Clash of the IEA Titans: Christopher Snowdon and Victoria Hewson discuss lockdown-sceptic scepticism and easing the restrictions in a lively debate hosted by our Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz.

Christopher is Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA, and recently said in a piece for Quillette that he reluctantly supports a third lockdown, arguing that “The logic behind lockdowns is difficult to refute. If you reduce human interaction, you will reduce the virus’s ability to spread”. Christopher acknowledges that “The economy is battered beyond belief” but he “doesn’t think it is necessarily a bad idea to prevent tens of thousands of people dying this winter from a disease for which we now have multiple vaccines.”

In the opposite corner we have Victoria, IEA Head of Regulatory Affairs. Victoria has argued that Lockdown sceptics will be crucial in the fight to regain freedom. In an article for the Critic, Victoria suggests that many of the government’s measures have been enacted with “minimal parliamentary scrutiny” and have incurred an “incalculable cost to mental health and wellbeing, and to democratic norms and civil liberties”. Victoria’s view is that lockdown sceptics haven’t had a discernible impact on government policy or public compliance.

Read Christopher’s article here and Victoria’s here.