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In today’s newsletter:
‘Leave those kids alone’: IEA response to the U16 social media ban
Inside the sausage factory
Has the UK lost faith in capitalism?
It is an unusual phenomenon that a by-election in a small-town suburb could decide the country’s future leadership, but here we are: for the first time in nine years, Andy Burnham is back in Westminster. Having won Makerfield, he now has a clear path to a challenge for the Labour leadership and the top position in the country. Upon his return, we can expect some discussion about the meaning of his much-trumpeted ‘Manchesterism’, or whether the term has any meaning at all.
‘Manchesterism’ means different things to different people. To the Burnhamites themselves, it seems to mean ‘the end of neoliberalism [ [link removed] ]’ or a ‘business-friendly socialism [ [link removed] ]’ that takes water, energy, transport and housing back under public control while otherwise staying ‘comfortable’ with markets.
Originally, of course, Manchesterism referred to the Manchester School of Richard Cobden and John Bright, the great nineteenth-century liberals who campaigned for free trade, the repeal of the Corn Laws and peace through commerce. While that is quite clearly not what Andy Burnham has in mind, some have noted that ‘his new dynamic Manchester has been built on a modern revival of Manchester liberalism’ [ [link removed] ]. What they mean by that is not that Andy Burnham is secretly a Manchester liberal in the original sense. Rather, what they mean is that Manchester’s governance arrangements are conducive to better policy outcomes. This predates Andy Burnham, and it may not have much to do with him.
Manchester became Britain’s fastest-growing sub-regional economy from 2015–2023, growing at roughly 3% per year, almost double the nationwide average. An enhanced devolution deal allows Manchester to capture more of the benefits of development and local growth. The local administration is more construction-friendly and there are attempts to shield the business sector from harmful regulations. For instance, in order to de-risk private developers and avoid onerous costs, barely 5% of recent housing-fund units were required to be ‘affordable [ [link removed] ].’
Having more decentralisation, better incentives to fight NIMBYism, lighter regulations and a pro-construction bias will certainly vastly improve the economic performance of any region in the country.
In that sense – Britain needs more Manchesterism. Britain’s cities, towns and regions need fiscal and regulatory governance arrangements under which even someone who is very much not a Manchester liberal in the original sense is incentivised to act a little bit like one.
By Valentin Boboc
Senior Economist
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IEA Podcast: Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz and Senior Economist Valentin Boboc to discuss the government’s social media ban, Musk’s trillions, and what Piketty gets wrong, IEA YouTube [ [link removed] ]
New Book: Inside the Sausage Factory
New IEA book by Dr Christopher Snowdon exposes the illusion of ‘evidence-based’ policy making over four key policies in recent history.
Four major policies (plain cigarette packaging, the sugar tax, minimum unit pricing for alcohol, and fixed odds betting terminals stake cuts) were all pushed through on evidence that was weak, partisan, or selectively applied, shows new analysis
In every case, small paternalistic interest groups dominated the research agenda, shaped media coverage, and achieved sweeping policy victories without meaningful public mandate
Politicians proceeded not because the evidence was compelling but because the reputational risk of inaction exceeded the risk of backing policies that harmed consumers
"When the policies were eventually introduced, there was little sign that they made the slightest improvement to any of the problems they were supposed to address. [ [link removed] ]”, Chris Snowdon writes in The Spectator [ [link removed] ]
News and Views
[ [link removed] ]"At a stroke, everyone with a phone would be an unwitting spy." [ [link removed] ] Lord Hannan in the Daily Mail on on the surveillance powers a social media ban would require.
Impractical, illiberal and ultimately undesirable
Chris Snowdon responds to the Government’s ban on social media for under-16s:
“We must stop judging new legislation by the good intentions of its advocates rather than its likely consequences. We know from Australia that most teenagers will get around the ban and that those who are not able to do so will suffer from social isolation.
“There are legitimate concerns about screen addiction among both children and adults, but parents are already able to restrict what their children see online and limit the number of hours they can use a smartphone. These guardrails are removed when kids log in via VPNs or sign up to platforms as adults.
“What the Government is trying to do is reminiscent of attempts to ban the printing press. It is similarly impractical, illiberal and ultimately undesirable.”
Read Chris’ full article about the ban in The Critic. [ [link removed] ]
A legend’s battle with the joyless nanny state [ [link removed] ], Chris Snowdon in Spiked [ [link removed] ] on the legacy of David Hockney.
Market forces helping to keep inflation in check
Julian Jessop responds to latest inflation figures:
“The official figures for May provide a bit more reassurance on inflation. The CPI measure was unchanged at 2.8%, against expectations of a rise to 3%, while food price inflation actually fell.
The underlying picture is relatively simple: upward pressure from higher transport costs (mainly motor fuel and airfares) was offset by falls in inflation almost everywhere else.
This is consistent with the survey evidence that weak demand and strong competition are keeping corporate pricing power in check, despite rising costs. Market forces are far more effective in controlling inflation than any amount of government tinkering.
These figures will help the Bank of England to justify keeping interest rates on hold this week, especially if tomorrow’s labour market data is also soft.
Nonetheless, inflation has now been back above the 2% target for more than a year and a half, and it is still likely to rise further.
Even if the US-Iran peace deal holds, there is plenty of cost pressure in the pipeline from past increases in commodity prices and from the ongoing disruption to global supply chains. The UK government is still loading businesses with extra costs too.
Inflation is therefore unlikely to return to the 2% target before the end of next year. This is pushing the boundaries of what could reasonably be downplayed as a ‘temporary’ overshoot.
In short, today’s data may give the Bank of England a little more breathing room, but it is far too soon to dismiss the upside risks either to inflation or to interest rates.”
Was Thatcher the only time Britain loved capitalism? Daniel Freeman and Martin Vander-Veyer on why the UK lost faith in capitalism, IEA YouTube
Why a wealth tax wouldn’t work – and what might [ [link removed] ], Kristian Niemietz writes for the Chartered Institute of Taxation [ [link removed] ]
“If campaigners are concerned about wealth inequality, there are far better ways to address that issue. One of them would simply be to do what governments of all stripes keep saying they want to do anyway, but just never actually do: make it much easier to build houses. Britain has one of the lowest levels of housing supply in the developed world. A building boom would enable more people to become homeowners and build up housing wealth.”
We can’t let Degrowth win, Kristian Niemietz writes for the Rational Optimist Society [ [link removed] ] about Piketty et al’s ‘Global Justice Report’
Kids will never forgive Keir Starmer for his Turkey Twizzler moment [ [link removed] ], Chris Snowdon on the social media ban for under 16s, GB News [ [link removed] ]
Events and Opportunities
The 2026 Vinson Centre Conference
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