August 2019

Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter

Joint effort
Deal or no deal?
Fully Automated Luxury...Communism?!
i on the Media
Do we need a welfare state?
Job opportunity!
You're invited!

Joint effort

Last month, our Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon joined Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly, Liberal Democrat MP Sir Norman Lamb and Labour MP David Lammy on a research trip to Canada as part of a BBC documentary (which aired this week) to assess what the UK could learn from their recent legalisation of recreational cannabis.

Chris wrote about his experience on the trip for The Spectator, explaining that while legalisation has been a “noble experiment”, Canada has thus far failed to quash the cannabis black market due to “over-regulation, taxation and a lack of competition” designed to deter consumers from the product.

He argues that this approach “amounts to a concerted effort to suck the fun out of cannabis shopping, which makes sense if your aim is to deter people from buying the stuff, but not if your aim is to switch people from street cannabis to high street cannabis.”.

Read the full article here.

Chris also spoke to LBC, and David Lammy referenced IEA research in his piece for The Guardian.

Chris’s ‘Joint Venture’ report, published in June 2018, estimates the size of the UK cannabis market and its potential value after taxation. The current black market in cannabis is worth £2.6 billion per annum, with 255 tonnes sold to three million users in 2016/17.

Chris concludes that if cannabis were legalised, tax revenues alone before considering savings to public services could exceed £1 billion per year.

Read the ‘Joint Venture: Estimating the size and potential of the UK Cannabis Market’ report here.

And watch the BBC documentary here.

Deal or no deal?

As we inch ever-closer to the October 31st Brexit deadline, concerns over a potential no-deal have resurfaced or been restated.

But how to separate fact from fear? Over the past year, the IEA has written a number of no-deal “fear-checkers”, aimed at separating theoretical risks from reality.

These short briefings each examine a particular warning about the impact of leaving the EU without a deal, assess the problem, and outline what can be done to fix it.

Read our nine no-deal fear-checkers here:

Fully Automated Luxury...Communism?!

On our podcast this week, IEA Digital Manager Darren Grimes sat down with the IEA’s Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz to discuss the recently published ‘Fully Automated Luxury Communism’ by Aaron Bastani and ‘The Socialist Manifesto’ by Bhaskar Sunkara, each book advocating a 21st-century attempt to centrally plan the economy.

With a recent YouGov poll finding that Britons are more likely to view socialism favourably than capitalism, Kristian argues it is critical that we understand the appeal of these tried and failed ideologies and how to combat them.

The pair discuss the two books, highlighting the utopian thinking and worrying attempts to popularise communism, in light of the ideology’s long history of unmitigated failure.

Listen to the podcast here.

And to subscribe to our podcast, IEA Conversations, click here.

As well, click here to read Kristian’s Quillette review of ‘Fully Automated Luxury Communism’.

i on the Media

Boris Bounce... As Boris Johnson took over as the new Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, IEA spokespeople gave their views on what the new leadership, and cabinet, could mean for future policy decisions.

Mark Littlewood, IEA Director General, wrote his fortnightly column for The Times on why the ‘Boris bounce’ in the polls will only last if the policy matches the rhetoric.

Catherine McBride, Head of the IEA’s Financial Services Unit, spoke to BBC Business and Al Jazeera about what the next government means for trade, and Julian Jessop, IEA Fellow, spoke to TalkRadio on the new PM and the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit.

On wider Brexit issues, the IEA’s Acting Research Director Richard Wellings was quoted in the Daily Express on how much delaying Brexit is costing the UK in ongoing contributions to the EU.

Elsewhere’ IEA Associate Director Kate Andrews spoke to BBC World Service about what the recent changes might mean for Britain’s pathway out of the EU, as well as writing for The Telegraph on the prospect of the new PM looking to the US for an early win on global trade.

Kate also wrote for City AM on the need for the new government to restructure the social care system, and for the Times Red Box, on the most free-market, liberal cabinet appointment’s Britain has seen in decades (dubbed by Kate, the ‘libertarian comeback kids).

Hot under the collar...As temperatures soared, the Labour Party announced plans to force employers to send workers home if the mercury hit 30 degrees.

Andy Mayer, IEA Chief Operating Officer, hit out at the plans, saying the proposals wouldn’t make anyone better off as employers already have a duty to provide a “reasonable” temperature in the workplace. His comments featured in The Sun and the Daily Star.

IEA Communications Manager Emma Revell also spoke out on climate issues, joining TalkRadio to discuss comments by Prince Harry that he would only have a maximum of two children to help “protect the planet”. Emma criticised the comments, saying previous warnings about overpopulation had proved wrong.

Media browsing...Members of the IEA Media team all cast an eye over the papers, with Kate reviewing the headlines on Sky News and BBC Radio London, and Emma joining TalkRadio’s Breakfast show to catch up on the day’s top stories.

Pen to paper...IEA staff also penned a number of op-ed pieces over the last few weeks. Blythe Edwards, Communications Intern, argued in favour of scrapping the salary threshold for migrants on CapX; our Senior Academic Fellow Philip Booth urged an end of government monopoly on financial regulation in City A.M.; Mark wrote his fortnightly column for The Times on expanding school choice; and Kate wrote for The Telegraph criticising Donald Trump’s rhetoric on immigration, saying recent events showed how far the Republican Party has moved away from Ronald Reagan’s liberal vision.

A trifling matter...The nanny state never rests - and office cake is the latest pleasure to fall on to its radar.

Research shows 86% of us are offered treats in the workplace at least weekly - and Mark told the Daily Mail a crackdown would be yet another example of the state nannying adults who are capable of making their own dietary choices.

A load of (red) bull...In the same week, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, branded a proposed government ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s “unnecessary and draconian” in comments reported in the Daily Mail.

Out of pocket...And Kate Andrews spoke to Sky News following reports of a gender pay gap in pocket money. Kate argued the research had a number of flaws.

Do we need a welfare state?

On our blog this week, former IEA Research intern Carolin Bollig asks if we ‘need a welfare state at all?’.

This post concludes her four-part series investigating the flawed implementation and design of Universal Credit (UC) as well as similar problems in other welfare systems.

Carolin writes that while Universal Credit has enhanced efficiency “there remains room for improvement in order to bring as many people back into employment as possible, and debates fought in other countries can be an inspiration here”.

Read Carolin’s full post here.

Job Opportunity!

Interested in working for the UK’s original free-market think tank? This may be your chance!

We are currently recruiting for a new Operations Officer, a full-time entry level position to start in October 2019.

The role will involve manning the reception desk at the IEA and managing all aspects of our front-of-house service, ensuring the IEA’s office environment and operational systems meet a high level of professionalism. It will also entail managing various operational tasks and assisting all aspects of the IEA when necessary.

Applications will be accepted until August 16th. Learn more about the post, and how to apply, here.

You're Invited!

Canvassing Opinions...

The IEA is pleased to announce our partnership with the Big Tent Ideas Festival.

Big Tent brings together people from all backgrounds and political affiliations for a day of political and cultural debate to consider how to tackle some of society’s most serious challenges.

This year the festival will be held at the Mudchute Park & Farm in Tower Hamlets on Saturday, 31 August 2019.

The IEA will be hosting a 10:20am panel on ‘Capitalism - Success or Failure?’ including participants Lee Rowley MP and Miatta Fahnbulleh of the New Economics Foundation.

To purchase a ticket for the Big Tent Ideas Festival, click here.

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