Media Coverage
10 August 2024 | The New European
The New European’s Lucy McCormick examines the case for Basic Income in the UK and covers Common Sense Policy Group modelling on the subject. Read more…
04 August 2024 | Wilderness Festival
At this Wilderness Festival talk, Common Sense Policy Group members Kate Pickett and Danny Dorling discussed Act Now, an inspiring manifesto offering a better vision for Britain and its implications. An audio recording of the talk is below and for more information on the event, click here…
02 August 2024 | Morning Star Online
Morning Star Online’s Sylvia Hikins reviews Act now: A vision for a better future, by the Common Sense Policy Group. Read more…
09 July 2024 | Tribune
Common Sense Policy Group members Elliott Johnson, Howard Reed and Matthew Johnson argue that Labour’s claim that there is no money left will condemn Britain to more austerity while letting billionaires, landlords, and corporations off the hook. Instead, the focus should be on shifting taxation away from productive employment and onto passive wealth. Read more…
05 July 2024 | BBC Radio Newcastle and Tees
Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson explains proportional representation and why the right of British politics is suddenly interested. Read more…
05 July 2024 | BBC Radio Newcastle and Tees
Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson provides day-after 2024 UK General Election analysis. He discusses Labour’s landslide win in terms of seats but significant under-performance in share of the vote. He refers to the danger posed to Labour by both left and right at the next election and the relevance of Act Now. Read more…
04 July 2024 | BBC Radio Newcastle and Tees
Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson provides 2024 UK General Election night analysis. He discusses Labour’s exit poll landslide, but early indications of under-performance overall and the threat posed by both right and left to their future success. Read more…
29 June 2024 | Times Radio
Common Sense Policy Group member Kate Pickett speaks to Jeremy Griffin on Times Radio about Act Now. Interview begins at 02:05. Read more…
27 June 2024 | Labour Hub
On the day of the London launch of Act Now, Common Sense Policy Group Chair Matthew Johnson introduces the group and summarises the report. Read more…
27 June 2024 | TIME
TIME’s Astha Rajvanshi examines the impact of austerity policies on poverty among young people in the UK with thoughts from Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson including solutions from Act Now. Read more…
25 June 2024 | Labour Hub
Labour Hub’s Mike Phipps previews Act now: A vision for a better future, by the Common Sense Policy Group, published today by the Manchester University Press. Read more…
17 June 2024 | Prospect
Common Sense Policy Group member Jamie Driscoll argues that a new Beveridge Report is needed to address the modern giant societal evils and previews the recommendations of Act Now: A vision for a better future and a new social contract. Read more…
12 June 2024 | GlobeLynx
Common Sense Policy Group member Howard Reed argues that the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge to cut National Insurance by 2p is unlikely to sway the electorate measurably. Read more…
12 June 2024 | Byline Times
Common Sense Policy Group members Elliott Johnson, Howard Reed and Matthew Johnson examine the Labour Party’s green energy proposals and argue that a return to their £28 billion a year pledge is essential to net zero and the economy. Read more…
12 June 2024 | Northern Agenda
Common Sense Policy Group members Matthew Johnson and Elliott Johnson argue that national policy has had a hugely damaging effect on the North of England and that an incoming Labour Government must not take the support of voters in the region for granted. Instead, it must invest at scale with an ambitious policy platform. Read more…
06 June 2024 | GlobeLynx
Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson shares his thoughts on reports that at least one in four children are in poverty in two-thirds of constituencies and what needs to be done to resolve this. Read more…
02 June 2024 | Big Issue
Common Sense Policy Group members Kate Pickett and Matthew Johnson argue that the UK’s children are poorer and getting sicker too, and that action is needed now. Read more…
30 May 2024 | Byline Times
Common Sense Policy Group member Jennifer Nadel argues that Westminster’s dysfunctional system under a potential Labour government could leave the door open to far-right politics in the years ahead. Read more…
30 May 2024 | The QT
Common Sense Policy Group members Matthew Johnson, Elliott Johnson, Ian Robson and Irene Hardill warn that today’s politicians need to match the transformative ambitions of William Beveridge and his 1942 report. Read more…
16 May 2024 | The Conversation
Common Sense Policy Group members Elliott Johnson, Daniel Nettle and Matthew Johnson highlight the need for new solutions to poverty and inequality rather than returning to the targeted approaches of the New Labour years. Read more…
24 April 2024 | The Conversation
Common Sense Policy Group members Elliott Johnson, Howard Reed and Matthew Johnson examine policy intended to reduce the disability benefit caseload and why a focus on increasing conditionality is always destined to fail. Read more…
23 April 2024 | The Conversation
Common Sense Policy Group member Matthew Johnson and Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics Matthew Flinders argue that there is evidence to suggest that a more ambitious economic policy platform from Labour would be popular with the electorate. Read more…
28 February 2024 | The QT
Common Sense Policy Group member Elliott Johnson shares his thoughts on the dysfunctional state of social care in a piece written by the QT’s Jane Hall. Read more…