Time for Change: A New Vision for the British Economy

Article

The British economic model needs fundamental reform. It is no longer generating rising earnings for a majority of the population, and young people today are set to be poorer than their parents. Beneath its headline figures, the economy is suffering from deep and longstanding weaknesses, which make it unfit to face the challenges of the 2020s.

This Interim Report of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice sets out the case for a new approach to economic policy. It argues that the economy we have is not inevitable, but the consequence of decisions made in recent decades. The economy exists to serve society, not the other way round. So we can choose to change it, if we have the ambition and determination to do so.

In this report, the Commission sets out its analysis of the UK’s economic problems, and proposes broad directions and areas for reform. The Commission’s final report in 2018 will make more detailed policy recommendations.


In the version of the report originally printed and published online there were a small number of errors and omissions, which have now been corrected. For information, an errata slip can be downloaded here.

Related items

  1. A wind farm in the hills to the south of Glasgow, Scotland.

    Apathy and opposition: Understanding the real threats to net zero

    Climate action is under siege from populist and far-right actors. Delivering under that pressure demands fresh confidence and commitment from government. 
  2. A flood warning sign, on a closed country road next to water logged fields in the Avon Valley, Hampshire, England

    Adapt or die: Why progressives need to deal with extreme weather

    The impacts of extreme weather are already directly affecting people and communities across the UK. We lack ways to deal with this. 
  3. The outside of the BBC building in London with people walking in front of it

    Levelling the playing field: The BBC, Big Tech, and the case for a bold charter

    The upcoming charter renewal is the moment to give the BBC the resources, freedom and mission it needs to engage with technology firms on its own terms.