A new economic settlement: rebuilding the social contract

In the decade since the financial crash, citizens across much of the West have been losing faith in capitalism. In the UK, two thirds of people believe that in capitalist economies the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. There is a strong sense that the system is ‘rigged’. Soaring executive pay coupled with stagnating wages, widening wealth and geographic inequality, successive tax avoidance scandals, and the rise of the precariat all appear to prove that point.

Coronavirus has exacerbated this sense of unfairness, with the health and economic impacts of the virus hitting ‘left behind’ and poorer communities hardest – exacerbating inequalities. There have been calls for the Government to tie its massive fiscal stimulus to redrawing the social contract between business, individuals and the state.

This event will consider what a new social contract might look like, and what opportunities exist to rebalance in the process of rebuilding?

Confirmed panellists:

• Nick Timothy, former Joint Downing Street Chief of Staff
• Martin Sandbu, European Economics Commentator, Financial Times
• Rt Hon Caroline Flint, former Cabinet Minister

To register your interest, please email events@reform.uk