With a month to go until the General Election it is essential that public debate is underpinned by independent, rigorous analysis and fact checking. To facilitate this, we have awarded grants to Full Fact, the IFS, NIESR, and the Education Policy Institute.
Full Fact’s General Election fact checking
We have awarded a grant of £60,000 to Full Fact to fact check claims made during the election campaign. Full Fact will monitor newspapers, TV news shows, radio, party press releases and online campaigning. The team will produce fact checks, explainers and social media content that addresses false or misleading claims and provide independent, evidenced information that readers can use to make up their minds on claims. The team will also conduct national polling and focus groups to track voter belief in, and awareness of, factual claims made by the main parties.
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) General Election 2019 analysis
We have awarded a grant of £65,000 to the IFS to ensure that the political and public debate in the run up to the General Election is informed by high-quality empirical evidence. The IFS will publish a comparative analysis of the public spending commitments in the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties’ manifestos. They will also produce briefing notes on key election issues related to public spending policies and respond to significant themes in the pre-election debate as and when they arrive. In-depth reports will include policy areas such as higher education funding, childcare, corporation tax and the minimum wage.
All election-related analysis from the IFS is available on its dedicated microsite, providing an easily accessible destination for the media and voters. The analysis will also be promoted via social media channels to ensure maximum impact on public debate.
National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) election briefing analysis
We have awarded a grant of £65,000 to NIESR to provide independent, balanced analysis on key economic and social issues. Through this analysis, NIESR aims to improve public understanding and media coverage of key issues.
Education Policy Institute (EPI) analysis of education pledges
We have awarded the EPI £23,745 to scrutinise the main parties’ manifesto commitments on education at the upcoming 2019 General Election. With the election expected to be dominated by Brexit, there is a risk that domestic issues may be perceived as less of a priority by political parties. In order to ensure that education policy remains at the forefront of debates during the campaign, EPI will be publishing rigorous, independent analysis of the current challenges in all stages of education and the education pledges in party manifestos. This approach will improve the quality of debate and explore the implications of policy pledges beyond the purely fiscal. The research will also facilitate debate about issues that may not be directly addressed in manifesto pledges but which are crucial to achieving a successful and equitable education system.
