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In today’s newsletter:
Welcome from our new Director General Lord Frost
Should we lower the drink-driving limit?
Venezuela: a new age of Great Power Politics?
Today marks the end of my first week as Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs. I wanted to use our first Sunday newsletter of 2026 to say a few words about the precarious and unsettling moment Britain finds itself in, and crucially, the role the IEA must play in it.
Over the last couple of decades, the British economy has been characterised by an ever-growing state and increased intrusion by the government in everyone’s daily lives. As a result, economic growth has slowed to virtually zero, wealth creators are leaving the country, and Britain risks being outpaced by more dynamic competitors across the world.
The fundamentals of how a free market economy works no longer seem to be widely supported or even understood. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that so many politicians and commentators are happiest advocating economic ideas which are largely statist and collectivist in nature. Whether fantasy economics of the hard left, nostalgic protectionism dressed up as national renewal, or the complacent orthodoxies of the economic establishment, all these ideas share a mistrust of markets and a faith in ever-expanding state power, despite decades of disappointing results.
This is where the IEA comes in. For over seventy years, the IEA has made the case for liberty and free markets: for competition, enterprise, incentives, and limited government. That case needs to be made again - clearly, rigorously, and persistently - because too many of the fundamentals of a free society are no longer intuitively grasped by those shaping policy.
My priority as Director General is to ensure that the IEA continues to lead the battle of ideas: challenging bad economics, exposing the failures of statism, and advancing serious, credible alternatives rooted in freedom. At a time of economic drift and intellectual complacency, that task is not optional, it is essential. Come and join us, colleagues, supporters, and readers, as we take this work forward in the months and years ahead.
David Frost, Lord Frost of Allenton
Director General
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IEA Podcast: Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Director General David Frost and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz to discuss Britain’s failed economic ideas, and their predictions and wishes for 2026 — IEA YouTube
One Pint Driving Limit
Responding to the Government’s plans to lower the drink driving limit, Dr Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“We know that cutting the drink drive limit won’t work because it has already failed in Scotland. After the limit was cut there in 2014, there was no reduction in road accidents. It is easy to see why. Drink-driving accidents typically involve people who are well over the limit who will only be deterred by proper enforcement of the law, not by tinkering with the existing limit.
“Once again, the government is persecuting the sensible majority and pursuing its vendetta against the pub trade. Can’t it find something worthwhile to do?”
Head of Lifestyle Economics, Dr Chris Snowdon, interviewed by Peter Cardwell on TalkTV
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Drivers facing one pint limit in major drink-drive law change, LeedsLive, Yorkshire Live
Major blow for pubs as Labour plots to hammer drivers with one-pint limit, Daily Express
Drink-drive limit set to be slashed in England and Wales under new plans to improve road safety, LBC
Drivers face one pint limit in major tightening of drink-drive laws with even lower level planned for novice motorists, The Sun
News and Views
Britons Are Beginning To Admit It: Their Beloved National Health Service Is Broken, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim in Reason
The mere suggestion that marketized health care systems could provide better outcomes is no longer heresy. As is the case in every market, competition and choice allow for the most efficient allocation of resources. These systems empower patients with the ability and freedom to choose.
Inside Labour’s Economic Strategy: Supply-Side Vision & Political Reality | IEA Interview, Director of Communications Callum Price interviews Chief Policy Advisor at Labour Together Morgan Wild, IEA YouTube
How to make Venezuela great again, Research Associate Mani Basharzad in CapX
Foreign intervention can break that resistance and align outcomes with what people actually want, benefiting both Venezuelans and American interests. We do not live in a world of isolation. One foreign power defends Ukraine; another attacks it. One stood with South Korea; another backed North Korea. In a world where Russia, China and the Islamic Republic exist, my libertarian friends should understand that the United States should be the policeman.
US Military Strikes Venezuela: The New Age of Great Power Politics | IEA Briefing, Director of Communications Callum Price interviews Senior Education Fellow Dr Stephen Davies, IEA YouTube
Here lies your local pub, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim writes in CapX
If the Government truly wishes to reverse the decline of Britain’s high streets, and perhaps be allowed back into pubs, it will need to go much, much further. They must recognise that businesses across the country are struggling due to endless tax increases and regulatory restrictions.
British ¡Afuera! #2 - Higher Education | ||||||
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British ¡Afuera! is a new series of pieces applying the principles of the IEA’s ‘Sharper Axes, Lower Taxes’ and Argentinian ¡Afuera! to Britain today. | ||||||
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The Russian Economist Putin Wants Dead | IEA Interview, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman interviews Professor Sergei Guriev, IEA YouTube
How the UK Is Blocking Its Own Growth (And How to Fix It) | Shanker Singham | IEA Podcast, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim interviews Shanker Singham, IEA YouTube
Does Britain need a wealth tax? | ||||||
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On 2 December, King’s College London’s Politics Society organised a debate on the question of whether Britain needs a wealth tax. Former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable and Prof Josh Ryan-Collins from University College London argued in favour; IEA Economics Fellow Dr Andrew Lilico and IEA Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz argued against it. Th… | ||||||
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Britain’s Growth Crisis: The Model That Explains Everything | Patrick Minford, Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz interviews Patrick Minford, IEA YouTube
Stop Taxing Christmas: How the Nanny State Ruined Mince Pies | IEA Briefing, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim interviews Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Chris Snowdon, IEA YouTube
The IEA Reading List 2025 | ||||||
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As the year draws to a close, and as everyone scrambles around for last minute stocking fillers for their brother-in-law, we asked the IEA’s team of experts to reflect on the books they have read this year that might just be worth your, or your sister’s husband’s, time. | ||||||
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Head of Media Reem Ibrahim appeared on The Mike Graham Show, YouTube
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