One Year of the Good Growth Foundation
Twelve months ago, the Good Growth Foundation launched in Parliament with a simple but ambitious idea: Britain needs economic growth, but growth people can actually feel.
We began with our first report, Mind the Growth Gap, and a clear mission to crack the politics of economic growth. Too often, growth is treated as an abstract GDP figure rather than something visible in people’s bills, public services, high streets and opportunities. We set out to change that.
One year on, it’s been a busy start.
In our first twelve months, we’ve published five major reports and six smaller papers, held 21 events - including 14 at Labour Party Conference - doubled in size, taken all our polling and focus groups in-house and become accredited by the British Polling Council. We’ve also kicked off a major new partnership with the Labour Growth Group.
And we’re only just getting started.
From GDP to Doorsteps
From day one, our focus hasn’t just been on growing the economy, but on making growth visible, popular and worthwhile. That means policies that improve living standards, raise real incomes and deliver changes people can actually see in their day-to-day lives.
Over the past year, that approach has started to cut through.
Our work helped shape the biggest political moment of 2025: the Budget. From its focus on the cost of living to support for scale-ups, high-street relief and moves towards a more proportional system of property taxation, GGF’s ideas were part of a broader shift in how growth is framed - not as an end in itself, but as a tool to improve people’s lives.
We also tackled some of the most politically sensitive issues in British politics head-on. In The Third Rail of British Politics, we showed that a closer UK-EU relationship doesn’t have to be taboo. By making a pragmatic, common-sense case, we helped shift the debate. And in May, the Government adopted all four of our headline proposals for a UK-EU reset.
Our research has also shown how targeted, place-based growth can have outsized impacts. Light at the End of the Tunnel examined the return of international rail services to a single station in Kent - a change that might sound marginal, but which our analysis showed could generate £1 billion for the local economy over five years. The Government and regulator took notice, making key policy shifts as a direct result.
Setting the Growth Agenda
Our first report, Mind the Growth Gap, set the tone for everything that followed. By centring growth on living standards, real incomes and visible improvements, we helped reframe the national conversation. And that shift is now reflected in how ministers talk about growth itself.
That principle has guided all our work since.
In Rapid Reforms, we set out a package of straightforward, high-impact planning changes to unlock housing supply - practical reforms designed to raise fiscal headroom while delivering improvements people can feel quickly.
And in Take Back Control, we returned to one of our core obsessions: skills. The report showed how skills and immigration policy are deeply intertwined, and how gearing the system towards upskilling British workers doesn’t just boost productivity and life chances, it also meaningfully reduces public concern about immigration.
This is what good growth looks like in practice. Policy that is economically sound, politically durable and rooted in lived experience.
Good Growth in the Regions
Growth doesn’t happen in Westminster alone, and neither does our work.
One of the highlights of the year was our back-to-back events in Manchester. After a packed Big Northern Growth Reception with Mayor Andy Burnham and Josh Simons MP, we returned to the city to launch the Good Growth Fund - Greater Manchester’s newest growth initiative. It was a powerful example of good growth in action. Locally led, practically focused and rooted in place.
Media, Influence and Partnerships
Over the past year, GGF has appeared on the front page of The i Paper; across the politics pages of The Times, Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and Daily Mail; on the comment pages of The Observer and The New Statesman; across BBC News, Times Radio and LBC; and on programmes including Newsnight, Politics Live, Good Morning Britain and Politics Hub.
That reach has helped keep good growth at the centre of the national conversation.
Our launch event set the tone for the year ahead, with speeches from Secretary of State Wes Streeting and Treasury Minister James Murray, alongside Chris Curtis MP, Dan Tomlinson MP and Helena Dollimore MP.
Labour Party Conference was even busier. We hosted packed-out events, had brilliant conversations, generated headline coverage — and formally launched our partnership with the Labour Growth Group.
We were especially proud of our speakers, including Secretary of State Liz Kendall; Ministers Alison McGovern MP and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage; Mayors Tracy Brabin, Oli Coppard and Steve Rotheram; and PPSs Helena Dollimore MP, Dan Tomlinson MP, Luke Charters MP and Alistair Strathern MP.
Beyond conference, we joined forces with Grayling and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for a Clean Energy Reception in Westminster, bringing together leaders from energy, industry, finance and policy. And we ended the year on a high with our Christmas Reception, hosted with Teneo and the Labour Growth Group, featuring Secretary of State Emma Reynolds and Chris Curtis MP - a fitting celebration of a big first year.
Looking Ahead
Next year, we’ll be building on this momentum.
From expanding the Great Northern Growth Conversation to new work on tech, creative industries and defence, we’ll be launching major projects to shape the growth debate. Convening politicians, business leaders and experts to build bridges across sectors and keep good growth at the heart of politics.
There will be more events, new research, fresh polling and bigger coalitions pushing for an economy people can actually feel. And we’ll be bringing it all together at our flagship event: the National Growth Debate.
If you’d like to get involved, collaborate, or stay close to the work, we’d love to hear from you.
Here’s to a great year ahead.
The GGF team in Manchester.
From left: Jade Azim, Louisa Dollimore, Kai Hain, Praful Nargund, Dylan Turner, Theresa Bischof
