New 95% mortgage policy will make homeownership even more unaffordable

The announcement of the 95% mortgage in this week’s budget may have initially sounded like good news for those in “generation rent” who have struggled for years to get onto the housing ladder. However, Lizzie Simpson, IF Researcher, explains why this policy is likely to make homeownership increasingly unachievable for young people in the longer… Read more »

Vaccine passports: a recipe for intergenerational resentment

As mass vaccination raises the prospect of releasing society from COVID-19 lockdown, there is much talk about introducing vaccine passports to hasten the process. But would the introduction of vaccine passports be intergenerationally fair? No it would not, says IF volunteer Samuel Rowland, for reasons of public health – and it will cause intergenerational resentment

Economic impact of COVID-19 continues to disadvantage younger people

Last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published new data detailing the current state of the UK’s labour market and businesses. This has revealed not only the damaging impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have on the UK’s economy as a whole, but also the disproportionally negative impact that it is having… Read more »

What does the Chancellor’s Spending Review mean for younger and future generations?

On Wednesday (25 November) UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his “Spending Review 2020” (SR2020) to Parliament, setting out the government’s spending plans for the coming year. IF student intern Hugh Nicholl interprets the SR2020 from the perspective of younger and future generations, and shows why tentative steps towards reform to RPI, likewise announced on Wednesday,… Read more »

Does the planning white paper really help first-time buyers?

The government has recently consulted the public on their wide-ranging set of proposed reforms to the planning system in England, which, they argue, will reduce delays and uncertainty for developers and enable more new homes to be built for first-time-buyers. David Kingman explains IF’s position on whether these reforms go far enough to really make… Read more »