Is DEI Dead?

Plus: The abolition of NHS England & single-issue campaigners resist solutions

In today’s newsletter:

• Is DEI dead?

• The abolition of NHS England

• Why do so many campaigners hate practical solutions?

and more….

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It has been a positive week for those of us who believe in a smaller state (relatively speaking, that is). The Prime Minister called for fundamental reform, declaring ‘we don’t want a bigger state, or an intrusive state, an ever-expanding state’, and pledged to abolish the ‘biggest quango in the country’, NHS England. We will have to wait and see how far this rhetoric will amount to substantive action. Abolishing NHS England is probably on balance an improvement, because Ministers should have substantive control over the things they are responsible for. But it doesn’t address the fundamental issue: Ministers should be responsible for a whole lot less.

NHS England wasn’t the only QUANGO in the news this week. There has also been a positive development at the financial regulators the FCA and PRA, which have announced they are dropping plans to impose diversity and inclusion requirements on regulated companies. The fact that this was ever on the cards is a significant problem. That it should ever be the role of a state-mandated regulator to impose rules on companies about diversity and inclusion requirements is symptomatic of how unfocused and unwieldy our regulators have become. We should welcome the retreat.

The reasons they gave for the reverse turn were short, but obvious.

In light of the broad range of feedback received, expected legislative developments and to avoid additional burdens on firms at this time, the FCA and PRA have no plans to take the work further.

Anyone could have told them about the negative impacts of the additional burden on firms years ago. Indeed, we did.

It is step in the right direction regardless, and perhaps a sign of things to come. Is the Chancellor’s push to the regulators to focus on growth starting to land? Or are the regulators responding to the so-called ‘vibe-shift’, no longer expecting the credit for taking action on diversity and inclusion they may have once courted?

Either way, lets hope others take note.

Callum Price
Director of Communications

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P.S. The best way to never miss out on IEA work, get access to exclusive content, and support our research and educational programmes is to become a paid IEA Insider.

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IEA Podcast: Director of Communications Callum Price, Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz, and Communications Manager Reem Ibrahim discuss DEI, tobacco duties, and the abolition of NHS England, IEA YouTube

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NEW REPORT: Not Invented Here

By Christopher Snowdon, Zion Lights, and Kristian Niemietz

• Single-issue campaigners claim to want to tackle big issues – including obesity, climate change, and smoking – but often reject real solutions on ideological grounds.

• Anti-obesity campaigners claim that obesity costs the UK £98bn a year, yet many dismiss weight-loss drugs proven to reduce body weight by 15-20% – clinging instead to failed draconian bans and taxes.

• Nuclear energy is the most reliable way to cut carbon emissions, yet environmental activists oppose it – backing expensive renewables instead.

• Pragmatic solutions to smoking, excessive drinking, high food prices, and housing shortages also exist but face institutional opposition from many activists.

• Policymakers should seek evidence-based solutions to problems, instead of capitulating to ideological interest groups.

Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“Some activists genuinely want to find the best way to solve problems but, as this research shows, many of them really want to dismantle capitalism, destroy various industries and reshape the world in their image. Environmental campaigners who oppose nuclear power, like public health activists who oppose safer nicotine products and alcohol-free beer, have outed themselves as ideological zealots who don’t really want a solution.”

• The truth about blinkered single-issue campaigners, Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon, The Spectator

• Why Campaign Groups HATE real solutions, Director of Communications Callum Price and Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon, IEA Briefing

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News, Views & Upcoming Events

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UK should cut tariffs unilaterally, Executive Director Tom Clougherty quoted in the Telegraph

An influential economics think tank has attacked Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Tom Clougherty, executive director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Tariffs are an act of economic self-harm. Our response to the US harming its own consumers should not be to follow suit. Much better to stick to a principled, free trade approach.

“If all options really are on the table, the British Government should actually be thinking about unilateral trade liberalisation, to protect consumers from increased prices.

“It may be counter-intuitive, but that would be the pro-growth option.”

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Is the sugar tax to blame for the slushy drinks scare?, Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon, The Spectator

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Heat pump believer or sceptic? How the mundane appliance divided Britain, Energy Analyst Andy Mayer quoted in the Telegraph

Andy Mayer, of the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, agrees that meddling with electricity and gas prices to entice more homeowners to install heat pumps won’t work either. “The Government has been trying this for years, and the public keep saying no,” he says. “This is because gas boilers work, and electricity is three to five times more expensive than gas.”

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So long, NHS England, and thanks for nothing, Public Policy Fellow Matthew Lesh, CapX

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Labour warned it could spell death of the corner shop with new controversial bill, Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon quoted in The Express

Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told Express.co.uk any increased costs incurred for local businesses "could be the death of the law-abiding corner shop".

"The government is driving millions of people towards the black market and leaving local councils to pick up the pieces.

"The tsunami of illicit sales caused by excessive tobacco duty will grow even bigger in June when disposable vapes are banned. No amount of enforcement can put this genie back in the bottle.

"High taxes and over-regulation have led to a black market with no regulation and low prices."

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