What is ‘the right’, and what should it stand for?

With the election now behind us, the Institute of Economic Affairs welcomes you to a panel and drinks reception on the future of the right. Join us for an engaging evening, our panel will delve into the evolving landscape of right-wing politics.

Our panel will explore key themes shaping the future of the right, including:

• How we could define ‘the right’ of UK politics?


• What policy areas will be most crucial to future debates on the ‘right’?


• What are the dividing lines in the battle of ideas facing the Conservative Party?


• Should economics or culture dominate future debates?


• What should think tanks/ organisations focus on when the Conservatives are in opposition?


• Where does the right have an advantage over the left?


• Have classical liberal ideas been abandoned by the mainstream right?

The event will take place on Wednesday 24th July in the Emmanuel Centre in the Upper Hall from 18:00 (Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham St, London SW1P 3DW).

Click here to RSVP.

The panel:

Rt Hon Steve Baker FRSA is a former British politician who served as Minister of State for Northern Ireland between 2022 and 2024. He also has been a minister in the Department for Exiting the EU and the Cabinet Office. He ran several notable campaigns as a backbench MP, earning epithets such as “Rebel Commander” and “The General”. He was previously an aerospace and software engineer. He has 30 years of leadership experience in the armed forces, business, parliament and government.

Jack Rankin MP is the Member of Parliament for Windsor, and was elected in July 2024. In 2014, he joined Centrica where he began his career in commodity trading and investment decision-making in the energy industry. He was elected to represent Windsor on the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, where he served as the youngest-ever Cabiner Member. Amongst other community roles, he also served as a board member of the Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Dr Steve Davies is the Senior Education Fellow at the IEA. Previously he was program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University in Virginia. He joined IHS from the UK where he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Economic History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. He has authored several books, including Empiricism and History (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) and was co-editor with Nigel Ashford of The Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian Thought (Routledge, 1991).

Paul Reynolds works internationally as an independent advisor on senior governance, political economy, and governmental reform. He has worked for government ministers and political opposition leaders in more than 70 countries. Notable international roles include Chief Political Adviser to Coalition Forces (SAO) in Iraq from 2003, adviser to HMA and Special Forces in Afghanistan from 2008, adviser with the Central Party School and State Council in Beijing from 2002, and adviser to international investors in the Horn of Africa from 2011. Paul’s involvement in domestic UK politics includes five times a parliamentary candidate, and six years as a local government Councillor in London. Recent publications include ‘The Rise of China’ and ‘The Future of the Non-Left in the UK’. His forthcoming publication ‘The Science of Public Policymaking Reform’ is due to be published later this year.

Bartek Staniszewski is a Senior Research Fellow at Bright Blue. He studied philosophy at the University of Oxford and sat on the editorial board of the Journal of the Oxford Graduate Theological Society. He has been featured, among others, in the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Critic, City A.M., the Spectator and GB News. He is the author of numerous think-tank reports, including on democratic business, planning policy, young people’s political priorities, affordable housing, social security and race inequality.

(Chair) Reem Ibrahim is the Communications Officer and Linda Whetstone Scholar at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She regularly appears on television and radio, including the BBC, LBC, GB News, Talk, the Jeremy Vine Show, and more, and has written for various national publications including the Telegraph and City AM. Reem is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is the the co-author of “A Vapid Solution: Why a ban on disposable vapes would be a failure of law enforcement”.