Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter!

• A train to nowhere..?
• On the airwaves...
• On the up!
• Beyond Question...
• Best of the blog
• Interested in interning?
• Calling all sixth formers!
• You’re invited!

A train to nowhere..?

With a decision on HS2’s future expected next month, the controversy over the project rages on.



This week a report from the Wildlife Trust said HS2 puts hundreds of nature reserves, ancient woodlands and sites of special interest at risk.

Earlier this month Lord Berkeley, deputy chair of the HS2 review panel, said costs for the project were out of control - claiming MPs had been “misled” about the price - set at £55 billion in 2015.

The IEA has long warned that the costs of HS2 were likely to spiral out of control.

Back in 2011 our report High Speed 2: The Next Project Disaster? dissected the government’s cost-benefit analysis of the scheme.

The authors - IEA Economics Fellow Kyn Aizlewood and our Deputy Research Director and Head of Transport Richard Wellings - concluded the business case was seriously flawed and the project would impose huge financial risks on taxpayers.



In 2013, The High-Speed Gravy Train: Special Interests, Transport Policy and Government Spending, by Richard Wellings, applied public choice theory to HS2. It asked why the scheme was still going ahead despite the weak economic case. 



Richard found that powerful special interests stood to gain financially from the vast subsidies earmarked for the project.

The paper also argued that many of the costs associated with HS2 had not been properly incorporated into the official budget. It predicted the full cost (at 2013 prices) was likely to be £80 billion plus.



And in 2014 Richard’s paper Failure to Transform: High-Speed Rail and the Regeneration Myth, cast serious doubts on claims that HS2 will regenerate the north.

Doncaster, for example, has enjoyed fast and frequent rail services for decades - but remains one of the poorest towns in the UK. Other factors have been far more important in determining its economic trajectory.

You can download all the reports, for free, here.

On the airwaves...

Flybe to the moon...



Syed Kamall, our Research and Academic Director, appeared on Sky News this week to discuss the government’s rescue plan for troubled regional airline Flybe.

Syed said this move sets a worrying precedent which could lead to more companies being bailed out by the taxpayer.

He also spoke to LBC Radio’s Nick Ferrari about the importance of a dynamic airline market and consumer choice.

Syed’s remarks were featured in the day’s news bulletins across over 60 regional and national radio stations.

Would you credit it?



Christopher Snowdon, our Head of Lifestyle Economics, also went live on LBC Radio to discuss the ban on using credit cards to place bets, which is set to come into force in April.

Chris questioned whether the government should be intervening in how adults spend their money on legal activities.



And to mark the centenary of Prohibition in America, Chris wrote for Spiked!, which you can read here.

Chris warns that as the memory of the era fades history may well be rewritten by those who claim that prohibition was a groundbreaking public-health initiative which worked better than you think.

Rising temperatures…



IEA Head of Communications Emma Revell spoke to BBC Newcastle about Sir David Attenborough’s warnings that the moment of climate crisis has come.  

Emma argued that we needn’t be so apocalyptic and that government and business are already making considerable progress to reduce carbon emissions.

Fat’ll be the day…



IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon responded to new NHS guidance that says pharmacists should tell shoppers to lose weight, cut their alcohol intake and quit other unhealthy habits.

Chris said pharmacists have better things to do than deliver “banal health lectures to the public”.

Headline grabbing…



Darren Grimes, IEA Digital Manager, reviewed the papers for Sky News. Topics included ‘Megxit’, the BBC licence fee and equal pay.

Meanwhile, our Media Manager Emily Carver featured on Julia Hartley-Brewer’s talkRadio breakfast show to discuss the day’s news.

On the up!

Everything is getting better. Let nobody tell you the second decade of the 21st century has been bad! 

That’s the theme of this week’s IEA podcast, featuring acclaimed author Matt Ridley.

In discussion with IEA Digital Manager Darren Grimes, Matt asserts we are living through the greatest improvement in human living standards in history. 

Listen to the podcast here.

Matt is also author of the IEA book How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change the World?, based on his 2018 Hayek Memorial Lecture.  Download it for free here.

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Podbean.

Beyond Question...

Our congratulations to Madeline Grant, former Editorial Manager at the IEA, who made her debut on BBC Question Time on Thursday. 

Maddie, now Assistant Comment Editor at The Telegraph, is one of the many talented people who, across the years, have helped us communicate free market ideas around the world.

News of her Question Time debut quickly prompted a host of supportive tweets from former colleagues.  Here’s just a few:

Best of the blog

Remembering Sir Roger Scruton

Conservative philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton, sadly passed away last Sunday after battling cancer. On our blog this week, Syed Kamall looked back at Sir Roger’s life and the extraordinary breadth of his influence, including his role in supporting dissidents in Eastern Europe during the years of Soviet-aligned socialism.

A steer on the future...

The 2020s will see the introduction of one of the most profoundly transformative technologies for decades: the driverless car. 

Writing for our blog, IEA Research Fellow and Chairman of the IEA Shadow Monetary Policy Committee Andrew Lilico looked at some of the more practical policy implications this new world of transport will bring.

To build or not to build…

With the new government promising an ‘infrastructure revolution’ to rebalance regional inequalities, our Research Assistant Luke Warren wrote for the blog on what this might look like in practice. 

Luke argued the government should devolve more power to local authorities over infrastructure and grant greater flexibility of funding.

Balance of power

Syed Kamall and Dr Edwin Van De Haar gave some initial thoughts on what a classical liberal take on the current US-Iranian stand-off might look like.

As war cannot simply be abolished, a crucial question for classical liberal theorists is how to deal with the inevitable outbreak of conflict.

Interested in interning?

With the New Year just over a fortnight old, what better way to start the new decade than by joining us here at the IEA on one of our acclaimed internship programmes!

We have a wide range of programmes - from week-long internships for Sixth Formers to longer-term general internships. 

All of our internships will introduce you to free market ideas and expand your knowledge of free markets and free society.

But don’t take our word for it. Here’s just one of the many testimonials we’ve received from former interns:

“Joining the internship scheme at the IEA was a truly rewarding experience and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in economics and freedom. 

"I learned valuable skills in logistics, events planning and team management, whilst being academically stimulated through discussions, seminars and lectures with other interns and staff.”

Click here to learn how to apply for an internship in the new year, and be sure to pass on the details to anyone you know who might be interested!

Call all sixth formers!

With the Chancellor set to deliver his Budget in March, the IEA is running the IEA Budget Challenge.The competition is open to all sixth form Students at schools in the UK. 

It’s your chance to enter a team for a national competition that will help students learn more about economics, develop their writing, research and analytical skills, and give them a better understanding of the policy issues and challenges facing national decision makers. 

There is also a £1,000 prize to be split between the winning team and their school. 

All entries to the competition should be submitted by Saturday 1st February 2020.

Your Invited!

Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK

LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE

On Tuesday 21st January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA will be hosting a panel discussion on ‘Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK’.

The opportunity before the UK as a result of Brexit is a great one: but if the UK squanders it, what has been described as the ‘new normal’ of limited economic growth could prevail, with an EU system that does not appear to be responding on a competitive level to the challenges of the modern economy.

‘Plan A+’ proposes the adoption of a four-pillared trade policy strategy to deliver a more competitive and thriving UK economy.



Panelists include: 

• Andy Mayer: Chief Operations Officer, IEA (Chair)
   
• Shanker Singham: Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (IEA) and co-author of ‘Plan A+’
   
• Steve Baker MP: Member of Parliament for Wycombe and Chairman of the European Research Group
   
• Dr Holger P. Hestermeyer: Shell Reader in International Dispute Resolution at King’s College London and author of ‘How Brexit will Happen’
   
• Professor Jeremy Clegg: Professor of European Integration and International Business Management at Leeds University Business School

Spaces are filling up very fast, so register here to ensure your spot at what is sure to be a lively discussion about the possible options for Britain’s post-Brexit future, including those proposed in ‘Plan A+’. 


A Tale of Two Economies

On Wednesday 22nd January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA Book Club is delighted to host Neil Monnery, to discuss his latest book ‘A Tale of Two Economies: Hong Kong, Cuba and the Two Men who Shaped Them'.

As the world entered the turbulent 1960s, two men, half a world apart, both foreigners far from home, were charged with shaping the economic strategy of their adopted countries. 

One, Che Guevara, is well known as a revolutionary. The other, John Cowperthwaite, is largely unknown today. These two men are arguably the originators of the most significant natural economic experiment of the last century, pitting the free-market model of Hong Kong against the state interventionism in Cuba. 

This book looks at the very different paths chosen by Hong Kong and Cuba, and the central role of Ernesto, ‘Che’ Guevara and Sir John James Cowperthwaite.

If you would like to know more about the IEA Book Club, and attend the event, please email [email protected]