IEA Podcast

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz and Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc to break down three taxes that dominated the news this week: the wealth tax, new customs duties on small parcels, and the land value tax.
They start with the wealth tax, prompted by Gary Stevenson’s Channel 4 documentary, examining his 2% levy on assets above £10 million and challenging the claim that wealth inequality is spiralling out of control. They then turn to the Government’s plan to extend customs duties to packages under £135 from 2028, dubbed the “Teemu tax,” and explain why the cost usually lands on the consumer rather than the foreign seller. The conversation closes with the land value tax, drawing on Dan Neidle’s recent report, weighing its efficiency case against the practical difficulty of transitioning from the current system without creating regional winners and losers.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.


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In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan interviews Matthew Elliott, Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell, president of the Jobs Foundation and former chief executive of Vote Leave. The conversation covers the ten-year anniversary of Vote Leave, marked by Elliott’s new book, and traces his path from Taxpayers Alliance founder to running the successful campaign against the alternative vote system, which he treated as a trial run for the EU referendum.
Elliott discusses the internal tensions of the Leave campaign, including his account of clashes with Arron Banks and Leave.EU, the case for designation as the official Leave campaign, and the financial disadvantage Vote Leave faced against Remain. He shares his views on campaign strategy, including distilling messages down to their essence and hiring for enthusiasm over experience. The discussion also covers the aftermath of the referendum, including his frustration with Theresa May’s handling of Brexit negotiations and his assessment of what a Boris Johnson, Michael Gove or other leadership might have achieved differently.
The interview concludes with a look at what has and has not been delivered since Brexit, including missed opportunities on deregulation and the habitats directive, and Elliott’s argument that the UK still lacks a Government able to make the case for growth. The conversation ends with reflections on the individuals who shaped the Leave campaign and Elliott’s final policy pick if he were in charge for a day.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit economicaffairs.co.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan interviews Michael Simmons, economics editor of The Spectator, about whether Britain has really been a neoliberal economy for the past forty years, or whether that claim gets the diagnosis badly wrong. The conversation covers the rise of regulation and price controls since the financial crisis, the perception gap between how wealthy people think Britain is and the fiscal reality, and why voters consistently overestimate profit margins at supermarkets and the NHS.
Michael argues that living standards stalled not because of neoliberalism but because Britain stopped being a free market economy, drifting into a more heavily controlled and interventionist system well before the pandemic accelerated the trend. The pair discuss what a serious fiscal crisis might look like for the UK, comparing the sharp but effective austerity in Ireland with the drawn out and less successful approach in Greece, and consider whether Britain would follow the Irish or the Greek path if the bond markets turned. They also examine the political incentives that make honest arguments for smaller government difficult to sustain in office.
The discussion closes with a wider look at the “socialism has never been tried” argument, comparing outcomes in North and South Korea and in East and West Germany, and asking why economic evidence so rarely changes public opinion.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit economicaffairs.co.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by IEA Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz. The panel discusses the Clacton by-election and the rise of joke candidates, the very different ways the populist left and right use the word “establishment,” the debate sparked by J.D. Vance over whether GDP is the right measure of a country’s success, and the Government’s proposals to make platforms promote public service broadcasters online.
Callum, Lord Hannan and Kristian Niemietz begin with Nigel Farage’s resignation as an MP to force a by-election in Clacton, and what the contest reveals about how “anti-establishment” politics means very different things depending on which side is using it. They move on to a defence of economic growth, arguing that GDP scepticism usually rests on a strawman version of economics that no real economist holds, and that growth is what has given people leisure time, labour-saving technology and rising living standards. The conversation ends on the Government’s new Green Paper, which would require social media platforms to prioritise BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 content, and what that means for free expression, drawing on John Stuart Mill’s case for free speech and examples of “high status misinformation,” including claims about NHS privatisation and wealth inequality.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit economicaffairs.co.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Director General Lord Hannan speaks with Katherine Rich, Chief Executive of BusinessNZ and a former National Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. The conversation covers the difference between being pro-market and merely pro-business, New Zealand’s decades-long shift towards deregulation, the rise of populism across Anglosphere politics, the long-term economic and social effects of Covid lockdowns, and the state of free trade in an increasingly protectionist world.
Katherine explains how BusinessNZ, representing around 70,000 businesses, tries to resist the pull towards vested interests and protectionism that so often creeps into business lobbying. She and Lord Hannan compare New Zealand’s proportional voting system, which has produced separate parties for libertarian, conservative and populist voters, with Britain’s first past the post system. They also discuss the lasting damage from lockdowns, including welfare dependency, shoplifting and a coarsening of public life, and Katherine sets out why New Zealand’s export driven economy has had to stay nimble in the face of tariffs and rising protectionism, including a debate on the case for closer trade and travel ties between the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit economicaffairs.co.uk/subscribe