The Big Ideas Big ideas for a better Britain

The Big Ideas

Big ideas for a better Britain

Latest Articles

Publish the Problem: Why Councils Should Brief Founders Like Clients, Not Grant Applicants
Opinion

Publish the Problem: Why Councils Should Brief Founders Like Clients, Not Grant Applicants

Most council innovation funding still starts with a form, a deadline and a founder trying to guess what the town hall really wants. A better model is to publish the problem as a concrete brief, pay founders to pitch against it, and buy the pilot that works. It turns councils into better customers and gives small firms the first public-sector reference they need.
Wiring the Estate, Not the Factory: A Shared Upgrade Model for Small Manufacturers
Opinion

Wiring the Estate, Not the Factory: A Shared Upgrade Model for Small Manufacturers

Small manufacturers know exactly what would cut their energy bills, but the capital cost rarely stacks up one factory at a time. A cluster-based retrofit pool could turn a wish list of solar, heat recovery and efficient machinery into a bankable estate-wide project. Here is how one industrial estate could pilot it.
Lending Brainpower: Why Civic Hours Deserve a Place in the Tax Code
Opinion

Lending Brainpower: Why Civic Hours Deserve a Place in the Tax Code

Small firms already donate expertise to local charities, schools and community projects, but the tax system treats it as a hobby rather than innovation. A modest Civic R&D Credit could change that—with caps and checks to keep it honest.
Neighbours as Collateral: The Mutual Guarantee Society Britain Hasn't Tried
Social Enterprise

Neighbours as Collateral: The Mutual Guarantee Society Britain Hasn't Tried

Britain doesn't have a shortage of small firms with orders; it has a shortage of ways to prove they're worth backing. A pilot mutual guarantee society could let local businesses pool a modest reserve and share the risk of lending, with chambers and community lenders keeping the thing honest. It is not a silver bullet, but it might be the missing piece between a good business and a bank's spreadsheet.
When the Tills Are Quiet: Why Councils Should Take a Share of Turnover, Not a Fixed Rent
Opinion

When the Tills Are Quiet: Why Councils Should Take a Share of Turnover, Not a Fixed Rent

Fixed rents ask a new café to predict its third winter before it has served its first coffee. A pay-as-you-grow council lease would swap some certainty for shared upside: lower base rent, a capped slice of turnover, and clear break clauses. Piloted on council-owned high street and light-industrial units, it could help founders and town centres without turning town halls into venture capitalists.
Unspent, Not Unwanted: A Founder Route Through the Apprenticeship Levy
Opinion

Unspent, Not Unwanted: A Founder Route Through the Apprenticeship Levy

The apprenticeship levy was never meant to be a tax on ambition. In 2026, with unspent funds returning to the Treasury and founder pipelines concentrated in London, there is a practical alternative: let small firms use dormant levy money to employ and train young builders. Not a subsidy for hiring, but a route into company-building that starts on a real shop floor, workshop or software team.
Handing Over the Keys, Not the Postcode: A Practical Case for Staff-Led Succession
Social Enterprise

Handing Over the Keys, Not the Postcode: A Practical Case for Staff-Led Succession

Britain’s family firms are approaching a handover crunch, and the default answer is often a sale to the highest bidder. Employee ownership trusts offer a quieter, more rooted alternative — if the financing and advice gaps get sorted.
Thirty Days Behind the Counter: Why Every Regulator Should Do a Stint in a Small Firm
Opinion

Thirty Days Behind the Counter: Why Every Regulator Should Do a Stint in a Small Firm

Most regulation is written by people who have never had to answer the phone, chase an invoice and file a return in the same hour. A national reverse-secondment scheme — four weeks a year, every regulator, real small firms — would cost less than a consultation and change far more. Here's how it could work.
Town Hall, Not Term Sheet: The Case for Council-Run Venture Studios
Social Enterprise

Town Hall, Not Term Sheet: The Case for Council-Run Venture Studios

Councils are under pressure to innovate but rarely want to become investors. A town hall venture studio offers a third way: co-found social enterprises with secondments, procurement guarantees and shared back-office support, taking no equity but earning a return through better services and local resilience.
The Boardroom Lending Library: A Civic Fix for Small Firms With Big Questions
Opinion

The Boardroom Lending Library: A Civic Fix for Small Firms With Big Questions

Plenty of retired directors have hard-won judgment to share; plenty of small firms could never afford a non-exec. A national lending library for boardroom experience could bridge that gap — with the right safeguards.
Slow Money, Local Bets: How Community Foundations Could Back Founders Without Chasing Unicorns
Social Enterprise

Slow Money, Local Bets: How Community Foundations Could Back Founders Without Chasing Unicorns

Community foundations hold long-lived endowments and deep local knowledge. A small, ring-fenced slice of that money could become patient backing for nearby founders — if governance, risk and mission are handled with care.
The Local Fund in Your Pension: How Savers Could Back Britain’s Community Businesses
Opinion

The Local Fund in Your Pension: How Savers Could Back Britain’s Community Businesses

Auto-enrolment pensions and local government pension pots hold enormous long-term capital. With the right guardrails, a slice of that money could become patient, place-based investment in social enterprises and community businesses, without gambling with anyone’s retirement. The case is stronger than the sceptics suggest, but only if mission drift is taken seriously.
The Friday That Changed a High Street: Why Place-Wide Four-Day Week Pilots Deserve a Look
Social Enterprise

The Friday That Changed a High Street: Why Place-Wide Four-Day Week Pilots Deserve a Look

Most four-day-week trials happen inside one company. A coordinated town-wide pilot would put councils, SMEs, charities and high-street traders in the same experiment, testing whether shorter working time can boost footfall, wellbeing and local recruitment. It is messier than a corporate trial, but that may be exactly why it is worth trying.
Give the Neighbours a Slice: The Case for a Community Share in Every Startup
Opinion

Give the Neighbours a Slice: The Case for a Community Share in Every Startup

Most UK founders raise money from people who will never walk past their front door. A small, deliberate community share allocation would buy patience, loyalty and something venture capital can't supply: a place that actually cares whether you survive.
Mend It Like Britain: The Small Businesses Turning Repair Into Revenue
Social Enterprise

Mend It Like Britain: The Small Businesses Turning Repair Into Revenue

Repair has spent a decade as Britain's favourite volunteer hobby. The next stage is harder and more interesting: turning it into paid work, steady contracts and local supply chains. We look at what's actually holding fixers back — and what would let them scale.
The High Street Test Kitchen: How Empty Shops Could Become Britain’s Cheapest Launchpads
Social Enterprise

The High Street Test Kitchen: How Empty Shops Could Become Britain’s Cheapest Launchpads

Vacant shops are too often treated as a symptom of decline. With the right leases, light-touch planning and council backing, they could become low-cost labs where local founders and social enterprises test what works.
Beyond the Unicorn: Why Britain’s Next Founders Are Building Businesses That Last
Opinion

Beyond the Unicorn: Why Britain’s Next Founders Are Building Businesses That Last

A quieter idea of success is taking root in the UK startup scene. Instead of chasing hyper-growth at all costs, a new generation of founders is building profitable, resilient companies with purpose baked in. It is time investors and policymakers caught up.
Picking Winners: Why a National Idea Lottery Could Unlock Hidden Social Entrepreneurs
Opinion

Picking Winners: Why a National Idea Lottery Could Unlock Hidden Social Entrepreneurs

Most social enterprise funding flows to people already in the network. A civic lottery — 1,000 randomly selected Britons, £10,000 each, plus mentorship — would be a cheap experiment in democratising innovation.
Anchors Aweigh: How UK Institutions Are Using Their Buying Power to Build Local Business
Social Enterprise

Anchors Aweigh: How UK Institutions Are Using Their Buying Power to Build Local Business

NHS trusts, universities and councils are waking up to their role as economic anchors. From Birmingham to Glasgow, procurement and property are being reimagined as tools for seeding locally owned social enterprises — but policy still lags behind the pilots.