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IN THIS ASI BULLETIN
By Eamonn Butler (And the rest of us, matey!—Ed.)
THE BUDGET. It’s not as bad as you thought. It’s worse.
RESEARCH AND EVENTS. Stamp duty, policy wins and our Next Generation events
ONLINE. Blog, videos — and our new silk ties, just in time for you-know-what.
But first…
I couldn’t think of anything funny to say about the Budget. I googled ‘Funny and 2025 Budget’ but it came up with that ‘It looks like there aren’t any matches…’ message. So instead, here’s a short lesson in economics. Recession is when you neighbour loses their job. Depression is when you lose your job. Recovery comes when Rachel Reeves loses her job.
This year’s Budget process reminds us that if you like Budgets or sausages, you shouldn’t watch them being made. But actually, I’m proud to be a British taxpayer. Though I could be proud on half the money.
Between them, Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband have turned me into an environmentalist. I think we should save trees by not printing any more tax forms.
But I digress...
RESEARCH
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Eliminating stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on primary residences could allow for 38,000 homes to be built and woudl see 349,000 housing sales every year. It would improve mobility and boost economic activity by nearly £20 billion a year. And it would cost the Treasury half as much as they think.
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And we did some polling on Stamp Duty too. We found that 73% of Brits think that SDLT should be abolished or cut significantly to get the housing market moving. This support was surprisingly cross-party, garnering support from a majority of Labour, Reform UK, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and even Green voters.
Tax Calculator
Our tax calculator is a first-of-its-kind tool that allows users to calculate their direct tax contribution and displays for them where the Treasury spends it. Its purpose is to increase awareness of Treasury spending and to better hold the Government to account for how it uses people’s paycheques.
And on the subject of tax: In my father’s house, as the good book says, are many mansions. Except now he’ll be paying mansion tax on them. And the really depressing thing is that when the meek do inherit the earth, they won’t even get agricultural property relief.
POLICY WINS
The budget was tough. But, we did achieve a few policy wins. After our campaign on Motability reform, all premium brand cars have been removed from the Motability scheme with immediate effect. Similarly, VAT exemptions have been scrapped. This amounts to £1.255 billion of cuts to Motability over the next 5 years!
The government has also re-committed to Full Expensing for Brownfield development. What’s more, there are encouraging signals that the government will adopt recommendations of the nuclear taskforce, mirroring many of the ASI’s own recommendations.
IN THE MEDIA
As always, we’ve been making waves in the media.
Our Stamp Duty research was in The Mail, The Express, Knight Frank and other outlets. Joanna Marchong penned an op-ed in ConHome praising Kemi’s pledge to scrap SDLT, while Maxwell Marlow was in Left Foot Forward arguing that Labour should do the same.
Our Tax Calculator was in The Mail and ConHome. Our work pushing for Motability reform was back in the media, appearing in the BBC, The FT, with Matt Ryder penning 2 op-eds on Motability in The I.
But that’s not all, Maxwell was in The Spectator explaining what Waspi women get wrong, Viggo Terling was in ConHome discussing COP30, while James Price discussed our Class Action research in City AM.
The 250th Anniversary of The Wealth of Nations is next year! If you'd like to help us celebrate, please consider donating by clicking the link below.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Next Generation with Hugo Gye
On 2 December, our young activists are joined by Hugo Gye, Political Editor of The i newspaper. A heavyweight of the Westminster journalism scene, and former chair of the lobby journalists, his muckraking has taken him through institutions like the MailOnline, the Sun, and now The i. Learn about life as a political journalist over a glass of wine!
The Next Generation with Laila Cunningham
In January, we welcome Laila Cunningham, Westminster City Councillor for Reform UK. A former lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service, she is a leading voice in London politics and staunch Thatcherite. She’ll be railing against the state’s encroachment against British civil liberties. Not to be missed!
ASI BLOG
Keith Boyfield on Cognac Calamities
Madsen Pirie on what Zohrab Mamdani means for the future of NYC
Tim Worstall on planes vs trains
NEW VIDEOS
We asked people in the office which taxes the Chancellor should abolish.
Professor Carl-Benedikt Frey, author of How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation and the Fate of Nations, came to the Next Generation recently to explain that progress isn’t inevitable — it relies on individuals and societies who embrace new thinking and new technology. So how can we embrace AI and automation for future prosperity?
NEW MERCH
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In celebration of the upcoming 250th Anniversary of The Wealth of Nations, we’ve launched a smart new collection of Adam Smith 100% silk ties in navy, pink and red, produced by the swank firm Colour Wovens. Christmas is coming up (Are you allowed to say ‘Christmas’?—Ed.) so take a look.
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And, here’s a picture of our Head of Communications & External Affairs, Joanna Marchong, was in Edinburgh, where she stopped by to visit the great man himself!
AND I QUOTE
You probably know Adam Smith’s famous line:
There is no art which one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.
But you may not know William Cobbett’s:
Nothing is so well calculated to produce a death-like torpor in the country as an extended system of taxation and a great national debt.
OUR SOCIALS
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