Joseph Rowntree Foundation

We work to speed up and support the transition to a future free from poverty, in which people and planet can flourish.

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

Poverty is deepening.

🔎 Our #UKPoverty2026 report was launched this morning.

People in very deep poverty now make up the biggest group of people in poverty, at 6.8 million people.

This is unacceptable for the fifth richest country in the world, and it has consequences.

[LSE Inequalities @LSEInequalities]

How can storytelling help – or harm – the problem of extreme wealth inequality?

Michael Vaughan, Annalena Oppel, @JonathanMijs & Sarah Kerr offer four simple questions for creative content producers to reflect on

#LSEInequalitiesBlog https://t.co/nfnL0YTZxc

[thinkhouse @ThinkhouseInfo]

Congratulations to @jrf_uk Their report: How tax reform would make rent controls feasible to deliver has been selected by our Editorial Panel as one of the 'must read' reports of 2026, https://t.co/2LnhBguaME #ukhousing #housingresearch #housingpolicy

[The Autonomy Institute @Autonomy_Inst]

Right, only two days until we're back with our final Forum 2029 of this series! Don't miss out

Weds 8th July, 18:30
'Tackling the private rental sector'
w/ @beth_stratford | Rosie Worsdale (@jrf_uk) | Bekah Hesse (@LDNRentersUnion)

Sign-up:
https://t.co/HcuNztnVpk

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

You might have been hearing a lot about rent controls lately (including from us).

@DarrenBaxter writes for Red Brick on why renters need action now (hint: rents are too high) and why rent controls can and should be part of the solution.

https://t.co/lJ5nKOr2S7

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

And watch our explainer video of how the policy would work here:

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

🚨 NEW POLLING!

MRP polling out today from @Persuasion_UK finds “economic populist” policies like our proposal for an Affordable Energy Guarantee could win votes from across the political spectrum.

Here's what sets the AEG apart from other options 🔽

https://t.co/9n5iuqkc3a

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

More on the polling from @Persuasion_UK’s Director @SteveAkehurst here 🔽

https://t.co/V7AMVf4jD5

[Steve Akehurst @SteveAkehurst]

What might a ‘cost of living populism’ look like & how would it do electorally for Labour/Burnham?

Some new research via @PersuasionUK

TL;DR such a platform boosts Lab’s vote share by 15ppt (!) to 34% in our MRP experiment. This & anti-Reform squeeze is prob their best hope 🧵

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

📊Our living standards analysis was at the centre of this piece by @TomHCalver for @thetimes this weekend.

You can find some of the key points in this thread ⏬

[Tom Calver @TomHCalver]

NEW: the Iran war may have cost households nearly £1,000 a year by 2029 – and wiped out any gains in living standards for this parliament!

Why is Britain so bad at withstanding energy shocks?

1/2

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf_uk]

🗣️ 'The scale of the affordability squeeze private renters have been facing for years demands bold action from the government.'

Our Senior Policy Adviser @notRosalind_W makes the case for rent controls in The Week in Housing's Substack.

Read in full: https://t.co/zQJvvMYmtJ

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

See here for the full writeup https://t.co/zLs5afuaJM

Huge credit to the very large number of people in the @jrf_uk team who contributed to this work.

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

This chart is worth a look too... it compares the impact of the package to a plausible scenario for higher growth (driven by faster than expected increases in productivity and earnings).

Of course in reality it needn't be case of either-or, but the difference is stark.

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

This is probably the key chart, worth looking closely...

The (post-tax) impact of the package more than reverses the impacts from Middle East conflict AND the fall in incomes from the last parliament, for 60% of the population.

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

The package is significant, broad based (middle-income families up around £400/yr) and highly progressive (lowest income families up more than £900/yr), even after tax.

On avg only the highest income 20% of households would contribute more in tax than they recieve in support. 4/

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

This could be funded with an overhaul in the tax treatment of capital income, to insure that earnings from work are no longer taxed at unjustifiably higher rates compared with income from assets.

The tax reforms improve both fairness and economic efficiency at the same time. 3/

[Alfie Stirling @alfie_stirling]

JRF is calling on government to respond with a major programme - across energy, housing, work and social security - aimed at directly rebuilding economic security for low- and middle-income families, starting with an illustrative £18.4bn package. 2/