Torsten Bell is the Labour MP for Swansea West, and the former Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, an economic research charity working to raise the living standards of households on low to middle incomes. Prior to leading the Resolution Foundation, Torsten worked in HM Treasury, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers during the financial crisis, and as Director of Policy for the Labour Party. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, trustee of the Child Poverty Action Group and an Honorary Professor at UCL. He has a weekly column in The Observer.
If one wants to understand some of the best thinking in the governing Labour party … this is an invaluable analysis and a call to arms -- Martin Wolf * FT Books of the Year, 2024 * A roadmap to the new normal … surprisingly hopeful … required reading for the new intake … this is an incisive, upbeat vision of how a Labour government could turn things around even in difficult times -- Gaby Hinsliff * Observer * An economic blueprint for a Starmer administration * New Statesman * Bell is an excellent writer with a talent for putting things so clearly and crisply that they lodge easily in the brain ... Although Bell is pretty bleak about Britain’s condition, he is refreshingly optimistic about our chances of catching up with our peers -- Emma Duncan * The Times * This is stellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic and serious about the country we are. It presents a wonderful opportunity for an incoming government. -- Rory Stewart Spiced with wit, this is a masterful, fact-packed indictment of modern Britain after its decade of decline. But there is also hope and optimism in its practical prescription for a great social and economic restoration. -- Polly Toynbee A refreshingly honest and nuanced analysis of our economic decline, and a clear-headed appraisal of what needs to be done to pull ourselves out of it -- MoneyWeek Fascinating stuff - recommended reading -- Henry Mance No one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy debates – Torsten Bell writes with optimism and clarity about the things we are getting right, as well as the stuff we should be desperate to improve. Authoritative, forensic and humane – a critical voice for our troubled times. -- Emily Maitlis An incisive, challenging and brilliantly researched agenda to deliver what Britain needs: inclusive and sustainable growth. -- Gordon Brown