Autonomy Work

* The UK has a public trust problem: this is exacerbated by a parliamentary system whereby public officials and their political parties are funded by wealthy private interests. * This paper outlines how we could reform the system entirely, get private money out of politics, restore some trust amongst the public whilst also giving every eligible voter greater material leverage in their political commitments. * We propose two models in this paper.

Britain's universities are in an economic crisis.

* This report demonstrates that well-designed rent controls are a viable option for the government, as part of a strategy to tackle problems in the private rental sector. * High rents have strained living standards for two decades, with nearly 1 in 5 UK households now renting privately and facing insecurity, poverty and homelessness.

* This short paper gives a snapshot into the menstrual health needs of employees in the UK and the hitherto lack of support for such experiences. * Half (50%) of female employees say menstrual symptoms have negatively affected them at work in the past 12 months, while 39% say the same for perimenopause or menopause symptoms. * Younger workers report the heaviest menstrual burden: 80% of 18-24-year-olds and 73% of 25-34-year-olds have been affected.

1. UK politics is marked by an ideological hybridity and elite protection developed within neoliberal think tanks. The UK's political landscape has long been shaped by a hybrid mix of neoliberal, nationalist, authoritarian, cultural conservative, and techno-libertarian logics. These ideologies often contradict each other, yet together they can work to stabilise forms of elite privilege.

But above all, the reduction of working hours can be the key political lever to bring about this vision, by acting as the central proposition around which to organise social mobilisation and economic reorganisation. At least four reasons support this idea. First, the mobilising power of reduced working hours is undeniable.

* Research has found that the share of political donations from those giving £1 million or more has risen thirty-five-fold in under a decade, from around 1% in 2015 to over a third in 2024. * This briefing sets out a three-step plan for cleaning up British politics: reforms that would cost the Treasury nothing but could restore public trust in politics within the first hundred days of a new government.

A central part of the answer has to be building a robust cash transfer system. Ideally, this would have happened six years ago, in the midst of the pandemic, but doing so now would still be vastly preferable to doing so later, so we can be ready for when the next crisis arrives - just as Germany was better placed to adapt to the 2008 financial crisis through the Kurzarbeit scheme.

* Climate change is on course to make fresh fruit and vegetables unaffordable for many across the next two decades as it disrupts the production of UK's imported and domestic produce. This report's key findings are as follows: * Heat waves are projected to add around 11% to the price of the UK's top twenty fruit and vegetables by 2035 and around 68% by 2050 under a high emissions scenario, on top of normal inflation.