Blogs | Public First

A Band G and H Council Tax raid could be the next “Granny Tax”

Among numerous policy suggestions floating around ahead of the Budget is a potential doubling of council tax for those in Council Tax bands G and H - the highest bands in England, representing about 4% of all properties.

Degrees of Doubt – Reform voters’ views on higher education

New Insight Note on reform voters' views on higher education

Boosting London homebuilding could add £40 billion a year to the UK economy by 2034

A new report by Public First finds that meeting London’s target of building 88,000 new homes a year would deliver a step change in economic growth - boosting productivity in the capital by 5.6% in the long term and raising the average Londoner’s take-home pay by £3,700.

Practising YIMBYs: Most people support development in practice as well as in principle

A new Public First report finds that people are likely to support new housing and other infrastructure development in practice as well as in theory – even if it’s often assumed otherwise.

The Quiet Yes: Why Listening to the Majority Could Unlock Development

A new Public First report finds that a majority of Brits are in favour of local development, but their views often go unheard by decision makers. The research explores the real balance of public opinion on development, the profiles of those that instinctively support development ('YIMBYs') and those that instinctively oppose development ('NIMBYs'); and, what both groups think about development and the planning system.

The impact of water scarcity on the economy

A new Public First report for Water UK looks at the economic cost of water scarcity as a blocker on commercial development in England. In areas of the country, we are already seeing the limiting impacts of water scarcity on development; and with the commercial growth in water intensive industries, rising temperatures and population increase the problem is only growing. Insufficient water is putting breaks on the development that is so desperately needed for growth.

The AI Opportunity in Asia Pacific

AI is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform economic growth, innovation and scientific progress. In a new major project commissioned by Google, we’ve worked to explore in more depth the range of opportunities AI creates for countries across the Asia-Pacific region - and steps Governments can take to maximise them. Today, we’re publishing the first output of the research: a summary of some of the opportunities shared across the region.

Saving the British Dream: Investing in First Time Buyers for Economic Renewal

A new Public First report finds that supporting more young people to afford their first home is fundamental to boosting housebuilding rates and reducing generational inequalities.

Why building more homes of all types helps first time buyers

New Public First research finds the best approach to making homes more affordable is to build more higher value homes as part of a wider policy of building more homes of all types and sizes.

How National Development Management Policies Can Boost Economic Growth

To boost economic growth and housebuilding rates over the next few years, the Government should use its existing planning powers to set clearer rules for development.

Private capital and the UK’s productivity gap

New analysis by Public First for BVCA shows how much bigger the UK's economy could be if all businesses matched the productivity growth of those backed by private capital.

The trends that shaped the Paris AI Action Summit. And what comes next!

Behind the conclusions of the Paris AI Safety Summit were a number of trends that not only defined the outcome of the summit, but give us a preview of what the years ahead hold as Governments re-evaluate the global approach to AI Safety and governance.

Public First research used by Chancellor to drive new OxCam growth strategy

Public First’s research for the OxCam supercluster found that the region, which spans Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Oxford, has an almost unrivalled per capita performance - in patents, scientific publications, human capital, start-up quality.

When Reality and Perception Match (…or Don’t)

New polling from Public First shows that the public’s views on the quality of their local public services do reflect local realities, though it varies by the service.

Understanding anti-politics in the UK: New Polling

Public First carried out a large-scale, nationally representative poll to understand the British public's attitudes towards politics in the UK.

What Would a Kamala Harris Presidency Mean for Tech Policy?

Understanding how a Harris presidency could shape the digital landscape requires looking at her career “in the context” of the Internet’s evolution, her rise in public office, and (most importantly) how her plans align with the electorate’s wishes.

Public First Government Missions Tracker

The Public First team is tracking all key policy announcements made by the Government relevant to its 5 missions

Rewiring the State

If the next government wants to cut the cost of fraud and improve the delivery of public services, they will need to make some fundamental changes to the way government issues, collects and processes personal data.

High Streets have changed dramatically over the past 15 years. And much of the public isn’t happy about it.

Banks and bricks & mortar retail have declined, while the number of beauty salons and e-commerce-linked businesses has soared. Older voters are least happy with this change.

The public are ready for AI to start help tackle NHS problems – are Labour?

Noah Bezalel talks some recent PF polling on how the public feel about AI being used in healthcare and how Labour can utilise this to "build an NHS fit for the future"

Tackling transport deserts in Chicago: lessons from the ground

Ed Shackle reflects on his time researching public attitudes towards the shortcomings in public transport in Chicago, and how the ecosystem for transportation is changing thanks to ride-sharing apps.

New Polling for the Bipartisan Policy Center

Public First conducted polling for the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) from 28th March to 7th April 2024. We surveyed 2,024 adults across the US, asking them about their views on pension policy and their plans for their retirement.

New Polling for the School Food Review Working Group

Public First conducted new polling for the School Food Review Working Group, researching public views towards free school meals and the potential expansion of free school meals by a future Labour government.

Beyond the Great Retirement

Public First has published a new report with Phoenix Insights on 'Beyond the Great Retirement: Understanding and tackling economic inactivity amongst the over 50s'.

A crisis of imagination

Meaningful behavioural change will only happen if a sustainable, resilient future feels tangible - and brands have an important role to play

Falling life expectancy makes a higher State Pension Age more contentious

With the long-term sustainability of the UK’s public finances under continued scrutiny, March’s Budget could see accelerated increases in the State Pension Age (SPA).

So, you’re wondering about manifestos?

Public First have recently run two events for clients and friends about how manifestos get made, and how you might want to make arguments to political parties. We thought it was worth offering some highlights.

While a tempting way to balance the books, the Chancellor should shy away from incoherent stealth taxes like IPT

Plugging holes with stealth taxes - such as through IPT - raises the risk of a more incoherent and unfairer tax system.

Empowering SMEs in the United States to embrace digital tools

Amy Price talks us through polling conducted for Intuit exploring the benefits of digitisation for US-based businesses.

Knowledge matters

Rachel Wolf discusses the inexperience of the new cabinet

My time as an intern at Public First

Lorna Fielker recounts her experience as an intern at Public First over the last three months.

Why focus groups matter

Rachel Wolf shares her thoughts on the importance of focus groups to gauge public opinion.

They’re not the enemy…they’re the opposition!

Rachel Wolf shares her thoughts on PM Truss's new government policies

A few thoughts on the Downing Street policy unit

Rachel Wolf shares her thoughts on PM Liz Truss' Downing Street policy structure.

An education plan for the new Prime Minister

The leadership race to date has been relatively light on educational commitments. As the Public First policy tracker shows, from Team Rishi, we had what might be called “continuity Goveism” in an oped from former Ministers Damian Hinds and Nick Gibb..

Inside the Black Box: Public First on the Manifesto Process and the Tory Leadership Election

Yesterday morning Public First were delighted to host a packed client seminar in Westminster looking at manifesto formulation in the run-in to the next general election. Ed Dorrell talks us through some of the key insights.

A Network for Communities: Building the capacity for change in ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods.

Public First has published a new report: A Network for Communities: Building the capacity for change in ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods.

How can the EU create a Digital Decade?

Last week, we published a new report commissioned by AWS that looked at the potential of the EU's Digital Decade.

Is the intangible of levelling up becoming tangible?

Ed Dorrell looks at recent work from Public First, suggesting that the country is finally moving into the next phase of Levelling Up.

Public First polling on changing trends in ecommerce

Public First polled businesses and consumers on behalf of Coadec to explore shifting shopping trends and the future of ecommerce.

More funding is needed to place education at the heart of national recovery

Jonathan Simons on why Government must keep to their word and prioritise further funding for education.

Canadian voters give the benefit of the doubt on COVID-19 — up to a point

Writing for The Hub, Public First director Blair Gibbs reports on the impact of the pandemic on the popularity of the Liberal government in Canada. You can find his piece here - the poll in question can be found here.

Policing beyond 2020

The recent resignation of the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is a sign of how much policing still matters. Despite the enormity of the pandemic and the economic and social impact of lockdown, the failings of a major public service can still lead the news. - The failed outsourcing and data management issues were identified over a year ago, and yet inspectors found little repair and recovery to speak of. The force itself has been accused of moving too slowly to grip the problem, with many more questions still to be answered. The impact on victims of crime is hard to quantify but the scandal has a long way to run. - One major concern is that the episode will impact the integrity and completeness of crime statistics, possibly permanently. And it will also raise doubts again about the capability of local police forces to manage major procurements and ensure accurate crime data recording. It will also invite new discussion over how to hold private suppliers to account. - The Inspectorate of Constabulary played a vital part – arguably its most legitimate role – in being the expert finder of failure (rather than the self-appointed arbiter of ‘best practice’). And the media was able to direct their questions at the local politicians responsible for overseeing the police. A decade ago, before the advent of directly-elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), all such questions would have gone up to the Home Office. - Policing has been through a decade of austerity and reform where forces lost huge numbers of personnel – both civilian and uniform – and visible, neighbourhood policing was hollowed out. The public noticed this retrenchment and complain about it frequently in focus groups – linking lack of police presence to disorder and neglect of town centres, the growth of drug dealing and the failure to tackle quality-of-life crime. Albeit this was also a period when new agencies like the NCA were created, accountability and transparency were enhanced, and there was generally falling crime. The next decade will look a lot different. - Much higher police numbers nationally by 2023, while widely appreciated, will go alongside the rising demand we can expect after Covid-19: from higher unemployment, possible social strife, more mental illness, family breakdown and drug use. All of which will logically lead not just to more offending, but also to more unrealistic assumptions among media and politicians about the contribution the police can and should be making. Even by 2024, total officer numbers on current plans will still represent a fall in per capita terms compared to 2010 given population growth. - However, the onboarding of 20,000 additional officers is the most any government has ever recruited in such a short period and combined with the economic conditions post-Covid 19 driving upwards pressure on crime, this will inevitably mean we are entering an era of rising expectations on the police. - Whatever the lessons of the GMP scandal, to meet these expectations, the police both nationally and locally will need to partner more, not less. They already need additional support from the private sector to meet the growing volume of complex crime and online offending, which is overwhelming them. But they will also need whole new delivery models to ensure that they can remain efficient and effective in the face of regional and trans-national organised crime and rapid advances in technology. - The forces that innovate will do best. Whether that is new ways to measure local public sentiment; new technology to speed online investigations, or new partnerships to drive down economic crime or retail theft, the police are going to need to collaborate and co-produce public safety faster than ever before. - There are new players in the landscape that will be increasingly important to the police in that endeavour. The College of Policing, soon to be under new leadership, will need to rebuild its brand, and demonstrate the value it provides around training and evidence, to the frontline. BlueLight Commercial will need to show that it can forge private sector partnerships that are scalable and will endure. And the manifesto commitment of a new National Crime Laboratory, once launched, will need to score some early wins and show how it can leverage British policing’s unrivalled advantage: the quality and scale of its rich and robust data reserves. - The delayed elections coming up in May will see PCCs elected for a third time in England and Wales. For them, the rest of this Parliament will be unlike the last two – instead of cuts there will be a rising tide of extra officers but forces will need to do more to ensure they are well trained, deployed appropriately and better equipped. Almost half of the whole force of 140,000 officers is projected to have less than five years service by 2023. Most forces cannot map live officer location against current hotspots and predicted demand. Facial recognition is still not deployed in every force area. - PCCs also know that these new officers will need to be visible to the public, who will want to see neighbourhood policing teams restored, and uniformed officers back on the high street of their towns and suburbs. Without new officers reaching the communities where they are needed it will be hard for the government to demonstrate a return on the investment that the Home Office is advertising constantly. - The leadership of British policing will need to be adaptable and resilient to the new economic realities, given the cratering of the public finances and the likelihood that criminal justice backlogs look set to go on growing indefinitely. Secondly, local policing will need to get much better at understanding public opinion and local priorities, and conventional surveys are not enough anymore. Lastly it will be even more vital that PCCs, and national agencies like the College, support police forces to become more technologically ambitious, more data proficient [...]

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