Poverty, inequality and social justice

Lee Gregory, Eleanor Formby and Peter Matthews discuss how Scotland's rights-based social security system has improved the experiences of many LGBTQ+ claimants, while persistent discrimination and weakening political support continue to undermine genuine equality.…Read more

Will Snell, author of 'The Fair Necessities', examines how extreme wealth, exemplified by a trillion-dollar fortune, is rapidly widening inequality, with largely unearned and extractive wealth growth that harms economic growth, social mobility, democracy, and the environment.…Read more

Joanna Mack, author of 'Impoverished', argues that tackling poverty in the UK requires bold, long-term reforms that combine fairer incomes, lower costs for essential goods, stronger public services, and a more universal welfare system rather than relying mainly on means-tested benefits.…Read more

The policy briefing highlights that, amid widespread UK food insecurity, food banks provide varied short-term support but lasting solutions require stronger social safety nets and measures that address the root causes of poverty.…Read more

Ahead of the ninth anniversary of Grenfell, Steve Tombs examines how the Grenfell disaster will test whether UK corporate manslaughter law can finally hold large organisations accountable for avoidable deaths, despite a long history of limited prosecutions and systemic barriers to corporate criminal liability.…Read more

Drawing on research for 'Cracking the Class Code', Lee Elliot Major and Anne-Marie Sim argue that success in elite workplaces is shaped not only by talent and hard work but also by hidden class-based cultural norms that influence who is seen as credible, authentic and deserving of advancement.…Read more

The article argues that rising inequality, scapegoating and misinformation are driving social division in the UK, but history shows societies can renew themselves by confronting structural problems rather than blaming vulnerable groups.…Read more

Clare Bambra, Julia Lynch and Katherine Smith, authors of 'Getting Better', argue that declining healthy life expectancy and widening health inequalities in the UK are the result of political and economic choices, such as austerity, weak regulation and inequality, meaning they can be reversed through sustained policy action on welfare, public services and social conditions if there is political will.…Read more

Jade Levell, author of 'Boys, Childhood Domestic Abuse and Gang Involvement', examines child death records to show that knife crime prevention frequently comes too late. Her analysis argues that vulnerable children are repeatedly failed by fragmented systems that miss or overlook early experiences of violence, particularly within the home and at school. #KnifeCrimeAwarenessWeek…Read more

Lee Gregory discusses how the May 2025 local elections showed that despite Labour offering stronger evidence-based anti-poverty policies than Reform UK, voters punished Labour’s cautious and unconvincing leadership while rewarding Reform’s emotionally resonant populist messaging.…Read more