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How much does the UK spend on defence? And can the government meet its commitment to NATO to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035? THREAD 🧵
Institute for Fiscal Studies
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Institute for Fiscal Studies
@TheIFS
Britain’s leading independent economic research institute
- "A terraced house in Blackpool pays significantly more council tax than a £100 million penthouse in the West End. That is bonkers." @PJTheEconomist and @DanNeidle discuss the current 'disaster that is the taxation system for housing'. Listen here: linktr.ee/ifszoomsin
00:00 - “What was completely missing was anything for people on Universal Credit or the state pension, which is only going up by 3.1% this month when inflation will be around 8%.” “A big cut in living standards for those on the very lowest incomes.” @PJTheEconomist on #PoliticsLive
- NEW: Sure Start, England’s first large programme to provide holistic support to families with children under five, greatly improved disadvantaged children’s GCSE results. Read @nridpathecon @Sarah_Cattan @carneiro_econ’s report, funded by @NuffieldFound: ifs.org.uk/publications/s…
- NEW: At their peak, Sure Start centres prevented 13,000 hospitalisations a year among 11- to 15-year-olds – leading to savings that offset around a third of its cost. Read our new briefing, funded by @NuffieldFound here. > ifs.org.uk/publications/1… Thread [1/4]
- NEW: Access to Sure Start as a child reduced the likelihood of ending up in youth custody by a fifth. THREAD on our new report, funded by @NuffieldFound, on Sure Start’s impact on crime and social care outcomes: [1/9]
- NEW: Removing tax exemptions from private schools would likely raise £1.3–1.5 billion per year, as the fall in private school demand and movement of pupils into the state sector is likely to be small. Read @lukesibieta’s report, funded by @NuffieldFound:
- Real wages are expected to remain stagnant for 20 years. In 2026, wages are forecast to be £11.70 lower than if the pre-2008 trend in wage growth had continued. #Budget2021
- NEW: Sure Start, the national programme which provided universal, holistic support during the early years, significantly reduced serious youth crime. Read our new report, funded by @NuffieldFound: ifs.org.uk/publications/e…
- NEW: Average inflation reached 9% in the year to April, but the poorest households faced inflation rates of 10.9%. This is 3 percentage points higher than inflation rates for the richest decile. [THREAD: 1/4]
- NEW: Scottish Government funding per person is over 30% higher than in England, almost entirely due to its UK government funding. This gap has grown over the last 10 years. Read more in our first Scottish election briefing, funded by @Scotpolicyfund ifs.org.uk/publications/1…
- The 2p cut to National Insurance means £449 less tax paid by an average full-time employee, but this is almost entirely offset by frozen thresholds and other changes since 2021. For others, these freezes will more than cancel out the 2p cut. #AutumnStatement
- Over the next 5 years real household disposable income is expected to grow by 0.8% per year, well below the historical average. But growth had been weak in the decade before COVID, meaning average incomes are now expected to be 28% (£9,000 per capita) below the pre-2008 trend.
- NEW: Sure Start generated widespread, long-lasting benefits for children in education, health, absences, and SEND. Every £1 of up-front spending on Sure Start could generate around £2 in total benefits over the long run. THREAD on our new @NuffieldFound-funded report: [1/11]
