High net migration may not be as historically abnormal as it's often made out to be.

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During a recent discussion on migration figures on GB News, a fellow panellist pointed out that more people had arrived in 2022 alone than during the entire period between the arrival of the Angles and the Saxons and the Second World War. Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?

Here’s another way of looking at it. At the beginning of the 19th century, the population of England was less than 10 million people. It then grew by more than one per cent per annum throughout the century, so by 1900, the population had more than trebled to just over 30 million. Towards the end of the post-war Baby Boom, it had reached a level of 46 million people. It was the quarter-century from the early 1970s to the mid-to-late 1990s, the exception in modern history: a time of very little population growth.

Yes, I know. I am not suggesting that there is no difference between population growth through net migration, and indigenous population growth. There are perfectly valid concerns about integration and social cohesion, and people should be allowed to discuss them without fear of being branded racists.

There is no such thing as “the liberal view on immigration”: it is a subject on which liberals can and do disagree in good faith. The IEA’s output on this subject over the years reflects this diversity. It ranges from open-borders libertarianism to various proposals for light-touch immigration controls that incorporate market signals rather than relying exclusively on the wisdom of bureaucrats (see e.g. here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , here
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But whatever our differences – we should all confront the nonsense idea that it physically or logistically impossible to cope with a growing population. When it comes to pressure on housing, there is this amazing, innovative technique called “building houses”. When it comes to transport and congestion, there is this radical idea called “building infrastructure”.

And so on. It can be done. It is being done elsewhere. Britain was once able to do it too.

Kristian Niemietz

IEA Head of Political Economy
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Demand has grown, while supply has been restricted ([link removed])

Kristian Niemietz, GB News ([link removed])

Positives sums… Higher demand for a fixed supply will increase prices. But if the government allows Britain to build, we can manage population booms as we have historically.

Socialism: Philosophy of Failure + Housing, YIMBYISM & Cultural v Logistical Immigration Issues ([link removed])

Kristian Niemietz, New Culture Forum Podcast ([link removed])

Economic inflexibility… With the NHS unable to respond to new demand and the housing market unable to expand supply, government policy is causing immigration to have unnecessary costs.
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** Prohibition 2.0: ([link removed])
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** Critiquing the Generational Tobacco Ban ([link removed])
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Christopher Snowdon

Head of Lifestyle Economics, Institute of Economic Affairs
* The UK government is proposing a generational ban on tobacco sales to anyone born after 2008, overturning the fundamental principle that adults should have autonomy over their own bodies.
* The generational ban will create absurd situations, such as a 28-year-old being deemed capable of purchasing tobacco, while a 27-year-old is not.
* The ban will drive a black market for tobacco, which will reduce government revenue and bolster criminal gangs.
* The likely trajectory of a generational tobacco ban is full prohibition across all age groups well before the legal smoking age encompasses the entire population.
* Bhutan’s tobacco prohibition, the only example in the modern era, led to smuggling and a flourishing black market while smoking among minors remained common.
* The government’s arguments for a ban, such as the preferences of smokers to quit and healthcare costs, do not stack up. In fact, a large number of smokers are not actively trying to quit while smokers contribute far more to the state through tobacco duty than smoking costs the NHS.
* The emergence of e-cigarettes and other reduced-risk nicotine products is steadily diminishing the public’s demand for traditional tobacco, rendering cigarettes increasingly redundant without the need for a ban.

Press Release ([link removed])
Full Publication ([link removed])
Audiobook ([link removed])
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** Sunak has doomed Britain to a total ban on smoking ([link removed])
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Christopher Snowdon, The Spectator ([link removed])

A darker turn… As the black market grows, tobacco tax revenues will decline, criminal gangs will become richer and more powerful, and – oh, sweet irony – children will find it easier to access cheap cigarettes.
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Smoke-Free Generation a Pipedream ([link removed])

Christopher Snowdon, Channel 5 ([link removed]) & talkTV ([link removed])

Illicit dealings… New Zealand’s thriving black market may explain why the new government is rolling back the ban. Perhaps the UK government should think similarly
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Let’s be honest, smoking bans are pointless and will revive a war on drugs ([link removed])

IEA’s Matthew Lesh, City AM ([link removed])

Echoes of history… Prohibition always starts out as a morally righteous crusade, but the unintended consequences are always the same.
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The Tobacco Ban Will Fuel the Black Market ([link removed])

Christopher Snowdon, IEA YouTube ([link removed])

Tune in… Our latest explainer video outlines the paper’s key conclusions.

IEA Latest.
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Audit reform: a short-lived victory for economic sense ([link removed])

Senior Research Fellow Jamie Whyte, IEA Blog ([link removed])

A bad audit… The government’s proposals for new auditing and financial reporting regulations are shelved…for now.
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The truth about UK tax: the next five years explained ([link removed].)

Economics Fellow Julian Jessop, The Sunday Times ([link removed])

An unexpected windfall?… Economic prospects may be about to improve if inflation and interest rates fall quicker than forecasted.
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What is Danish Capitalism? | IEA Podcast

Matthew Lesh interviews Stefan K. Sløk-Madsen, IEA YouTube ([link removed])

The great Danes… Like other Scandinavian countries, Denmark is often misconstrued as a successful socialist experiment. But the reality is more nuanced.
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Tech Turmoil: Does the Digital Markets Bill Threaten Britain’s economy? ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh (Chair), Stephen Hammond MP, Matthew Sinclair, Verity Egerton-Doyle & Dirk Auer, IEA YouTube ([link removed])

Undermining investment… As one of our latest papers outlines ([link removed]) , the government’s proposals for new tech regulation risk undermining investment and innovation.
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Book review: “Slavery, Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution” by Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson ([link removed])

Kristian Niemietz, IEA Blog ([link removed])

Ill-gotten gains… It has become increasingly popular to argue that markets and industrialisation are inextricably linked to slavery. The argument is nonetheless flawed.
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Force all businesses to embrace ESG, urges New Labour think tank ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh quoted in The Telegraph ([link removed])

The golden rule… Businesses are responsible for delivering profits to their shareholders, creating good products for consumers and paying workers’ wages in the process.
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The stars are perfectly aligned for Javier Milei, Argentina’s chainsaw Thatcherite ([link removed])

IEA Podcast ([link removed]) quoted in The Telegraph ([link removed])

High stakes… The success and failure of Argentina’s new president hinges on tackling inflation.
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The Case for Markets in Defence ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh, IEA YouTube ([link removed])

Bold ideas… Our new explainer video outlines the key findings of The Case For Markets in Defence ([link removed]) , a new paper by defence economist Keith Hartley and published by the IEA last week.
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“Public health” doubles down ([link removed])

Christopher Snowdon, The Critic ([link removed])

Science fiction… The public health lobby will always find new targets for their prohibitionist ire.
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How to fix the Bank of England: Economists have their say ([link removed])

Julian Jessop, City AM ([link removed])

Back to basics… Updating forecasts to place more weight on the money supply and refocusing the Bank’s remit on inflation could help to learn from recent mistakes.

IEA Insider.


** Should the UK adopt unilateral free trade?
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Free trade has been a key driver of economic growth and prosperity for millennia, and yet policy makers and politicians rarely support it. The Vinson Centre (University of Buckingham) and the IEA will host ([link removed]) Daniel Hannan and Terence Kealey to debate whether the UK should be adopting unilateral free trade, and to open to the rest of the world regardless of what other economies do.’

Date: 11th December

Time: 17:00

Venue: 2 Lord North Street, SW1P 3LA
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** Students for Liberty Madrid Conference
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Last week, our Communications Officer & Linda Whetstone Scholar Reem Ibrahim spoke at Students for Liberty’s conference in Madrid. Reem made the moral case for capitalism and addressed the alarmingly high support for socialism among young people.
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