About the research

This project researched the potential impacts of Brexit on London, exploring the risks it poses to London’s economy and international position, and the policies needed to tackle these. It also examined how increased devolution of taxation and spending powers to the Mayor and London boroughs could help address long standing challenges faced by the city in housing, infrastructure, childcare and other areas.

London is much more closely integrated with the rest of the EU than any other UK region. Consequently, the EU referendum’s impact is expected to be more profound than in other parts of the country. However, compared with cities like New York, Paris and Tokyo, London has very little power over tax and revenue collection or service delivery. The IPR’s Director, Professor Nick Pearce, led this study jointly with The Centre for London and in collaboration with the Institute for Mathematical Innovation (IMI) at the University of Bath. The key research themes it addressed included immigration, employment and skills, housing and planning, land value tax and other options for fiscal devolution. The IPR and the IMI led on the employment and skills and tax and revenue data modelling research strands. The research has fed into public debate on Brexit in London, and helped take the argument for greater fiscal devolution forward by showing tangible possibilities and outcomes for the city.