Intergenerational Foundation

Intergenerational Foundation We're a research charity fighting for a fairer deal for younger and future generations across all areas of policy.

We produce rigorous research that challenges the status quo, shapes public debate, and drives meaningful policy change. Policy should be fair to all - the old, the young and those to come. The Intergenerational Foundation (IF) researches fairness between generations and calls for a better deal for younger and future generations in policy-making both in the UK and beyond. From housing, health and e

ducation to employment, pension, savings, the environment and taxation, IF stands up for younger and future generations. We are non-party-political and funded by no-strings donations from trusts, foundations and individuals. Go to http://www.if.org.uk for more information.

25/08/2026

In 2024–25, total UK government spending was around £1.3 trillion.

Around £315 billion was spent on welfare, £242 billion on health, £106 billion on debt interest and £64 billion on defence.

By comparison, local authorities in England spent just £419 million on youth services. For a sense of scale, that is equivalent to around 0.03% of total UK government spending.

And that funding has been disappearing. Since 2010–11, local authority spending on youth services in England has fallen by 76% in real terms.

Our research has shown how, over the past two decades, governments have increasingly directed public spending towards older generations while withdrawing support from the young.

Investing in youth services is one relatively inexpensive way to start redressing that imbalance.

🎙️ In the latest episode of Short Changed, we speak to writer and cultural documentarian Emma Warren about why investing in youth workers and rebuilding youth services could deliver enormous benefits for young people and their communities.

Listen via the link in our bio, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

19/08/2026

Why do youth clubs matter?

Historically, youth clubs in Britain gave young people something increasingly rare: a space of their own.

They gave generations of young people somewhere affordable to go, trusted adults to turn to, new people to meet, and the freedom to develop interests and identities outside of home and school.

That is why the deep cuts to youth services during austerity were so destructive and short-sighted. What disappeared was not just buildings and activities, but relationships, trust, local knowledge and places where young people could simply spend time together.

You can learn more about the importance of youth clubs, and what Britain lost as they disappeared, in the latest episode of Short Changed with writer and cultural documentarian Emma Warren, author of Up the Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History.

Listen through the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

18/08/2026

One of the most consequential, but least discussed, victims of austerity in Britain was the youth club.

Since 2010–11, local authority funding for youth services in England has fallen by 76% in real terms.

That has meant fewer youth workers, fewer youth clubs and fewer free or affordable spaces where young people can spend time, build relationships and find support outside of home or school.

In this week’s episode of Short Changed, we speak to writer and cultural documentarian Emma Warren, author of Up the Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History, about what Britain lost as youth clubs disappeared, and what it would take to rebuild them.

We discuss:
🎙️ Why youth clubs have mattered to generations of young people
🎙️ What was lost as youth services were cut back
🎙️ Whether young people today have fewer places to meet and simply exist
🎙️ What the next generation of youth clubs should look like

Listen via the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

11/08/2026

Where you are born in Britain, and the family you are born into, still shape far too much of what happens in your life.

In this week’s episode of Short Changed, we speak to Professor .dorling about inequality and inherited advantage.

We discuss:

🎙️How inherited advantage drives inequality
🎙️How inequality in Britain has changed over time
🎙️The scale of geographic inequalities across the country
🎙️ What policymakers can actually do to reduce the growing divide

Listen via the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

06/08/2026

Are we really running out of space to build more homes?

Britain has plenty of land. The bigger problem is getting new housing approved and built, often in the face of entrenched local opposition from NIMBY's.

In the latest episode of Short Changed, housing expert Anna Clarke explains what is holding back supply and what could help tackle Britain’s housing crisis.

Listen on Spotify, through the link in our bio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

04/08/2026

Is housing the biggest driver of intergenerational inequality in Britain?

For older generations, homeownership offered a realistic route to security, stability and wealth. For many younger people, that route has been blocked by soaring house prices, unaffordable rents and decades of housing undersupply.

The consequences extend far beyond housing. Young people are delaying moving out, buying a home, starting families and putting down roots in their communities.

In this week’s episode of Short Changed, we speak to housing expert Anna Clarke about:

🏠 How Britain’s housing crisis is widening the generational divide
🏠 Why younger generations face such different prospects from their parents
🏠 The growing divide between homeowners and renters
🏠 What governments must do to make housing fairer

Listen through the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

29/07/2026

Why did the world wars lead to higher taxes on the rich, but the pandemic did not?

During wartime, younger people were conscripted while wealthier, older asset owners often benefited. Governments responded with a “conscription of wealth” through higher taxes on top incomes and inheritance.

COVID exposed a similar generational divide, but the same kinds of arguments were conspicuously absent.

🎧 Hear the full discussion with Dr Julian Limberg on Short Changed. Listen to the podcast episode via the link in our bio.

28/07/2026

Should the UK introduce a wealth tax?

As concerns about inequality grow, calls to tax wealth rather than work are becoming increasingly prominent on the progressive side of politics. But would a wealth tax make the system fairer, and how could it work in practice?

In the latest episode of Short Changed, we speak to Dr Julian Limberg from King’s College London about the politics of taxation and the case for taxing wealth in the UK.

We discuss:
🎧 How taxation affects inequality
🎧 What shapes people’s views of tax fairness
🎧 The case for taxing wealth and unearned income more heavily
🎧 Whether the tax system is widening inequalities between generations

Listen through the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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24/07/2026

Are Britain’s political parties listening to younger people? Or are they still prioritising the interests of older generations?

In the latest episode of Short Changed, we speak to Cameron Garrett from More in Common about the changing political attitudes of younger generations and what they could mean for the future of British politics.

We discuss:

🎧 Why young people are turning away from mainstream political parties
🎧 Which issues matter most to younger voters
🎧 Why trust in political parties and institutions is declining
🎧 How lower turnout among younger voters shapes political priorities

Listen through the link in our bio, on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

24/07/2026

Are young men and women in Britain moving in opposite political directions?

There has been growing debate over whether young men are becoming more right-wing, while young women are becoming more left-wing. But does the evidence actually support this claim?

In the latest episode of Short Changed, polling expert Cameron Garrett from More in Common joins us to examine political polarisation among younger generations.

Listen through the link in our bio, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

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