On June 20 2024, the UK Supreme Court ruled by a 3 to 2 majority to uphold the appeal of climate activists against … Continue reading “Judicial activism will not solve climate change”

Going into the 2024 general election, Ipsos rated Pollution/Environment/Climate Change at the bottom of their monthly issue index, with the … Continue reading “A review of the election manifestos: energy and climate change”

When former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her two-year Energy Price Guarantee, some of us noted with concern that this … Continue reading “Middle class welfare on steroids is no solution to the energy crisis”

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an odd organisation. When it was set up in 1974, its primary mission was … Continue reading “Defund the IEA”

Earlier this year the IEA participated in a roundtable organised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and RECLAIM, specifically looking at … Continue reading “Class diversity and think tank recruiting”

Around 80% of the UK’s primary energy use is based on fossil fuels: oil products for nearly all transport, gas … Continue reading “From “Net Zero” to fossil fuel subsidies: how did we get here?”

Pity the oil and gas executives. They are currently the only people who can save Europe from a winter in … Continue reading “Moral outrage attacks on energy companies are dangerous and foolish”

Diversity these days is synonymous with measures of difference rooted in the nine protected characteristics in the 2010 Equality Act … Continue reading “Liberal vs anti-liberal conceptions of “diversity””

Philanthropy is not the same as charity, although the two are related. Charity is the giving of aid to those … Continue reading “Celebrating philanthropists – the IEA’s “Inspiring Freedom Award””

The Government’s nuclear plans create incentives for nuclear power companies to overcharge consumers, by linking prices to the firms’ own … Continue reading “Nuclear energy plans contain a ticking time bomb for our bills”

One of the features of working for a free market think tank is that anything you say on social media … Continue reading “Who funds you? Series 72743657393, Episode 293474565839”

In the Spring Statement, around half the policy costs of measures issued related to the energy crisis. One of the … Continue reading “Should liberals welcome green VAT discounts as a tax cut, or bemoan them as a tax distortion?”

Another day, another brilliant wheeze for nudging the country towards ‘net zero’, the Canute-like plan of the British political establishment … Continue reading “The case against Britain’s Soviet-style 5-year socket plan”

In 2010, the new Prime Minister David Cameron, long before his own ill-judged engagement with Greensill Capital, warned that lobbying … Continue reading “Lobbying in politics: a perennial issue?”

The Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project, previously known as HS3, was first promised by the Coalition Government in 2014 as … Continue reading “The railroad to serfdom”

The UK can either be net zero or have secure and affordable energy. It cannot have all three, at least … Continue reading “British industry is bearing the brunt of climate unilateralism”

In 2009, Liz Truss, then Deputy Director of the Reform think tank, now Foreign Secretary, wrote about green technology: “Vast … Continue reading “The CF Industries bailout is a terrible folly”

Rising gas prices, energy companies going bust, Ministers discussing bailouts and empty reassurance to consumers. The central problem with the … Continue reading “The Gordian Knot of UK energy policy”

The IEA held an event recently on the OECD proposal to establish a global minimum rate for Corporation Tax at … Continue reading “The case for abolishing the tax privileges of international organisations”

On Monday 16th August 2021 we received an unusual request. The IEA is part of an international network of educational … Continue reading “An escape from Taliban-occupied Afghanistan”

Having taken nearly 500 days to conduct a 90 day complaints process, Britain’s media regulator OFCOM ruled that it was … Continue reading “Ofcom’s bizarre ruling for James O’Brien is a boon to smear campaigns and conspiracy theorists”

There are 680 very happy steel workers in Sheffield right now. The nationalisation of Sheffield Forgemasters, with the promise of … Continue reading “Why are taxpayers being forced to bail out billion-pound defence contractors?”

The Runnymede Trust (RT), an education charity and think tank on race equality and race relations, has published a report … Continue reading “In defence of the Runnymede Trust and charitable think tanks”

In the last piece, we looked at the precautionary principle (PP), what about it is valuable and what about it can … Continue reading “The case for a British Innovation Principle”

The EU’s travails over vaccine supply have revitalised calls in some free-market circles for the scrapping of the precautionary principle … Continue reading “The case for a liberal precautionary principle”

Great controversy has followed the decision by OFQUAL, the exam regulator for England, to downgrade some 40% of teacher-assessed A-level … Continue reading “Our exam system is hopeless and teachers are wrong”

It was Winston Churchill who reputably first said, “never let a good crisis go to waste”, this in relation to … Continue reading “Extending the environmental benefits of lockdown will also extend the economic harm”

As part of the transition from VIRCON-4 (lock-down) to VIRCON-3 (loosening) the UK government has advised those that need to … Continue reading “Protect rail workers, reward key workers, suspend fuel duty”

Rejoice, citizens! For in the People’s Republic of Coronavirus Britain, a target has been met. At one level, the UK … Continue reading “The case against policy targets”

One of insights of UK political strategists of all stripes has been the necessity of paying homage to the idea … Continue reading “NHS workers should be wary of NHS populism”

The green Left are very excited by the pandemic. As well as limiting population growth, a long-held ambition of their … Continue reading “Will COVID-19 prepare us for permanent eco-austerity?”

The phrase ‘Mansion Tax’ first came to prominence in 2009 as a proposal of the then Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince … Continue reading “The Mansion Tax: another failed idea that never dies”

Much has been written already on Number 10 adviser Dominic Cummings’ New Year appeal to “assorted weirdos” to smash up, … Continue reading “Bayesian inference, the maths of hunches, and revolutionising big government”

One of the more interesting debates I had with a Conservative friend leading up to the General Election was about … Continue reading “One Nation Conservatism can be redefined (again)”

It is never dull when you find yourself the target of a manifesto pledge. The Guardian reporting on December 4th … Continue reading “Opposition lobbying reform proposals hit the wrong targets, and don’t go far enough”

Fresh on the heels of last month’s suggestion that the IEA should delete books comes a new invitation from the Guardian newspaper, … Continue reading “The Guardian’s anti-Americanism is both chilling and risks doing real damage to causes where we agree.”

Extinction Rebellion (XR), the movement using direct action to seek to persuade the Government to adopt a headline 2025 net … Continue reading “Protest peacefully as much as you like. But Extinction Rebellion deliberately try to cause economic damage”

On 2 October 2019, the Guardian wrote to the IEA accusing us of having “a long history of climate denial”, … Continue reading “IEA declines the Guardian’s invitation to delete books”

The central question in recent Parliamentary debates over Brexit is whether or not Britain should and can leave the European … Continue reading “Brexit, Parliamentary activism & the “ticking bomb” dilemma”

For politicians, there is something attractively simple about spending targets. Rather than argue the nuances of why the Government of … Continue reading “The case against spending targets”

Game theory, or the economics of bargaining under conditions of rational decision-making, has been a popular branch of the dismal … Continue reading “Can game theory help to explain the UK’s current Brexit difficulties?”

After a series of suicide tragedies involving children who researched methods online, or sought peer group approval through groups and … Continue reading “The tragedy of suicide must be tackled with policies that work – a crackdown on technology is not one of them”

Last week the City of London held their first attempt at a Burns night supper, with the First Minister and … Continue reading “Haggis croquettes and the problem with compromise”

December 24, 2018 Dear (Saint) Nicholas, Thank you once again for your peer review of my latest work, The Road … Continue reading “Friedrich Hayek’s Christmas Letter”

In his Party Conference speech on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn unveiled plans to kick-start a “green jobs” revolution, pledging to create … Continue reading “The “Green Jobs” fallacy”