Britain’s leading cross-party think tank, with a mission to enable markets and government to work together to benefit society.
London, UK
Joined July 2009
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What did yesterday's Budget mean for AI policy?
Our Head of AI @SamEPRobinson looks at the detail of the announcements⬇️
smf.co.uk/opinion-and-analys…
Burnham's government are talking up big reforms, but many of the big announcements have been pushed into the future - with yesterday's budget a mix of smaller measures.
Our Research Director @beckymontacute on what we learnt in yesterday's budget⬇️
smf.co.uk/opinion-and-analys…
✍️ The Government has acknowledged many of these problems – the question now is how long students, families and institutions will be expected to wait for them to be answered.
Read @danihpayne's reflections on #Budget26
smf.co.uk/opinion-and-analys…
🚨 ICYMI🚨
Today’s Budget provides immediate relief for households, but details of changes on many larger issues yet to come.
Read our full response to #Budget2026
smf.co.uk/todays-budget-prov…
AI could transform the way we do Government for the better - but whilst there were interesting proposals, #Budget2026 needed to go further to realise AI's potential.
Read @SamEPRobinson's reflections 👇
#Budget2026 saw a further freeze to fuel duty - but as @gideonsalutin highlights, this is not the best policy lever to help motorists.
Read more 👇
#Budget2026 has seen some welcome steps towards reversing the sense of decline on High Streets across the country.
Read @jamiegollings' reaction 👇
#Budget2026 unfortunately has not seen action to tackle issues around student loans - with a lack of action meaning the system does not honour the principle that repayments reflect the financial benefit graduates receive from their degree.
Read @danihpayne's reaction 👇
#Budget2026 has seen some positive announcements & immediate support - yet details of wider changes are yet to come.
Read @beckymontacute's response 👇
We're pleased the Government has heeded our calls and raised Machine Games Duty, though we remain sceptical of the impact of such a small increase.
Our Chief Economist's response👇
#Budget2026
There's mounting pressure on government to take action on Plan 2 student loans at the Budget.
Earlier this year, SMF's @danihpayne and @beckymontacute explored options to reform, including the impact on changes to repayment thresholds - widely expected to be announced tomorrow.
Read the Substack article, setting out SMF's view on the student loan crisis danihpayne.substack.com/p/ho…
This week, we're hoping to see an increase to Machine Games Duty (MGD) in the budget - the tax on betting terminals/slot machines.
These machines are commonly seen in gambling shops on British high streets. 🎰
What is MGD, and why are we calling for an increase?
🧵👇
We estimate doubling MGD on Category B machines to 40% could increase revenue by between £275 and £458 million.
By limiting tax increases to Category B machines, government would protect the hospitality sector including pubs.
Our full report on the arguments for increasing Machine Games Duty on category B machines can be found here
smf.co.uk/publications/addre…
