2022 has been a bit of a world cup year for the UK. The first team to be eliminated would have benefitted from paying closer attention to handling penalties; the second from how to score goals in live play, while remembering the importance of a solid defence. The latest appears confused as to which side it is playing for.

The IEA does not play football. Our mission is to think, educate and inform. We leave the business of politics to those elected to that role, while reminding them that most actual business doesn’t benefit from their input. In that regard, some of our highlights this year included...

Extensive research, kicking off with Red Card: Why English Football doesn’t need an Independent Regulator. Towards the end of the year, we put one in the back of the net with my personal favourite, Carbon Conundrum: How to save climate policy from government failure. We also covered trade, trains, transparency, vapes, protocols, ‘our’ NHS, airports, 5G, lessons from lockdown, inequality, online regulation, population, strikes, silence, inflation, Islamophobia, 
freedom, auditing, and alternatives to smoking.



Wrapping those presents is the job of our marketing experts and communicators – online, on the radio and television, in the papers, and in the room hosting events.

We have thousands of hits a year, too many to mention. But some of the best included our Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh, who joined the IEA at the start of 2022, discussing social care on the Sky News Great Debate; Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon arguing in an opinion piece for the Daily Mail that the NHS cure is radical surgery, not more cash; Director General Mark Littlewood joining Nigel Farage for Talking Pints on GB News; and our Director of Communications Annabel Denham setting out just how regulated our lives have become in The Telegraph.  

The often unsung angels of the IEA are the Outreach and International teams who educate both educators and their students – or future thought leaders (below) – about the fundamentals of free markets. Or build and maintain a network of international partners sharing our content across the world.



We've had over 1,000 students participate in essay competitions over the year – a new record. In autumn 2022, our network of European think tanks, Epicenter, expanded its membership with two prestigious free market organisations; Prometheus in Germany, and INESS in Slovakia.  

And my thanks to the infrastructure builders that make it all possible, the Development team and the network of donors that support our work. Our Trustees who volunteer to keep us focused on fulfilling our educational mission. The DG Office team who ensure the boss is in the right place at the right time. And my Operations team who provide the support that allows our brilliant staff and interns to keep doing what they do.



Finally, thank you for all the support you’ve provided the IEA this year, whether funding us or engaging with our content and events, you make this all possible. Merry Christmas!

Andy Mayer
Chief Operating Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs

HARVEST TIME

New research from the Institute of Economic Affairs, authored by Cameron English of the American Council on Science and Health, suggests the government could go further, faster in creating a more favourable regulatory environment for crop science.



According to the report, the UK government is moving in the right direction by rolling back restrictions on agricultural gene editing in England post-Brexit. But, it says, policymakers should be quick to embrace all forms of genetic engineering, including the technology used to produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gene editing in animals. 

In so doing, we will follow dozens of countries, that are reaping the benefits of facilitating the production of disease-resistant crops. 



Commenting on his report, which was covered widely in the regional press, Cameron English said:

"The UK has forfeited tens of millions of pounds annually by denying its farmers access to GMO crops their counterparts in other countries grow without incident. It's time this costly prohibition came to an end."

Listen to Cameron discussing his report with our Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh on the IEA YouTube channel here.

YEAR IN REVIEW

Did nanny state overreach expand further in 2022, or was it a quieter year for the public health establishment? Even with the controversial "legal but harmful" provision removed, does the Online Safety Bill threaten freedom of expression? And has the UK economy performed better or worse than feared at the start of the year?



This week and next, the IEA is posting a series of videos looking back at the major events of 2022, covering the nanny state, free speech and the economy. Watch the first instalment, with our Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon, here – and keep a close eye on the IEA's YouTube channel for further episodes in the coming days.

iN THE MEDIA



About to erupt?... IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop commented in The Express on the monetary policy challenges facing the Eurozone.

Julian argued that a long period of historically low interest rates was always likely to cause long-term challenges:

"The end of the long period of very low interest rates is now coming to an end and this will worsen the problems faced by high debt countries like Italy and Greece... Their borrowing costs have already shot up, after hawkish comments from the European Central Bank last Thursday."

Read the article in full here.



Sticking plaster... Commenting on the news that the government will cap March’s rail fare increases at 5.9 per cent, IEA Editorial and Research Fellow Professor Len Shackleton said:

"This may be relatively good news for passengers, but it will increase the already massive subsidy from the taxpayer to keep the trains running... It is classic short-termism from a government which finds every challenge too difficult to meet."

Read Len's response in full here. 

Bureaucratic lunacy?... This week, it was reported the regulator for offshore energy has been fining companies for excessive production. But it is implementing, according to IEA Energy Analyst and COO Andy Mayer, whatever "virtue-signalling ministers" have decided to pursue. Watch Andy discuss on TalkTV here (from 1:34:00).



Andy was also quoted in the Investors' Chronicle explaining that government should not shield British businesses from international competition, even if their competitors are subsidised by foreign governments. Read the piece here. 

Booze off... Responding to the news that the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation has suggested people should cut their alcohol intake to protect the health service, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon said:

"Matthew Taylor is the embodiment of an attitude that has become worryingly common in recent years, that the British public exist to serve the NHS.

"If we get ill or have an accident, we want the NHS to patch us up and send us on our way. It is not there to give us orders."

Read the article in full here.



Strike out... IEA Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh appeared on talkTV to discuss paramedic pay demands of inflation plus 5 per cent. He said:

"[a 7.5 per cent pay increase] has just been rejected by the Scottish nurses, which says that it’s much harder to reach a negotiated position than we might have hoped... it is just not affordable to make those kinds of commitments."

Listen here (from 1:38:30).



Matthew also appeared on the Sky Press Preview on Thursday night, alongside Kezia Dugdale, Director of the John Smith Institute. They discussed ongoing industrial action, protecting the elderly this Christmas, and the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill passed by MSPs earlier that day. Watch here. 

IEA DIGITAL



Future-proofing... In this episode of The Swift Half, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon speaks to Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard, Bill Hanage, about our response to the pandemic, the risks the illness still poses and whether further action is needed.

Watch here.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS!



Global Internship... The Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity partners with think tanks across Africa and works with them to make their push for greater free trade louder and more effective. If you are interested in African trade and development, want to work with cutting-edge think tanks across the continent, and develop your knowledge on the biggest issues facing Africa, then this internship is for you!

The IATP is a project of the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham. We are housed at the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham, where we work under the same roof as dozens of world renowned academics and popular think tanks.

Click here for more details on how to apply for this exciting opportunity.



Future thought leaders... Applications for our Future Thought Leader Programmes for sixth-formers and undergraduates are now open. There will be two weeks for sixth formers in April, and one in July. The undergraduate programmes will be in July and August.

You can find out more information on the programmes, and how to apply here.



Monetary policy essay prize... 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.