What does the future hold for Britain, and how can we reclaim our prosperity? In his latest book, Great Britain? How We Get Our Future Back, economist and politician Torsten Bell offers his vision for revitalising the UK's economy and society.

A former Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation and now Labour MP for Swansea West, Bell dissects the economic stagnation that has gripped Britain for over a decade, exploring how this prolonged period of low growth has impacted various segments of society – and what we can do about it.

At this event in our Fair Society series with the Policy Institute at King’s College London, we discussed Bell’s book and his ideas for how to raise living standards and create a more equal country.

Speakers:

• Torsten Bell, Member of Parliament for Swansea West, former Director of the Resolution Foundation
• Bobby Duffy, Director, the Policy Institute at King’s College London (chair)
• David Hope, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, King’s College London
• Gaby Hinsliff, Columnist at the Guardian

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On 15 October the Fairness Foundation published the Wealth Gap Risk Register, an online evidence resource on the impacts and risks of the wealth gap. The report is designed to address limited awareness among policymakers of the causal relationship between the wealth gap and these negative ‘spillover effects’, by communicating the evidence base as clearly and concisely as possible through a range of powerful and accessible data visualisations.

The report also looks at the evidence base for the policy solutions that will either reduce the wealth gap or mitigate its impacts on other areas, and at the evidence on public attitudes to both the problem and the solutions (including new polling and focus group research on public understanding of the impacts of wealth inequality).

During this webinar, the report’s analysis and recommendations were discussed and situated within the wider context of the debate about inequality, poverty and the government's priorities and choices by an expert panel. This event was run in association with the Policy Institute at King's College London as part of our 'Fair Society' series.

Speakers:

• Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North and Chair of the Business & Trade Select Committee
• Graham Hobson, Founder of Photobox and member of the Patriotic Millionaires
• Sonia Sodha, Chief Leader Writer at The Observer
• Jack Jeffrey, Researcher at the Fairness Foundation
• Will Snell, Chief Executive at the Fairness Foundation (chair)

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What does declining prosperity mean for Britain’s next generation? In his latest book, author and professor Danny Dorling constructs seven “average” children from millions of statistics – each child symbolising the very middle of a parental income bracket, from the poorest to the wealthiest. Seven Childrenexplores the realities facing Britain's youth in the aftermath of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Dorling's seven children were born in 2018, at a time when the UK faced its worst inequality since the Great Depression. As they turned five in 2023, their country had Europe's fastest-rising child poverty rates, and even the best-off of the seven is disadvantaged. The book provides insight into the lives of British children living between the extremes of wealth and poverty. It examines questions around parental income, the middle class, and the trends affecting the next generation.

At this event in our Fair Society series with the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Dorling discussed the key issues with our expert panel.

Speakers:

• Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford, and author of Seven Children, Inequality and the 1% and All That Is Solid
• Georgia Banjo, Britain Correspondent, The Economist
• Dame Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England
• Will Snell, Chief Executive, The Fairness Foundation (chair)

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