The Policy Institute

"When we plotted who is actually in this digital ecosystem, it turned out to be – here in the UK – a massive digital echo chamber for the American populists" 💬 @liambyrnemp.bsky.social at our event earlier in May on the rise of populism ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3h...

"they [Reform UK] are not in the kind of position you might have expected them to have got to... because of these deep structural weaknesses about which direction they want to go in" 💬 @samfr.bsky.social at our event earlier in May on the rise of populism ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3h...

"People with very simple answers to very complex questions tend to get found out in power" 💬 @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social at our event earlier in May on the causes and consequences of populist movements making significant gains across many Western democracies ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3h...

"Close to a third of the public think that if this [AI] displacement happens too fast, we will see civil unrest." 💬 @elenasimperl.bsky.social spoke to Bloomberg last week about our new research with @aiatkings.bsky.social on AI and the future of work. ➡️ Full report: www.kcl.ac.uk/news/one-in-...

"[in] 2003, 2004 half the public though the future was going to be better for young people... [but now] half think it's going to be worse" 💬 @bobbyduffy.bsky.social on Politics Live last week, speaking about Wes Streeting's comments – made in his resignation speech – on intergenerational fairness.

"We're not at 1933, but we could be at 1927. We could be one stock market crash away from something very serious happening" 💬 @liambyrnemp.bsky.social at our recent event on the causes and consequences of populist movements making gains internationally 📺 Full event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3h...

🔊 "There's more fear than hope right now among people" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social speaks to BBC Radio London about our study on attitudes to AI and the future of work with @aiatkings.bsky.social

🔊 "The CEO of Anthropic himself said in 2025 that half of all entry-level jobs are going because of AI, and half of people agree with his prediction." @bobbyduffy.bsky.social speaks to BBC Politics Live about our study on AI and the future of work with @aiatkings.bsky.social

"a real problem is not generational conflict. It's generational separation. We've drifted apart by age group in a way that we just hadn't really noticed" 💬 Last week @bobbyduffy.bsky.social spoke to The Rest Is Politics about the myths and realities of generations ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldtN...

🔊 "Many people are really concerned about the future impact of AI on jobs and on our society." Elena Simperl of @aiatkings.bsky.social discusses our joint study on the BBC's World at One

"You can go back to... 400 BC with Socrates and his long diatribe against young people... we always think young people are a step down from the past... that has just always been the case" 💬 Last week @bobbyduffy.bsky.social spoke to The Rest Is Politics about the myths and realities of generations

"most people get some support from their parents... these people don't... so I can see there's a kind of very strong case for it" 💬 On Political Currency, Osborne and Balls react to our findings that direct cash transfers for care leavers lead to positive outcomes 🎧 www.podbean.com/media/share/...

"if we were to cast aside our mainstream politics... then a gap would open up, and that gap may not be filled by other democrats" 💬 Sir John Major delivering the 2026 Attlee Foundation Lecture this week, hosted by @strandgroup.bsky.social & The Attlee Foundation 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=euE1...

"Populists are careless of the strife they cause. They trade on grievance in our society and where ills exist they exaggerate them" 💬 Sir John Major delivering the 2026 Attlee Foundation Lecture yesterday, hosted by @strandgroup.bsky.social & The Attlee Foundation 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1NL...

💬 "Things like this don't happen to everyday care leavers." Student and care leaver Aeryn Hill was randomly selected to receive a no-strings-attached £2,000 payment, as part of our major trial with @homelessnessimpact.bsky.social 🤳 Aeryn spoke to the BBC News TikTok account about her experience

"what stands out is not just what the money was used for, but what it made possible" 💬 @ligia-teixeira.bsky.social at our event w/ @homelessnessimpact.bsky.social yesterday on our landmark trial on cash transfers for care leavers 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJg1... 📊 www.kcl.ac.uk/news/2000-no...

"We give them £2,000... and what we find from the effects... is that even within 12 months it more than pays for itself in terms of reduced demand for other services." @michael-sanders.bsky.social spoke to BBC Radio London about our new study with giving "no strings "cash to care leavers

NEW: Young people leaving care who were given a one-off £2,000 cash payment, with no strings attached, were more likely to be in stable housing and less likely to be sofa-surfing – and showed a range of positive health, wellbeing and criminal justice outcomes, our landmark trial finds ⬇️ 🧵

🔊 “we've seen a big increase to 67% of people saying that [the UK is divided by culture wars, compared to 54% in 2023]... that 13% increase is really quite large" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social at last week's event on the perceptions, drivers & consequences of the UK's culture wars 🧵⬇️ Full video below

🔊 “across the board a gap [is] opening up between the share of under 30s in each country who identify as more left wing or more right wing" @jburnmurdoch.ft.com at last week's event on the perceptions, drivers & consequences of the UK's culture wars 🧵⬇️ Full video below

🔊 “adversaries have recognised the cheapest way to destabilise democracies is now not to breach our borders with tanks... the cheapest way is... through these wedge issues" Dr Kate Ferguson at this week's event on the perceptions, drivers & consequences of the UK's culture wars 🧵⬇️ Full video below

🔊 “I do think symbols matter…that question...about government being on platforms like X is one that is very much up for debate, and it’s a debate that we’re having" 🤳 Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on the role of social media in culture war debates at our event last night 🧵⬇️ Full video below

... and support has fallen for major climate policies since 2021. Support for: 🚗 Low-traffic neighbourhoods: 50% ('21) to 38% ('25) 🔌 Electric vehicle purchase subsidies: 51% ('21) to 34% ('25) ✈️ Frequent flyer taxes: 64% ('21) to 52% ('25) 🐓 Environmental food taxes: 46% ('21) to 33% ('25)

👀 ICYMI 📉 The share of the UK public who say the country needs to reduce carbon emissions to net zero sooner than 2050 has nearly halved since 2021... 🧵⬇️

📺 ICYMI "if you wanted to create a housing crisis you would have just done... what we've done in Britain for the last 45 years" 172,420 homeless children in England are now living in temporary accommodation. Catch up on our recent event on this deepening crisis ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=taox...