The Truss government is often described by its opponents as libertarian, but we have yet to see much evidence of this. A penny off income tax is hardly what Ayn Rand had in mind, nor is making cannabis a Class A drug, random drug-testing in offices and banning solar panels on farms. The government’s biggest initiative so far has been an extraordinarily expensive intervention in the energy market.

Nevertheless, as I wrote in Spiked this week, the belief that the government is run by ultra-libertarian free market fundamentalists persists. In this febrile atmosphere, it only takes a rumour to spark a howl of outrage. On Tuesday, Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey said that she was ‘not aware’ of whether the target to make England ‘smoke-free’ by 2030 had been scrapped and that she had not ‘looked into this specific prevention policy’. That was enough to start a rumour that a new tobacco control plan would never be published.

Ms Coffey can be forgiven for having overlooked the ‘smoke-free 2030' target. It was created by former Prime Minister Theresa May in the final days of her premiership. There was no vote in Parliament and it wasn’t mentioned in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto. It aimed to get the smoking rate below five per cent by 2030, but gave no hint of how this was to be achieved in a free country.

There is no suggestion that the government will roll back any of the UK’s many anti-smoking laws. The outrage was inspired, as Henry Hill says, by the mere possibility that Coffey ‘may try and halt, at least for a time, the long march towards banning tobacco.’

Writing for the Spectator, I argued that there are some policies that could usefully be added to a plan to make England ‘smoke-free’. They are not the usual tax-and-ban measures favoured by the ‘public health’ lobby, but they do have the virtue of being effective.

In her speech at the recent Conservative Party conference, the Prime Minister said that she would not tell people how to live their lives. It is the kind of line that is guaranteed to draw applause from the faithful at such gatherings, but actions speak louder than words. We shall soon see how much she means it.

Christopher Snowdon
IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics

IS SPEECH FREE?

Much has been made of the current government's approach to fiscal policy, but how is it tackling the issue of free speech?



Writing for Conservative Home, IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening warned that the Online Safety Bill’s “legal but harmful” provision could be weaponised by future governments.

Outlining the disregard for free speech among many on the left, Marc wrote:

“Their agenda is to turn Britain in its entirety into one giant ‘safe space’ in which the contemporary, Culture-Control Left (CCL) get to dictate what opinions make the identity groups they claim to represent ‘unsafe’.”



In the latest episode of Marc's YouTube series, Parallax Views, he spoke to ex-police officer and free speech activist, Harry Milller.

They discussed how Harry came under police investigation for 'offensive' tweets, and how the UK legal code fails to protect free speech.

The full interview can be watched here and you can find out more about Harry's Fair Cop project here: https://www.faircop.org.uk/case-studies/harry-miller/



Quoted in the Epoch Times, Marc gave his thoughts on the sinister phenomenon of 'non crime hate incidents'.

Marc opined: “It’s an Orwellian device that is applied asymmetrically so that any rhetoric can be directed at Tories, TERFs, Brexiters, but then becomes selectively applied when opinions they consider to be transgressive are employed”



And, in case you missed it, at this year's Conservative Party Conference, Marc took part in an IEA and Taxpayers' Alliance joint panel discussion on free speech.

Marc expressed his frustration at the Conservative Party's willingness to pass authoritarian legislation and its inaction in dealing with threats to free speech in our public institutions. Watch the full discussion here.

iN THE MEDIA



Tax overload... IEA Energy Analyst Andy Mayer wrote for CapX on the government’s new Energy Price Bill.

Andy argued that expanding supply is the unavoidable, if politically difficult, solution to an energy shortage, writing:

“The best way of managing an energy supply crisis is to find new sources of energy supply. If you can’t do that quickly you need energy use to fall until such a time as supply catches up. In a market-based energy system this is relatively simple, albeit politically painful.”



U-turn if you want to... IEA Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh appeared on BBC News to discuss the dismissal of former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and the u-turn on the corporation tax hike reversal.

Matt noted that the UK will now end up with a higher than average corporation tax rate for the OECD, substantially higher than Ireland, and higher than the EU27.



Money for old rope... Matthew also appeared on TalkTV to discuss the high risk of recession and the potential impact on growth and wages. Watch the clip here.



Safe as houses... And, in an article for The Spectator, Matthew addressed warnings that house prices are set to fall. He noted:

“Many will treat lower house prices as a tragedy....But let’s look at this with some perspective. Oxford Economics is forecasting house price falls of around 13 per cent across next year and the year after, taking the price of average properties to levels not seen since… March last year.”

REMEMBERING LINDA WHETSTONE

In December 2021 the world lost a titan of the freedom movement, and we at the IEA lost a much-loved trustee, friend and mentor in Linda Whetstone.

Because Covid restrictions were in place at the time of Linda’s death, many could not pay their respects in the way they would have wished.

But later this week there will be a Memorial Service in Linda’s honour. It will take place at midday on Tuesday 18th October 2022 at St Marylebone Parish Church, 17 Marylebone Rd, London, NW1 5LT, and afterwards at the Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD.

Please do join the family there if you can. And if you do plan to attend, please email Linda’s family at [email protected].

CONTINUING LINDA’S WORK

Some have asked how they can also honour Linda in a more practical way to help keep her work alive and thriving. The directors of her beloved Network for a Free Society wanted us to let you know that the charity’s work continues apace – just as Linda would have wanted.

This year has seen NFS (working with the IEA) provide small grants to freedom-loving groups in Burundi, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Bosnia, Serbia, Pakistan and Morocco – helping them translate and print books, host workshops and student conferences, distribute CDs and much more.

And, as you read this, further grants are being sent to support yet more projects this autumn in Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria, Armenia and to a multi-country project covering North Africa and the Middle East.

If you would like contribute to Linda’s legacy please do visit the Network for a Free Society website (www.networkforafreesociety.org) , where you can read about the Network’s goals and make a donation directly to NFS via a link to its JustGiving page. Those considering larger gifts might wish to contact Robert Boyd at [email protected].

But please be assured that your gift – however big or small – will be truly appreciated and will help continue and further the work of a truly remarkable, and much-missed, champion of the freedom movement.

ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD MEETING

EPICENTER’s Greek member KEFIM and the Canadian Fraser Institute hosted The Economic Freedom of the World Meeting in Athens. EPICENTER’s Director Adam Bartha addressed the group about the need to reframe our economic debates in geopolitical terms.

Liberal democracies have to stand for the polar opposite to China and Russia; we cannot plan our economies through industrial policy, remain protectionist vis-à-vis other liberal democracies or believe that governments are best equipped to direct companies towards certain technologies.

Read the most recent Economic Freedom of the World Report co-published by the IEA here.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS!



Monetary policy essay price... Applications remain open for the monetary policy essay prize, organised by the IEA, the Institute of International Monetary Policy Research and the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham.

This year's question is: Are the central banks to blame for the current inflation episode?

To be in with a chance of winning up to £500, you must submit your answer by 6 January 2023. Further details on how to enter can be found here.



In November, we're also hosting a Teacher Seminar at our Westminster office. The event will include presentations from IEA researchers on issues related to the academic syllabus. The focus will be on the history of economic thought, whether forecasting makes sense, and the history of the government debt crisis.

The event will take place on 2 November 2022 from 10am–3.30pm. You can find more information on how to sign up here.