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ThinkTent, the joint venture between the IEA and the TaxPayers’ Alliance, has become a staple on the fringe at the Conservative Party Conference. This year promises to be another whirlwind of high-profile speakers discussing today’s most important issues. Every session will be streamed live on the IEA’s YouTube channel for those who cannot make it in person.
ThinkTent kicks off this afternoon at 3.15pm, with our first panel [YouTube Live] on how to drive economic growth charred by Mark Littlewood and including Liam Halligan of GB News, Ted R. Bromund of the Heritage Foundation, John O'Connell of the Taxpayers’ Alliance. Aria Babu of The Startup Coalition and Matthew Elliott of the Jobs Foundation.
This will be followed at 4.30pm with an important discussion asking whether still a safe space for free speech [YouTube Live], including the almost-cancelled Graham Linehan, along with our own Marc Glendening. Tomorrow is jam-packed with sessions throughout the day on the likes of rail, the NHS and immigration, followed on Wednesday by discussions on the nanny state, journalism and the blob. |  | Watch ThinkTent LIVE on YouTube…
Sunday, 1st October 2023
Monday, 2nd October 2023
Tuesday, 3rd October 2023 |
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Attendance at ThinkTent sessions are open to all conference attendees on a first-come-first-serve basis. ThinkTent is located in the secure zone at the Conservative Party Conference, Manchester Central Convention Centre.
I look forward to seeing you there, |
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Ed Hughes IEA Head of Public Affairs |
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This week the IEA released a new paper authored by Sir John Redwood MP criticising Western central banks’ response to post-pandemic inflation and discussing how they can improve policymaking in future. The Bank of England allowed inflation to get out of control before the invasion of Ukraine and the associated disruption of energy and food markets. Western central bankers’ quantitative easing, printing money to purchase bonds, and near-zero interest rates helped fuel inflation. Japan and China avoided spiralling inflation, while central bankers in the UK, US and Eurozone failed to forecast the impact of expanding the money supply. The Bank of England is now overcompensating by rapidly selling bonds, costing taxpayers billions.
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| | Report author, Sir John Redwood MP, The Daily Telegraph | Independent variables… The Bank of England and the government should work together to improve the Bank’s faulty modelling while incentivising monetary policymakers to get the big calls right. |
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| | Overcompensating… The same faulty modelling failures that led the Bank to respond too slowly to inflation may be leading them to overcorrect in response. |
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| | Head of Lifestyle Economics Kristian Niemietz spoke to report author Sir John Redwood MP about who is to blame for inflation |
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Why banning disposable e-cigarettes would be a failure of law-enforcement
This week the IEA released a briefing paper authored by IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon and Communications Officer Reem Ibrahim arguing that the proposed ban on disposable vaping products would take away a safer choice from millions of adult smokers. It is already illegal to sell vaping products to under-18s. The scale of youth vaping is often overstated. Twice as many 11–15-year-olds drink alcohol regularly than vape regularly. Environmental concerns are negligible since only tiny amounts of rare resources are used and vapes are easily recyclable. The sensible response to concerns about youth vaping and the environment is to enforce existing restrictions and to encourage responsible recycling, not take away the freedom of adults to choose.
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 | Disposable Vapes Ban Could Cost Lives | Report author, Reem Ibrahim, IEA YouTube Channel | Vaping saves lives… If the government wants to reduce smoking, taking away a safer alternative for adults would be counterproductive. |
|  | Disposable Vapes and the Race to Prohibition | Report author, Christopher Snowdon, The Critic | Enforce existing laws… Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good. Since 2012, when vaping became mainstream, the proportion of 11-15 year olds who smoke regularly has dropped from 4 per cent to just 1 per cent. |
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 | Reem speaks to Times Radio |
|  | Disposable vape ban: Institute of Economic Affairs warns of HARMFUL consequences | Christopher speaks to GB News |
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| | Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton, talkTV & GB News | Spoilt for choice… After promising to revolutionise Britain’s transport capacity, HS2 may end up merely being a fourth route between London and Birmingham. |
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| Why Is Britain’s Infrastructure So Expensive? | Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh and Head of Policy at Britain Remade Sam Dumitriu, IEA YouTube | More government waste… HS2 is just the latest in a long list of eye-wateringly expensive infrastructure projects. This week’s podcast seeks to unpack why. |
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| | Communications Officer Reem Ibrahim, BBC Politics Live | Scotts leading the way… Reem discussed drug consumption rooms, arguing that drug addicts must be treated as patients, not criminals. |
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| | Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz, IEA Blog | Numbers game… The Socialist Calculation debate was never about data processing capacity. |
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| | Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh, The Daily Express | An abject failure… Rent control remains ‘the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city – except for bombing’. |
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| | Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh, Times Radio | Betrayal… The UK risks falling into a “high tax, low growth trap” if the government doesn’t spend public money more effectively. |
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| | Communications Officer Reem Ibrahim and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Economics Fellow Victoria Bateman, IEA YouTube | More than modest… The emancipation of women has helped to drive global economic growth. But even in Western countries, social stigma may still be holding women back. |
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IEA hosts Oxford Training Day |
| This week the IEA hosted 65 enthusiastic students, both in-person and via Zoom, for our annual Oxbridge Training Day. The IEA’s Head of Education Steve Davies provided training on lateral and critical thinking, personal statements, and interviews. Oxbridge graduates also anwsered burning questions in an ‘ask me anything’ session. |
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