Chris is a Principal Policy Adviser at JRF, where he leads on economic and fiscal issues aiming to understand the economic challenges that underpin poverty and economic insecurity. Previously, Chris worked at HM Treasury leading teams providing advice on fiscal sustainability and the distributional impact of policy reforms on households. Prior to that, Chris was an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies where he conducted research on education policy and inequality.
Email: chris.belfield@jrf.org.uk
New findings suggest that improving economic security is not just an outcome of a stronger economy, but a way to building one.
As the pressure of the cost of living crisis mounts, the Government has the opportunity to return incomes to growth for low- and middle-income households.
More people than ever are going without essentials, and an increasing range of families are being affected by the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t have to be this way — as our latest survey also shows, government policy can have an impact.
Bold action on housing, energy, social security and insecure work can return incomes to growth for low- and middle-income households, more than offsetting price shocks from Middle East conflict.
With the local elections in England, and elections in Scotland and Wales around the corner, this briefing provides a reminder of the need to prioritise increasing living standards across the UK.
Investment in social security will reduce poverty this April, but progress will stall without a comprehensive set of actions for more than economic growth alone.
New evidence from JRF shows there has been no let-up for low-income families over the last year, with millions of households still struggling to afford life’s essentials, such as food, heating and basic toiletries.
Measures in the Budget, especially removing the two-child limit, ease some pain and significantly reduce child poverty, but incomes are projected to fall more in this parliament than any on record.
New research shows that households feeling economically insecure is driving Labour’s loss of support, not immigration. JRF’s looking at how to improve living standards.