Mike Brewer
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mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer
@mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
5.2K followers 1K following 220 posts

Deputy Chief Executive Resolution Foundation & Visiting Prof in Practice at LSE Social Policy. 'Calm, Measured, Withering' http://tinyurl.com/y6wxlxhj). 'Cool, calm analysis' (More or Less, 8/10/25). He/him

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Economics 26%
Political science 22%
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mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 7h
Having been in the depths of COVID era policy recently for the Inquiry, a very striking theme was how moat people were aghast at how little money was available through social security when times were tough. Now imagine being a disabled lone parent...

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 7h
The article should really have said: "Look! We have a welfare state that gives you support if you are disabled and money to feed and clothe your children, and tries (not that hard, admittedly) to prevent you from being homeless".

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 7h
Another one of those crazy Telegraph articles this weekend which, for some unknown reason, compares a healthy DINKY to a disabled single parent with three children.

Reposted by Mike Brewer

urbaneprofessor.bsky.social
Professor Peter Matthews @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social · 1d
And yet they've not managed to find the families of the half a million kids to be lifted out of poverty... 🤔

Reposted by Mike Brewer

financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 1d
This Budget’s tax decisions will haunt the government on.ft.com/44xZOPB | opinion
This Budget’s tax decisions will haunt the government
The buffer Reeves built into her plans is admirable, but no guarantee of avoiding the nasty dilemmas to come
on.ft.com

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 2d
Old style Twitter is back, baby.
pengzell.bsky.social Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 2d
A thread of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that look like record covers... because that's EXACTLY what the world needs

1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Reposted by Mike Brewer, Michelle Kelly‐Irving, Pierre Bataille , and 8 more

pengzell.bsky.social
Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 2d
A thread of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that look like record covers... because that's EXACTLY what the world needs

1. Huey Lewis and the News: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Reposted by Mike Brewer

resolutionfoundation.org
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 3d
"It will certainly take political courage to stick to these plans."

@ruthcurtice.bsky.social has everything you need to know about the Budget, in two minutes ⏰ ⤵️

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 3d
And highlights how pointless the speech is.

Reposted by Mike Brewer

ruthcurtice.bsky.social
Ruth Curtice @ruthcurtice.bsky.social · 4d
Live posting about the speech feels slightly unnecessary when all the details are out. But I'm a sucker for tradition nonetheless.

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 9d
Surely you've already read it ? Kaboomtish

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · 11d
8 out of 11 but one was a silly mistake so I'm giving myself 8.5.

(Btw this is what Chancellors do when they get OBR forecasts 🤣)

Reposted by Mike Brewer

financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 11d
Quiz: How well do you know your Budgets? on.ft.com/3XAbkGa
Quiz: How well do you know your Budgets?
Test your knowledge of the set-piece political event with our questions on the financial statements of yesteryear
on.ft.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Steve Peers, Mike Brewer , and 1 more

trillingual.bsky.social
Daniel Trilling @trillingual.bsky.social · 14d
In 2023 @tom-clark.bsky.social got me to write a chapter for his book on UK poverty about how immigration limbo, which Labour wants more of, makes people destitute. It was the most distressing piece I've ever worked on. We sent a copy to every MP. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/6081...
Destitute by design: trapped in the immigration system
Migration policy is not only failing people forced to arrive in Britain by boats. In an extract from a new edited volume, Daniel Trilling reports on t...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

Reposted by Mike Brewer

lalithatry.bsky.social
Lalitha Try @lalithatry.bsky.social · Oct 23
New spotlight from me covering what the latest inflation data means for benefit uprating out now. Here’s a quick summary:

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Oct 20
We are keen to hear from individuals withexperience working in government, think tanks, applied academic research, or the private sector.

This is a permanent role at our Westminster office. Applications for full-time or part-time hours are welcome.

www.resolutionfoundation.org/about-us/opp...

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Oct 20
This is a high-profile role, and successful applicants will need experience of leading major research or policy programmes, and line managing a team of high-performing individuals. Post-graduate level economics (or equivalent work experience) is essential.

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Oct 20
New week, new job at Resolution Foundation?

We have a vacancy at the top of our research team to plan and manage major strands of our research and policy output. In particular, they will develop and lead our work on growth and productivity, building on the Economy 2030 Inquiry.

Reposted by Mike Brewer

tobyn.bsky.social
Toby Nangle @tobyn.bsky.social · Oct 18
Meant to read it when it came out. @chrisgiles.ft.com makes the case that costs are NOT spiralling, and UK welfare doesn't deserve its moral panic. on.ft.com/4hfE9kr

Reposted by Mike Brewer

resolutionfoundation.org
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · Oct 14
📢 New analysis!

What is the OBR’s forecast for trend productivity growth, and why does it matter so much for the Budget?

Find out more here ⤵️ buff.ly/KmJEg1Y

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Mike Brewer

timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · Oct 10
"The wealth tax debate shouldn’t be separate from the one about how we tax property and pensions – that’s where most of the country’s wealth sits."  c/o @resfoundation.bsky.social Bet it will continue to be, though. 🙄

Reposted by Mike Brewer

lseinequalities.bsky.social
LSE Inequalities @lseinequalities.bsky.social · Oct 9
Missed our recent Inequalities Seminar?

@katymorris.bsky.social explores the effects of income misperceptions on inequality beliefs and preferences, comparing the local and national levels.

Watch now ⬇️
LSE III Event | Local versus National: The effect of income (mis)perceptions on inequality beliefs
Part of the Inequalities Seminar Series Tuesday 30 September, 12.30 - 1.30pm. In-person and online seminar. CBG 2.03. Speaker: Dr Katy Morris, Postdoctoral Fellow, Swedish Institute for Social…
youtu.be

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Oct 8
My small contribution to today's great RF report on wealth inequality was to have us headline with the metric for measuring wealth gaps that I first came across in the work of the late John Hills

www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
Lifetime of earnings not enough for UK workers to join wealthiest 10%, report says
Research finds it would take average worker saving all their earnings for 52 years to match wealth of richest 10th of society
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Mike Brewer, Melanie Simms

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Oct 7
Great column from @sarahoconnorft.ft.com where she casts her forensic eye over the introduction of collective bargaining in the social care sector. TL:DR it could work given adult care is a weird market largely paid for by local authorities; but as usual will there be enough cash? on.ft.com/4mSfeVm
The most radical Labour plan you haven’t heard about
Collective bargaining in social care could save an ailing sector — but only if it’s done properly
on.ft.com

Reposted by Mike Brewer

resolutionfoundation.org
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · Sep 30
There's good news and bad news on household incomes.

While we've seen healthy income growth in the past 18 months, incomes have yet to recover from the cost of living crisis.

⬇️
1. the good news Real Household Disposable Incomes (RHDI) have grown by a healthy £1,100 over the past 18 months (between the end of 2023 and mid 2025). 2. the bad news So why don’t we feel richer? Because incomes this summer were still £110 lower than they were in 2021, just before the cost of living crisis started. 3. beneath the averages RHDI tells us about averages, but this recent growth will not have been shared evenly. Food prices are rising sharply. Energy bills are going up right when the temperature is going down. Private rents are out-pacing wages. Many families are still feeling the pinch. 4. lots of ground to make up Over the past twenty years, Britain's living standards slowdown has cost families £20,000 a year in lost income. Lifting living standards is the defining challenge facing Britain today.

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Sep 29
...while also diminishing the importance of the remaining contributory benefits?

Reposted by Mike Brewer, Anand Menon, Tim Leunig

resolutionfoundation.org
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · Sep 25
Amid reports that MPs and an advisory taskforce will recommend scrapping the two-child limit on benefits, it's worth noting that this step would be the most targeted and cost-effective way for the Government to meet its aim of reducing child poverty ⤵️

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Mike Brewer

nyecominetti.bsky.social
Nye Cominetti @nyecominetti.bsky.social · Sep 23
Helpful and easy to read blog from ONS on their improvements to labour market stats. More of this kind of thing, please ! Couple of things to highlight
blog.ons.gov.uk/2025/09/23/l...
Lifting the lid on our work to improve labour market statistics
The ONS’s new Director-General for Surveys and Economic and Social Statistics, James Benford, talks through work going on beyond the scenes to improve our statistics after a week with several major
blog.ons.gov.uk

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Mike Brewer, Elizabeth Stokoe , and 8 more

tom-clark.bsky.social
Tom Clark @tom-clark.bsky.social · Sep 23
Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds

open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

mikebrewerecon.bsky.social
Mike Brewer @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social · Sep 20
You now own two inflatable kayaks and a set of garden furniture.