TALKING POINT, BY PROFESSOR PHILIP BOOTH



Change was already under way, but the Covid crisis has turned Britain from a nation of shopkeepers into a nation of broadcasters. But why is one broadcaster funded by a compulsory hypothecated tax on television sets? 

Earlier this week, the IEA hosted a panel discussion with myself, former BBC Radio 4 Controller Mark Damazer, former Downing Street Director of Communications Sir Robbie Gibb, and Julian Knight MP, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. The webinar will be available on our YouTube channel from tomorrow.

As ever, I was making the case for people not to have to buy BBC services and suggesting that those who do choose to subscribe should be part owners of the corporation so that the BBC has nothing to do with the state. Let’s hope that the forces of conservatism don’t win out and that there will be genuine reform in this charter period! 

The battle continues over public finances. Don’t show the Office for Budget Responsibility projections to your children just before you go to bed or they might not be able to sleep at night. Debt is projected to rise to 400 per cent of national income on current policies over the next 50 years.

I appeared before the Treasury Select Committee to make the case that this issue needed addressing and could not (note – could not, not should not) be resolved via tax rises. The amounts that would have to be raised are simply too big. What is quite frightening is that a full one quarter of that 400 per cent future debt arises from projecting forward the spending promises made by this government before the Covid crisis.  

You would think that the short-termist approach of government would lead them to be wary about lecturing the nation about short-termism when it comes to eating. Not at all: Public Health England might be on its death bed, but it is still taking an active interest in what you eat, including new guidelines to shrink the calorie content of most foods.

Growth might be a partial solution to the government’s finances (though the OBR’s growth forecasts look optimistic in any case). But achieving growth needs tough decisions too – not least in the area of deregulation which successive governments have ducked. If only we could get carbon-free fuel from a bonfire of regulations – we could hit zero carbon immediately and keep going for years. Mark Littlewood and I were discussing the growth agenda, especially in relation to regulation, at the Centre for Policy Studies conference on 'Regulating the Peace: how regulation reform can boost our growth and recovery'. You can watch here.

Professor Philip Booth
Senior Academic Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs

THE RULE OF SIX

UK GDP may have grown 6.6 per cent in July but our civil liberties are shrinking fast. The ‘rule of six’ and increased powers for police to enforce social distancing have dominated news cycles this week. But are these new draconian measures justified?

This was one of the questions put to our stellar panel of guests on this week’s episode of Live with Littlewood.

The show began with a lively debate between author and journalist James Delingpole and Conservative commentator Alex Deane over whether we’re sleep-walking into a new authoritarianism. James suggested that “we are a husk of the great nation we were when we won the Second World War”, while Alex gave Britain's future a stunningly optimistic 10/10.

Later in the show, former CEO of Vote Leave and the TaxPayers’ Alliance Matthew Elliott and DUP MP Sammy Wilson discussed Brexit, "breaching international law" and the Northern Ireland protocol, before the conversation turned to the prospect of a UK-US trade deal. At that very moment, an unexpected guest, Senator Mike Lee of Utah, appeared on panellist Terry Kibbe’s camera to weigh in on the discussion. He expressed his commitment to maintaining our bilateral trade relationship and said: “Let's Make America Great Britain Again.” 

Other guests included journalist and commentator Benedict Spence, founder of The Democracy Institute Patrick Basham, and the IEA’s Head of Political Economy, Dr Kristian Niemietz.

You can catch up on the action here. 

Our Live with Littlewood guests weren’t alone in voicing concern over the new restrictions. IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon discussed the creeping authoritarianism of the state on talkRADIO; Media Manager Emily Carver echoed those concerns on Times Radio. Meanwhile, IEA Editorial and Research Fellow Professor Len Shackleton discussed public sector pay increases on BBC Radio Essex.

HAWKS OR DOVES?

With national debt now exceeding a gargantuan £2 trillion, the Treasury is facing a new economic war. 



As IEA Director General Mark Littlewood set out in his latest biweekly column for The Times, while Treasury hawks look to tax rises to mitigate the colossal cost of coping with the coronavirus, the doves argue for a go-for-growth strategy from the Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

But who will win this new economic war? The hawks or the doves?

Media Manager Emily Carver put this question live to Mark and IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop in this week’s episode of The Definite Article. You can catch up on our YouTube channel here.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS

Are you interested in going to Oxford or Cambridge? If so, there’s still time to register for the IEA’s Oxbridge Training Day on Wednesday 30th September, from 1-3.30pm.  

The Day will include lectures from Dr Stephen Davies, the IEA’s Head of Education, who will talk you through the 'Dos and Don’ts for Oxbridge Applications', an open Q&A session, and a discussion with IEA Editorial and Research Fellow and Cambridge Economics Graduate, Professor Len Shackleton.

If you, or someone you know, would like to attend, register here. You can also find out more by emailing [email protected].

YOU'RE INVITED

*IEA BOOK CLUB WEBINAR WITH MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER

On Tuesday 15th September at 6pm, the IEA Book Club will be hosting Michael Shellenberger to discuss his latest best-selling book "Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All".

Michael has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. But last year he decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. What is really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? 

If you would like to attend this upcoming webinar, please register here.

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"I just want to say that the online stuff you guys are doing is absolutely astonishing! I’ve watched every Live with Littlewood in entirety and just finished watching the latest. It’s been superb entertainment."

"Thanks for making this crisis more of an age of enlightenment."