The Long-Term Impact of the State Pension 'Triple Lock'

Concerns about increasing costs and inter-generational unfairness have made the state pension ‘triple lock’ increasingly controversial. However, the popularity of the policy with voters (since it was introduced by the coalition government in 2010) means that political parties have been reluctant to advocate its abolition. In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute explores the merit of the criticism the triple lock attracts by considering the policy’s long-term impact on state pension outcomes; in short, the triple lock is assessed as a pensions policy, not simply a pensioner policy. The analysis places the triple lock within the context of the wider operation of the UK state pension system for different age groups, after comparing the UK state pension system with those of other developed countries. The Brief argues that the triple lock helps to nudge the value of the state pension towards the OECD average – albeit arguably far too slowly – and considers, finally, other policy options that might mean that the same goal can be achieved in a more fiscally sustainable manner

UK Manufacturing Decline Since the Crisis in Historical Perspective

The new UK prime minister, Theresa May, is promising to revive and indeed enhance the industrial policy activism to which the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was committed. In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute considers the recent performance of UK manufacturing in the context of the sector’s historical decline. It contrasts the latest evidence on both jobs and output within UK manufacturing with the form that decline has taken in recent decades, suggesting that rather than decline having been halted, it may instead have taken on a new form. The May government will need to understand this process if its industrial policy agenda, especially in the context of Brexit, is to succeed to any extent

‘D is for dangerous’: devolution and the ongoing decline of manufacturing in Northern England

This chapter considers the recent history, and likely future, of manufacturing in Northern England, with reference to the potential impact of initiatives related to the Northern Powerhouse agenda in this area. The chapter is structured around ‘the three Ds’ of the Northern Powerhouse: deindustrialisation, devolution and de-development. Contesting the view that the Northern Powerhouse can be understood primarily as a process of institutional or constitutional reform, it instead locates the agenda within the long (but limited) history of UK industrial policy. It argues that regional policy has always substituted for industrial policy in the UK state’s ‘horizontal’ support for manufacturing, and that devolution to Northern city-regions is therefore the ultimate expression of laissez-faire industrial policy. However, the agenda touches upon post-crisis concerns around place and empowerment, even while it serves to reduce the control of Northern citizens over their own local economies by offering only a narrow understanding of how economies develop

The Long-Term Impact of the State Pension 'Triple Lock'

Concerns about increasing costs and inter-generational unfairness have made the state pension ‘triple lock’ increasingly controversial. However, the popularity of the policy with voters (since it was introduced by the coalition government in 2010) means that political parties have been reluctant to advocate its abolition. In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute explores the merit of the criticism the triple lock attracts by considering the policy’s long-term impact on state pension outcomes; in short, the triple lock is assessed as a pensions policy, not simply a pensioner policy. The analysis places the triple lock within the context of the wider operation of the UK state pension system for different age groups, after comparing the UK state pension system with those of other developed countries. The Brief argues that the triple lock helps to nudge the value of the state pension towards the OECD average – albeit arguably far too slowly – and considers, finally, other policy options that might mean that the same goal can be achieved in a more fiscally sustainable manner

Answering the Mansfield Question: Labour's Proletariat Problem

Does Labour have a ‘Mansfield problem’? What, if anything, can the party do to reverse the deepening problem of working‐class political disengagement

The Declining Salience of 'Saving' in British Politics

In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) considers how the salience of ‘saving’ in British political discourse has evolved in recent years. It does so by examining how savers and the saving process have been discussed in the election manifestos of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party since 2005, up to the most recent election in June 2017. The material significance of private saving by individuals has risen in the context of welfare retrenchment, but discourses around saving also encompass moral imperatives. The notion of ‘asset-based welfare’ has been used by political economists to capture both dimensions. It suggests that accumulating wealth can have a more positive welfare function than traditional welfare provision – but also that individuals, as (potential) asset-holders, are therefore primarily responsible for their own welfare. However, since the financial crisis, the macro-economic significance of private saving appears to have risen – although this change now appears to have been superseded by a more negative treatment of the saving concept in British political discourse, which may foretell more profound changes in British economic statecraft ahead

The Rising Tide of Gerontocracy: How Young People will be Outvoted

This paper is the sequel to one of IF’s previous research projects The rise of gerontocracy? Addressing the intergenerational democratic deficit, which was published in April 2012. Dr Craig Berry of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute has updated his analysis of voting habits among different age groups to show that the ageing of Britain’s electorate threatens to disenfranchise young people. Dr Berry’s analysis shows that the median age of people who voted had risen to 51 at the 2015 general election, and warns that by the next general election in 2020, there will be more over 50s who are eligible to vote than there will be people in their 20s and 30s. He argues that given older people are already more likely to vote than younger ones, there is a real risk that politicians will have few incentives to heed the interests of the young compared to older voters

Young Workers' Perspectives on the Economy, Crisis, The Labour Market and Politics

With its tenth anniversary approaching, the 2008 global financial crisis has had significant ramifications in the UK that are still being felt today. Young people in particular have been among the groups most affected by the crisis, in part because they will live with the aftermath for longest, and in part because of the crisis’ specific impact on their socio-economic circumstances. Young people also appear to be on the front line of structural change within the economy, evidenced by a stratification within the labour market between secure, high-skilled employment (in industries such as finance, business services and advanced manufacturing) and precarious, low-skilled employment (in industries such as retail and care). With growing flexibilization, the ‘gig economy’ and rapidly advancing automation, it seems apparent that the world of work is changing, and as such a new generation of workers will be subject to labour market conditions unlike what past generations have experienced. In this Brief, we present new research on the perspectives of young people themselves on this transformation. Surprisingly, there have been relatively few attempts to understand the experiences, opinions and attitudes of younger people regarding the economic crisis and its aftermath. Utilising focus group research, we consider whether young people are content to work within ‘the new normal’, and whether they are willing to challenge prevailing economic circumstances in order to refashion the labour market. The research presented here is part of a larger study funded by Unions21 in conjunction with Slater and Gordon. The focus here is on attitudes to the economy, work and politics, but the larger project focuses also on attitudes to trade unionism and industrial relations. The research also seeks to differentiate between different types of young workers, particularly in terms of educational attainment, recognising the apparent ‘hollowing out’ of the UK labour market following the decline of intermediate-level employment in many industries

Local Authority Pension Fund Investment Since the Financial Crisis

In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) presents evidence on asset allocations by local authority pension funds in the UK, based on annual data published by funds. It charts in particular the changes in investment patterns evident since the 2007/08 financial crisis, and the extent of moves towards ‘alternative’ investments such as infrastructure. This analysis will shortly be supplemented by a further Brief which assesses the strategic decision-making of local authority pension funds; that is, the rationale behind some of the changes documented in this Brief