Poverty

Forging a good local society

For too long we have either turned a blind eye to poverty and disadvantage or hoped that a general rising tide of economic wealth would trickle down. The vote to leave the EU has opened our eyes wide to the depths of disgruntlement and cast a strong light on the inadequacies of our economic model. We must now truly focus on how we forge a good local society and create an economy for all.

  • RESEARCH

    The Local Double Dividend

    2nd February 2015
    This CLES research report argues the flawed economic thinking and a Treasury economic model that has left so many parts of the UK ...
  • RESEARCH

    Austerity Uncovered

    16th January 2015
    This report is based on research by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), commissioned by the TUC. It is designed to lo...
  • The hard truth about empathy

    Too often policy has little empathy toward the poorest. We already know that the policy default settings, such as trickle down and a ‘rising economic tide will lift all boats’ are just not strong enough to tackle poverty, even in times of growth. But increasingly, some policy seems alarmingly detached from the plight of the poorest. We don’t need to look very far to see this detached lack of empathy. It’s in the words of politicians, who denounce the benefit claimant as ‘a shirker’, but applaud the virtues of elite greed.

    Living wage week: councils should lead the campaign

    The biggest beneficiary of the living wage is not people or places, it’s HM Treasury Low pay is the fastest-growing reason people in the UK are poor: an estimated 5 million people are not paid a wage that enables them to live a decent quality of life.

    Community wealth building: tackling inequality and poverty locally

    Many local places face significant challenges. On the one hand, sluggish or no growth, coupled to rising inequality and poverty is placing significant pressure on public services. On the other, austerity and cuts to local government and public services are reducing the ability by which the public sector can act. There is a lot of commentary about the causes of inequality and poverty but a lack of real action.

  • RESEARCH

    Developing local economic resilience: The role of LEPs

    11th April 2014
    This CLES think-piece looks at Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the extent to which they are creating local economic resil...
  • CLES 10

    Approaches to Addressing Poverty

    11th April 2014
    In this CLES 10, we introduce ten ways in which places are addressing poverty through a place and relationship based approach. ...
  • CLES 10

    Progressive Housing Associations

    11th April 2014
    In this CLES 10, we introduce ten ways in which places are addressing poverty through a place and relationship based approach. ...