Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Pension spending must be contained, and that means the triple lock cannot continue after the next Election. But that should only be the first step. Real reform must also build a better system: one that is fairer, more flexible, and designed for how people live today.

The UK state pension is outdated, unaffordable, and too rigid. We need a fundamental redesign of the system - introducing the Lifespan Fund.

Explore the Framework in our new paper, "Technological Chokepoints: How to Balance Resilience and Leverage in a Weaponised Economy" bit.ly/4edhLbW

How can Global Leaders navigate technological 'chokepoints'? Our new Framework can help with the difficult part of this: Prioritisation.

Watch in full: Tony Blair’s update on Gaza delivered to the @UN Security Council: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k13/k…

Up to 1,000 people a day are moving onto health-related benefits, with spending projected to reach around £73bn by the end of the decade. Our paper sets out plans for an “emergency handbrake” to slow the flow of new claims, stabilise the system, and redirect support to where it's needed most. Read the full paper: bit.ly/4mV63Vz #Welfare

A young person signed off work today with anxiety could lose £1 million in lifetime earnings if they never go back. That’s not support. It’s a trap we have to end now. Today we @InstituteGC are calling for an emergency handbrake on the UK’s welfare system - not wholesale reform which govt is rightly committing to and building over time - but something that can be done now to slow the near 1,000 people a day going onto health-related benefits. At its core is a simple idea: introduce a category of “non-work-limiting conditions” - these are conditions which evidence shows do not hinder your ability to work - indeed work may actually be beneficial. For claimants with those conditions, the *default* becomes best-in-class support rather than cash benefits. We can and must pull this lever now, directing savings into actual help. The politics of welfare reform can be poisonous but I am confident in this measure. People need support, not the existence of their conditions questioned. We also need it as a country. Britain *is not* an outlier when it comes to increased mental health diagnoses but we are an outlier when it comes to people with those conditions going on to benefits.

Tony Blair’s update on Gaza delivered to the United Nations Security Council: bit.ly/42FnxMh

Live now: Tony Blair briefs the @UN Security Council on Gaza webtv.un.org/en/asset/k13/k…

'Emergency handbrake' needed on sickness benefits, Blair think tank says bbc.in/4ef5Ryd

The Iran conflict shows us that economic chokepoints are now central to global power. In a more digital world - chips, data and infrastructure matter just as much. Europe must urgently rethink its vulnerabilities - a new report from @InstituteGC institute.global/insights/tech-…

It was great to join @InstituteGC in Brussels for the launch of their latest paper on how to balance the need for technology resilience and leverage. institute.global/insights/tech-…

Britain’s energy debate is stuck in the wrong frame: “clean power vs oil & gas.” That misses the real issue: the structure of the system itself. Until we fix that, we’ll remain exposed to shocks and rising costs. New op-ed in the Telegraph ⬇️ telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/1…

'I don't think drilling for oil and gas is against net zero... All we're doing is saying we should produce it here.' Energy policy expert Tone Langengen reacts as Tony Blair calls on the Government to allow new oil and gas fields, against its current net zero agenda.

You can’t solve an oil crisis with an electricity debate. But that’s exactly what the UK is doing. The Iran shock makes that clear. Let’s talk about final energy - and what that means for how we approach the current crisis 👇

Season 8 of Searching for Mana is live. We open with @benedictcooney from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (@InstituteGC) The Industrial Revolution rewired the world. The internet rewired how we live in it. His view is that AI makes both of those look modest in hindsight. That wider context is mind blowing. A million Einsteins. In your pocket. Available at any moment. That's not a distant projection. That's the direction of travel. This decade. And the countries, the institutions, the governments that figure out how to actually harness it, their citizens get healthier, better educated, more prosperous. The ones that don't? Well... That's the tension. The opportunity is obvious. The execution is another matter entirely. 🎧 Full episode out now. Links 👇

The pace of AI over the past few months has hardened my view: this isn’t just an issue for politics, it’s the issue. It will decide which states rise, which fall, and whether institutions move fast enough to retain power and legitimacy. Was great to speak about this with @LloydWahed

What does the UK public really think about digital ID? We've been told by opponents that 'Britain has spoken’. But the data tells a more nuanced story.