Unscientific and vindictive pubs policy will destroy businesses

30 November 2020
Regulation

Unscientific and vindictive pubs policy will destroy businesses

Christopher Snowdon writes for CapX

The new tier system will "close or severely incapacitate pubs in the 99% of the country that will be in Tiers 2 and 3". This, despite the lack of evidence to suggest the virus is spreading in hospitality venues, writes the IEA's Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon. In an article for CapX, Chris questions ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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Evidence used to justify hospitality closures is “tenuous,” says IEA research

30 November 2020
Lifestyle Economics

Evidence used to justify hospitality closures is “tenuous,” says IEA research

– On 27th November the government published a brief policy paper justifying its focus on the hospitality sector in the new post-lockdown tier system; – It pointed to four types of "tenuous" evidence, which have little relevance to pubs in Britain today; – Since July, the hospitality sector has introduced a number of new measures ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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IEA seeks ideas to “level-up” Britain

30 November 2020
Labour Market

IEA seeks ideas to “level-up” Britain

Annabel Denham writes for City AM

A lot has changed since the nation last went to the ballot box, but in one area the narrative has remained the same: "levelling up", writes the IEA's Director of Communications Annabel Denham for City AM. This is the topic of this year's Richard Koch Breakthrough Prize, which is seeking pro-market, pro-enterprise policy ideas to ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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£50,000 for best idea to “supercharge” growth

30 November 2020
Labour Market

£50,000 for best idea to “supercharge” growth

Koch Prize featured in The Times

The Institute of Economic Affairs and entrepreneur Richard Koch are offering a £50,000 cash prize to the person who comes up with a plan to "supercharge" growth in Britain's poorer regions. The Times Business section wrote up details of the competition, which is looking for proposals that are "both politically possible and compatible with a ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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£50,000 prize for the best idea on how to supercharge growth in “left behind Britain”

30 November 2020
Labour Market

£50,000 prize for the best idea on how to supercharge growth in “left behind Britain”

Mark Littlewood writes for The Times

Beyond the campaign slogans to 'level up', it is not yet clear exactly which mixture of policies the government will pursue to boost wages and productivity in struggling areas, writes the IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood in his biweekly column for The Times. In order to find the right solution to the problems in poorer ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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£50,000 for your idea to supercharge growth in “left-behind” Britain

30 November 2020
Economic Theory

£50,000 for your idea to supercharge growth in “left-behind” Britain

The IEA is delighted to announce the launch of the fourth Richard Koch Breakthrough Prize, with Dehenna Davison, Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, on the judging panel. In economic terms, the UK is two countries. On the one hand we have a prosperous enclave in London and the South East, with a high performing ... Continue reading
30 November 2020
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Tier 3 restrictions could cost pubs and hotels £1.2 billion

28 November 2020
Labour Market

Tier 3 restrictions could cost pubs and hotels £1.2 billion

Julian Jessop quoted by The Telegraph

"The tiered system is less of a drag than the England-wide lockdown", IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop told The Telegraph, but putting the whole of the UK into tier 3 could cost the £1.2bn from the pubs and hotel sector alone. Julian added that "the limited evidence so far suggests that the economic costs of ... Continue reading
28 November 2020
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Government has failed to balance restrictions against costs to health, wealth and wellbeing

27 November 2020
Tax and Fiscal Policy

Government has failed to balance restrictions against costs to health, wealth and wellbeing

Christopher Snowdon writes for the Daily Mail

The additional £339 billion debt incurred to deal with Covid is "the equivalent of £6 million for every person who has died with the virus", says the IEA's Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon. In an article for the Daily Mail, Chris argues that the government has failed to balance the case for draconian restrictions ... Continue reading
27 November 2020
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The Chancellor “can’t squeeze the private sector any further”

26 November 2020
Tax and Fiscal Policy

The Chancellor “can’t squeeze the private sector any further”

Mark Littlewood quoted by the Daily Mail

The pandemic is "a black swan event" and the drop in tax receipts "shows what happens when a government locks down a whole economy and GDP falls 11 per cent", says the IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood. Responding to the Spending Review, the IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood told the Daily Mail that the Chancellor ... Continue reading
26 November 2020
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The Chancellor’s diagnosis was correct but “the medicine is inadequate”

25 November 2020
Tax and Fiscal Policy

The Chancellor’s diagnosis was correct but “the medicine is inadequate”

Responding to the Chancellor's Spending Review, Mark Littlewood, Director General at the free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:  "The Chancellor's diagnosis was correct – and it is encouraging that he grasps the scale of the problem. The eye of the economic storm has yet to hit. The Covid contraction is more than double that ... Continue reading
25 November 2020
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