The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
analysis through comments from our team of experts. We’d love to hear from you, so post comments or get in touch with us.

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• Posted on 16 December 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

  Has COVID-19 shifted public attitudes?

  

  Now that the prospect of an end to the pandemic is in sight, the question of what post-pandemic Britain should look like will soon become a pressing one. Should everyday life and public policy return to ‘normal’ – or does COVID-19 represent an opportunity to reshape the country’s social and economic life and the role that government plays in facilitating it?

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  Tags: British Social Attitudes, COVID-19, income and welfare, social and political attitudes

• Posted on 27 May 2015 by NatCen, Research

  NatCen Insights: Queen's Speech 2015

  

  The first Queen’s speech of the new Conservative Government was delivered at the State Opening of Parliament today, announcing a wide range of new legislation in 21 new Bills. Here we have a look at what NatCen research tells us about some of the new policies.

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  Tags: childcare, EU, Europe, European Union, Right to Buy, Scottish independence, crime and justice, devolution, extremism, immigration, income and welfare, mental health, spend

• Posted on 21 June 2011 by Natasha Wood, Senior Researcher

  Women's state pension age changes – evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

  

  MPs voted last night to give the Pensions Bill a second reading but ministers have promised to look at ‘transitional arrangements’. Natasha Wood looks at recent evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to shed light on why one aspect of the bill has caused such disquiet.

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  Tags: ELSA, English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, income and welfare, Pensions Bill, retirement

• Posted on 03 March 2011

  Older workers on the increase

  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released figures on older workers, showing that the proportion of 65 and overs in the workforce has doubled in the last 10 years. There are now 870,000 workers aged over 65 and they make up 3% of the UK workforce. Our Chief Executive, Penny Young reviews our own research on retirement and pensions.

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  Tags: attitudes to pensions, income and welfare, National Survey of Health and Development, pathways to retirement

• Posted on 16 February 2011

  What do an ex-Marxist and an investment banker have in common?

  Top people's pay is in the news again: Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, is today proposing that councillors vote on local government salaries over £100K.  And yesterday, Anthony Fry, a BBC Trustee, told the Public Accounts Committee that the BBC should have taken action on senior executive salaries much sooner. Our Chief Executive Penny Young reveals what BSA data has to say on the subject.

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  Tags: BSA, British Social Attitudes, income and welfare, social and political attitudes

• Posted on 02 February 2011

  The squeezed 'middle'?

  The Institute of Fiscal Studies launched its pre-budget forecast today at the British Museum, to an audience of journalists, commentators, economists and various people whose job it is to make sense of the British economy. Our Chief Executive, Penny Young looks at what recent BSA data has to say.

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  Tags: BSA, British Social Attitudes, income and welfare, social and political attitudes, tax