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IN THIS EXCITING ASI E-BULLETIN:
By Dr Eamonn Butler (plus a few boring bits presumptuously added by other people)
Space for enterprise, not more ‘devolved’ bureaucracy—new report
Rally for Liberty is back at Conservative Conference! Join us there!
2026 Ayn Rand Lecture: A Rational Life with Dr Madsen Pirie
But first…
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham survived his first Prime Minister’s Questions and even outlasted Liz Truss’s 45-day administration. (In the current political climate, that’s a triumph of statecraft.)
But the gilt market is less easily impressed. Chancellor John Healey (one of the ’She’s crashed the economy’ chorus when the 10-year gilt yields broke 4.5% under Liz Truss) is urging “confidence about Britain” despite current yields of 5.16% and rising. (Audacious or what? That’s more than in those dark days when the Spice Girls were a going concern.)
More later, but to continue…
RESEARCH
New homes for enterprise
Targeted deregulation will revive UK industry far better than ‘devolution’ to new regional bureaucracies, says the Adam Smith Institute in its latest report.
ASI identified 5 sites in the North East of England as perfect for the creation of a new generation of Enterprise Zones. With reduced taxes, fast-track planning, and cuts to energy bills, these sites can become new manufacturing hubs, countering decades of industrial decline.
An Enterprise Zone in the North East, for example, would leverage the region’s low land costs, industrial heritage and 110,000-strong manufacturing workforce to create a thriving defence industry, strengthening our security and leap-frogging the planning hurdles and other costs that have held home-grown defence back. And these plans are welcomed by local authority leaders as restoring employment and equality to left-behind parts of Britain.
Wealth tax support weak, poll finds
As millionaires scramble to flee overtaxed Britain, a new Insights poll on behalf of the Adam Smith Insittute finds that Brits overwhelmingly oppose tax hikes on wealth creators. Seven in ten voters (69%) believe that Britain’s 1% of top earners already pay their fair share in tax, and strongly oppose further hikes.
These findings also demonstrate that public support for a wealth tax is deceptively fragile. While 61% at first claim to support wealth taxes, that drops to just 37% when respondents discover that high taxes can drive high net worth individuals (HNWIs) abroad and leave the Treasury worse off. Instead, we’re calling for policies to make the UK a more attractive place for HNWIs and build wealth, including abolishing inheritance tax, phasing out Capital Gains Tax and reforming the non-doms tax regime.
As I was saying…
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has, bizarrely, banned imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (Which might assure us that they are not many.) It’s comforting to know that the Foreign Office remains true to its convictions (i.e. political theatre is easier than fixing anything). Travellers can contemplate this issue at greater length in the airport queues caused by the latest NATS computer tantrum.
But to continue…
IN THE MEDIA
Our polling on public attitudes toward millionaires debuted as an exclusive in The Times. It was subsequently featured across several major platforms, including The Daily Mail [ [link removed] ] and GB News [ [link removed] ], as well as TalkTV. James Hodgkinson provided deeper analysis of the polling data in op-eds for City AM [ [link removed] ] and ConservativeHome [ [link removed] ]. Concurrently, Viggo Terling and Maxwell Marlow discussed the findings in The Critic [ [link removed] ].
Continuing our focus on capital flight, James Lawson’s commentary on the UK’s third-largest taxpayer, Chris Rokos, relocating to Greece was featured in The Daily Mail [ [link removed] ]. Our Millionaire Tracker continues to drive the conversation on wealth migration and was recently analyzed on BBC Radio 4’s More or Less.
Our paper on Defence Enterprise Zones made a significant impact, securing national coverage in The Express [ [link removed] ], GB News, and TalkTV. It also resonated strongly with regional North Eastern outlets, including The Sunderland Echo [ [link removed] ] and BBC Wear [ [link removed] ]. Sebastian Charleton promoted the policy through an op-ed in The Critic [ [link removed] ]. Meanwhile, James Hodgkinson advocated for the proposals in GB News [ [link removed] ].
What’s more, our presence at the Reform conference drew substantial attention. Our events were highlighted in The Telegraph [ [link removed] ], Guido Fawkes [ [link removed] ], Politico [ [link removed] ], and various other outlets.
BOOKS
Adam Smith—as you’ve never seen him
I’ve collaborated with graphic novel experts to create Adam Smith’s ’The Wealth of Nations’—The Graphic Novel. It brings Smith and his pioneering book to life for new and younger audiences. Perfect for economics students, and simple enough to be read by politicians!
You can read it here. But why not buy it? And give some to your friends?
And in other news...Trains have been cancelled and delayed because the hot weather has buckled tracks and caused power lines to sag. (Network Rail officials say “It’s the wrong kind of heat.”)
But moving on...
DONATE TO THE ASI
If you want to keep the torch burning, we would really appreciate your support. Initiatives like The Millionaire Tracker are only possible thanks to your generosity.
If you’d like to set up a regular donation or partner with the Adam Smith Institute, please get in touch with [email protected].
REFORM CONFERENCE
We hosted four events at the Reform Conference. Sarah Pochin and Richard Tice addressed our Energy Reception with Fuels Industry UK. And Tice MP joined us again at our Price of Power panel with Cadent. We then heard from Danny Kruger MP on our Are We Ready For War? Panel moderated by General Sir Christopher Deverell KC MBE. And, we also heard from Danny, London Mayor hopeful Laila Cunningham and Cllr Linden Kemkarran at our Reception for Liberty. Watch now on YouTube.
Also in Birmingham, our Sebastian Charleton spoke on The Express “Will The Migration Crisis Ever Be Solved?” panel with Zia Yusuf. Maxwell Marlow spoke on two panels: those of CreateStreets (with Sean Matthews and Danny Kruger) on our research into development; and the Big Brother Watch panel (with Zia Yusuf and Nadine Dorries) on freedom of speech and the “papers, please” society.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ayn Rand Lecture 2026
Join us at the swanky Drapers Hall for our annual Ayn Rand Lecture 2026 with ASI President and co-founder Dr Madsen Pirie, on Monday 26th October.
Reflecting on A Rational Life, Madsen will draw on his distinguished think-tank career and on Randian philosophy to explore the importance of self-reliance, of striving for personal excellence, and individual liberty. Following his recent viral appearance on The School Of Hard Knockz where he shared his wit and wisdom on wealth-creation, Madsen will share his practical and philosophical insights on living rationally in the modern world.
Conservative Party Conference
The Rally for Liberty at Conservative Party Conference is back!
After a great event last year, we invite you once again to take a stand for liberty at the Conservative Party Conference. Whether it’s your right to speak freely, enjoy a cigarette or just have a quiet pint at your local, the UK’s long-established civil liberties are under threat. With the Government doubling down on its nanny-state agenda and introducing digital IDs by the back door, the fightback is urgent.
So join us for a drink at this year’s Rally For Liberty to hear leading Conservative MPs make the case for freedom.
And, Jasper Ostle will be speaking on the ‘From Boriswave to Braindrain: How Can We Fix Migration’ with the Centre for Policy Studies at the Conservative Party Conference. Monday 5th October 3:10-4:10.
Next Generation drinks on Tuesday, 13th October!
The no-holds-barred Baroness Fox of Buckley, writer, broadcaster, director of the Academy of Ideas, free speech campaigner and crossbench peer, joins our Next Generation group to talk about Why Free Speech Matters. She’ll explore the increasingly stifling atmosphere of modern political discourse and unpack why the right to challenge ideas without constraint is essential for a democratic society. Her talk will explore how Westminster can resist institutional conformism and foster a culture of genuine, robust debate.
It’s an unmissable evening for anyone who believes ideas should be contested, not cancelled. So make sure you unmiss it!
And one more thing…
For the soaring 30-year yield (5.8%, going on 6%), those of us of a certain age can at least take comfort from the words of John Maynard Keynes: “In the long run we are all dead.”
But moving on...
ASI ONLINE
Pick of our magic blog
In case you missed it, why not check out Danny Kruger MPs speech on ‘The Smithian Economy: Family, Community and Country’ which formed part of our 250th Anniversary of the Wealth of Nations celebrations.
AND I QUOTE …
I was going to give you H L Mencken’s famous line that “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
But with the almost daily incursions on our liberties (and promises of more) it seemed like something from Plato’s Republic might be more appropriate:
“The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness… This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.”
Bye
e
Dr EAMONN BUTLER
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