, it is a pressing issue for many countries around the world. Using data from 15 countries, this paper provides an aggregated picture of the scale of the ‘fraudemic’ being experienced by populations across the globe.

Divisions over immigration and asylum have been a feature of British politics for decades. Much of the debate in this policy area has become tired and repetitive. This short briefing sets out a different perspective, and a challenge to the parties ahead of the next election. It highlights five alternative themes that, while generally overlooked amid the fractious debates, are in fact key to addressing concerns, bridging divides and restoring public faith.

British politics since the 2016 Brexit referendum has been characterised by the emergence of a new divide, between graduates and school leavers. Education now has a stronger relationship with vote choice than any other demographic or economic variables other than age. This report, from leading political scientist Professor Robert Ford, explores the implications of the changing electoral landscape for the UK’s major political parties.

We are in the midst of a fraud emergency, but efforts to tackle it have consistently fallen short of reversing its growth in recent years. This report argues that a more concerted and long-term effort against fraud is needed, requiring a “whole eco-system” approach based around extensive cooperation by all those involved in the fraud chain and between the public and private sectors.