NEWS
Sam Bowman's comments on the rise in minimum wage for apprentices features in CityAM
Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman was quoted in City AM on the minimum wage rise for apprenticeships.
And Sam Bowman from the Adam Smith Institute said it could do long- term harm to would-be apprentices. “Raising the minimum wage usually hurts people’s job prospects because it makes them costlier to employ,” he said. “The apprentice National Minimum Wage is very low to reflect that training apprentices is costly to employers.”
Ahead of the Budget, Sam Bowman discusses changes to annuities on Sky News
Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman spoke to Sky News about Osborne's plan to allow pensioners to cash in existing annuities on Sky News.
Sam Bowman defends zero-hours contracts on BBC Look North
Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman highlighted the benefits zero-hours contracts for workers who need flexibility on BBC Look North.
Kate Andrews comments on YouGov's nationalism poll in CityAM
Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute Kate Andrews was quoted in City AM on YouGov's recent nationalisation poll.
Head of Communications at the free market Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, told City A.M.:YouGov's poll question was rooted in fantasy: it's easy to choose ideology over pragmatism when you're guaranteed a high standard of service in either case. But the public and private sector do not offer the same standards of service.
Railways, utilities, and many of the other services polled by YouGov have proven to be more expensive and less efficient when run by the state. As long as policy is determined by ideological biases towards providers, consumers will continue to get the short end of the stick.
Press Release: Labour's energy policy misconceived and irresponsible
For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Head of Communications Kate Andrews: kate@adamsmith.org | 07584 778207 Commenting on Ed Miliband's upcoming announcement on energy policy, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman said:
The recent collapse in wholesale oil prices and the resulting fall in retail energy prices has highlighted Labour's price freeze policy as misconceived and irresponsible. Energy companies raised prices when Labour first announced this policy and it is possible that prices would be falling more quickly now if these firms did not have to safeguard against a price freeze under a Labour government.
According to Ofgem, 46% of the cost of a dual fuel bill is wholesale costs, which British energy firms have no control over at all. Network costs, operating costs and taxes account for almost all the rest of energy bills, with only 5% going to energy firms as profit.
Fixing a price that is almost entirely driven by shifts in the global market is stupid and counterproductive and is likely only to hurt consumers through brownouts and higher prices in the long term.
The Adam Smith Institute is an independent free market think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.
Kate Andrews calls for further deficit reduction on Channel 4 News
Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, spoke to Channel 4 News about how the UK's financial priority should be to cut the deficit. Starts 2:58
Author of ASI paper "The Green Noose" argues for rolling back the Green Belt on BBC Radio 4
Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute and author of “The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform”, Tom Papworth, spoke to BBC Radio 4 about the benefits of rolling back the green belt to make room for the millions of homes needed to solve London's housing crisis. Listen to the interview here. (Starts 05:52)
The ASI report, The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform, looks at the Green Belt’s impact on England’s housing shortage. After a comprehensive review of the causes of the housing crisis, it concludes that the planning structure is out of date and in need of radical reform.
Press Release: Plain packaging vote marks illiberal new extension of nanny state
For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Head of Communications, at kate@adamsmith.org / 07584 778207. Commenting on today's vote in favour of plain packaging in the House of Commons, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman said:
Today's vote marks an illiberal new extension of the nanny state.
Plain packaging infringes on people’s freedom of expression, curbing the rights of adults to advertise and be advertised to. It seems likely that things like alcohol and fatty foods will be next, and plain packaging is probably a step towards a complete ban on smoking in public.
Even the public health lobby must admit that freedom of expression should only be curbed in extreme circumstances, but plain packaging does not work on its own terms. After its introduction in Australia, household expenditures on tobacco rose, and illicit tobacco seizures rose by 60 percent. The tobacco industry opposes plain packaging because it shifts smokers to cheaper brands, not because it deters them from smoking overall.
The public health lobby simply does not care about people’s freedom to smoke or drink or eat fatty foods. Freedom of expression is being thrown under the bus in the name of ‘public health’. Anyone who values their personal freedoms, whether they are smokers or not, should oppose plain packaging.
The Adam Smith Institute is an independent free market think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.
Dr Eamonn Butler highlights the inefficiencies and expenses of 'Buying British" on BBC Radio Sheffield
Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Dr Eamonn Butler, spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield about the benefits of a global economy, which enable consumers to buy cheaper, better products from specialised vendors throughout the world. He argued that too much emphasis is put on 'Buying British', when often it is more expensive and less efficient to do so. Listen to the full interview here. (Starts 01:24:10)
Sam Bowman calls for an overhaul of the UK's planning system on ITV Tonight
Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Sam Bowman, appeared on ITV Tonight's programme "Britain's Housing Crisis" and called for planning reform to allow building on small parts of the Green Belt; such a strategy would bring down the cost of land, and in turn, bring down the cost of housing.
Media contact:
emily@adamsmith.org
Media phone: 07584778207
Archive
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007