[2] The think tank aims to maintain the momentum of progressive thought in the United Kingdom through well-researched and clearly argued policy analysis, reports, and publications; as well as a high media profile.

[7] According to academic Peter Ruben its primary aim was to provide theoretical analysis for modernisers in the UK Labour Party; offering alternatives to free market fundamentalism.

[13] Roberts's role in shaping the IPPR's leftward term led to the New Statesman naming her as the forty-sixth most powerful person in British left-wing politics.

[14] IPPR publishes about fifty reports each year, topics include economic policy, energy, transport, climate change, families, work, migration, integration, communities, democracy, devolution and public services.

Both political and economic power are hoarded by a handful of people in London and the south-east and this has damaged all parts of the country, from Newcastle to Newham.” There are also bigger divides in job opportunities and productivity than in comparable nations.

Economists believe productivity is vital for economic growth and increasing living standards, there the UK is the most regionally divided nation of its size and development level and during the last decade has not improved.

The next government must lead a devolution parliament – an unprecedented and irreversible shift of power – so that England’s regions, towns and cities can work together to bridge our regional divides.”[21][22] In October 2023, the IPPR said that the UK is “in reverse gear” in the global race for green growth, and that a lack of a green industrial strategy means Britain is lagging behind international competitors in exploiting the economic opportunities of the net-zero transition.