From petrol prices to food, energy bills to your tax bill – the cost of everything is increasing. But is the worst yet to come on the cost of living crisis? And is there anything the government can do about it?
Speakers:
Mike Denham (Chair), Chairman, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Stephen Bush, Associate Editor and Columnist, Financial Times
Miriam Cates MP
Alex Morton, Director of Strategy, Institute of Economic Affairs
John O’Connell, Chief Executive, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Smoking, it is said, costs the UK over £13bn a year. A potentially addictive habit that can damage people’s health, the Government wants England to be ‘smoke free’ by 2030. Now the market offers a range of reduced risk products, is it time to ban cigarettes for good or should the principles of choice and personal responsibility remain paramount?
Speakers:
Simon Clark (Chair), Director, Forest
Baroness Fox, Director, Academy of Ideas
Lord Moylan
Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, Institute of Economic Affairs
Monday, 3rd October | 14.00-15.00 Hosted by the IEA & RSSB
What does the next decade look like for rail? What progress has been made so far with the transition to the Great British Railways body, and what should the new government be doing to address the challenges ahead?
Speakers:
Mark Littlewood (Chair), Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs
Mary Grant, CEO, Porterbrook
Chris Loder MP
Huw Merriman MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee
What are the benefits of broadening drug policy beyond the misuse of drugs? Psilocybin’s proven to treat cluster migraines. Cannabis has been shown to treat Alzheimer’s and multiple mental health conditions. Is now the time to move to more evidence-based drug policy, or are these still hazardous substances that pose a risk to public health?
Chris Snowdon (Chair), Head of lifestyle economics, Institute of Economic Affairs
Tara Austin, Consulting partner, Ogilvy Behavioural Science Practice
Crispin Blunt MP, Chairman of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group
Matthew Lesh, Head of Public Policy, Institute of Economic Affairs
The UK needs a skills agenda to boost productivity, create green jobs, drive innovation and ease the burden on taxpayers. Should there be more vocational pathways which offer more opportunity for social mobility? Is more focus needed on upskilling and reskilling to build the industries of the future? As well as reform, do we need a cultural shift that sees apprenticeships enjoy the same social status as degrees?
Speakers:
John O’Connell (Chair), Chief Executive, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Chris Clarkson MP
Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP
Jasmine Hudson, Chief People Officer, Mitie
Rt Hon Lord Willetts FRS, President, Resolution Foundation
Does the drive to net zero punish the poorest in society? Is maintaining the 2050 target unrealistic considering the growing threat to energy security? Or is net zero the only way to combat climate change and would the economic, social, and environmental costs be far greater if we abandoned the policy?
Speakers:
Emily Carver, Acting Director of Communications, Institute of Economic Affairs
Bim Afolami MP
Steve Baker MP, Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
Soumaya Keynes, Britain Economics Editor, The Economist
Andy Mayer, COO and Energy Analyst, Institute of Economic Affairs
After almost three decades of council tax, is it still the best way to fund local councils and services? Are councils doing the best they can with the resources they have? Does a cap in rises protect local taxpayers or encourage consistent increases? Are unitaries the future?
Speakers:
John O’Connell (Chair), Chief Executive, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Cllr Ben Bradley MP, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council & Member of Parliament for Mansfield
Cllr Charles Fifield Cheshire West & Chester Unitary Borough Council
Cllr Joanne Laban, councillor, Ridgeway Ward, Enfield Council & Local Government Association, Cities and Regions Board Member
Paul Scully MP, Minister for London and Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Some say free speech has taken a hammering in recent years. Online, on university campuses, and in advertising, the voices of censorship seem to grow ever louder. But does this reflect reality? And how can free speech advocates defend the rights to speak, offend and oppose, from those who set out to silence criticism, dissent and offence?
Speakers:
John O’Connell (Chair), Chief Executive, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Marc Glendening, Head of Cultural Affairs, Institute of Economic Affairs
Eric Kaufmann, Professor of politics, Birkbeck, University of London
Mark Littlewood| is the Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Since 2009, Mark has overseen the expansion of the IEA’s influence and media profile. Mark appears regularly on TV and Radio, often featuring as a guest on flagship political programmes such as BBC Question Time, Newsnight, Sky News and the Today Programme. He also holds a regular segment on Times Radio and writes a bi-weekly column for The Times.
In the months since Brexit, the British government has moved assertively to demonstrate its commitment to free trade. The U.K. recently announced an agreement in principle for a free trade agreement with Japan, and it has negotiated a wide range of continuity agreements with existing trading partners. But the U.K.’s most significant negotiating partner as a newly-independent trading nation is the United States. The fourth round of the Anglo-American negotiations have concluded, and both sides have announced their determination to reach an agreement. Join Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade, as she headlines a panel that includes Shanker Singham and Dan Hannan that will examine the UK-US negotiations and their place in Britain’s broader return to its historic role as a free trading nation after Brexit.
Ted Bromund (chair) | Senior Research Fellow in Anglo‑American Relations Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, Heritage Foundation
Rt Hon Liz Truss MP | Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities
Shanker Singham | CEO of the Competere Group, Chairman of Global Vision UK, a former cleared advisor to USTR and the UK Trade Secretary, and Chairman of GENN (Global Economic Neural Networks)
Dan Hannan | UK trade adviser, President of the Initiative for Free Trade and Visiting Professor at the University of Francisco Marroquín
ThinkTent 2025 