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
Share

‘No return to austerity’ is a good slogan, but austerity there will be

25 November 2020
Tax and Fiscal Policy

‘No return to austerity’ is a good slogan, but austerity there will be

Mark Littlewood quoted by Conservative Home

IEA Director General Mark Littlewood's comments on the Spending Review were included by Conservative Home in a round-up of think tank responses. Mark 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 ... Continue reading
25 November 2020
Share

We should be profoundly relaxed if people make a killing by ridding us of Covid

23 November 2020
Economic Theory

We should be profoundly relaxed if people make a killing by ridding us of Covid

Dr Kristian Niemietz writes for The Telegraph

Anti-capitalism is based on "an emotional, visceral dislike of the market economy, and anti-capitalist arguments are just a post-hoc attempt to rationalise that gut feeling", writes the IEA's Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz. Because of this attitude, even when private enterprise saves the day  - such has been the case with Covid vaccines ... Continue reading
23 November 2020
Share

HS2 makes other infrastructure commitments “near-impossible to justify”

30 September 2019
Transport

HS2 makes other infrastructure commitments “near-impossible to justify”

Mark Littlewood responds to the Chancellor's party conference speech

In his speech to Conservative Party Conference, Sajid Javid pledged to promote at "infrastructure revolution" but as long as HS2 remains on the government balance sheet "it is near-impossible justify any hike in transport spending”, says the IEA's Director-General Mark Littlewood. Read the full piece here. Read Mark's full response to the Chancellor's speech here.... Continue reading
30 September 2019
Share

IEA: Chancellor’s speech a “mixed bag” of economic policies

30 September 2019
Tax and Fiscal Policy

IEA: Chancellor’s speech a “mixed bag” of economic policies

Mark Littlewood responds to the Chancellor's party conference speech

Commenting on Sajid Javid's speech to Conservative Party Conference, the Institute of Economic Affairs’s Director General Mark Littlewood said: “The Chancellor’s speech was a mixed bag of policy proposals - some would boost growth and innovation in the UK, and others would damper it. "Sajid Javid's launch of the “Brexit red tape challenge” is a ... Continue reading
30 September 2019
Share

Health warnings on salt packets will do nothing for public health

27 September 2019
Lifestyle Economics

Health warnings on salt packets will do nothing for public health

Christopher Snowdon quoted in the Daily Mail

"Health warnings on salt packets will do nothing for public health and everything to continue infantilising the British public, eroding individual responsibility for what we choose to eat", says Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Christopher was responding to a group of doctors who have demanded the warnings, suggesting ... Continue reading
27 September 2019
Share

America’s heavyhanded vaping clampdown was always going to happen

27 September 2019
Lifestyle Economics

America’s heavyhanded vaping clampdown was always going to happen

Christopher Snowdon writes for The Telegraph

US lawmakers are exploiting a "contrived panic" around vaping to bring in the excessive regulation they have always wanted, argues Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Writing for the Telegraph online, Christopher says that while the media and the Centre for Disease Control have "played dumb" on acknowledging the ... Continue reading
27 September 2019
Share

Plans for four-day week could “cost billions”

27 September 2019
Labour Market

Plans for four-day week could “cost billions”

Len Shackleton quoted in the Daily Express

Labour's plans for a four-day working week would come with significant cost because productivity cannot always be increased, says Professor Len Shackleton, IEA Editorial and Research Fellow. Quoted in the Daily Express, Len noted that "there are about a quarter of public sector jobs where productivity cannot be significantly increased. To maintain services by employing ... Continue reading
27 September 2019
Share

By rejecting markets, Labour are overlooking the economic lessons of history

27 September 2019
Economic Theory

By rejecting markets, Labour are overlooking the economic lessons of history

The Labour Party, like others, wants to promise voters a utopia - with their conference featuring "wild offers, with little talk of the trade-offs or consequences of so much spending" - but they will fail if they continue to reject the role markets play in improving peoples' lives, says Kate Andrews, Associate Director at the ... Continue reading
27 September 2019
Share

IEA report re-published: Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK

27 September 2019
Trade, Development, and Immigration

IEA report re-published: Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK

Today the Institute of Economic Affairs republishes a paper outlining one option for a comprehensive framework for future trade relationships between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Plan A+ was first published in September 2018. Its publication followed the Chequers White Paper, which outlined the approach of then Prime Minister Theresa May and her government to ... Continue reading
27 September 2019
Share