Author of "The Green Noose" features in The Economist's documentary on Britain's housing crisis

The Economist's new documentary on Britain's housing crisis "A home of one's own" has featured ASI Senior Fellow and author of ASI paper The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform, Tom Papworth:

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 After a comprehensive review of the causes of the housing crisis, it concludes that the planning structure is out of date and in need of radical reform.

The ASI's criticism of Labour's pledge to cap rents features in The Daily Mail and The Sun Online

Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman was quoted in The Daily Mail and The Sun Online criticising Labour's pledge to cap rents from rising above-inflation for the next three years.

From The Daily Mail:

Sam Bowman, of the Adam Smith Institute think-tank, said rent controls were ‘a stunningly bad idea that could clobber renters’.

He said they would give landlords a huge incentive to raise rents at the start of a tenancy, adding: ‘Labour has unwittingly announced a policy that could devastate cities and exacerbate the housing crisis.’

Read the full article here.

From The Sun Online: 

But experts lined up to savage the left-wing idea, claiming it will devastate the rental market and could even lead to higher charges for tenants.

Sam Bowman, of think tank the Adam Smith Institute, said: “Labour has unwittingly announced a policy that could devastate Britain’s cities and exacerbate the housing crisis."

Read the full article here.

The ASI's criticism of Labour’s pledge to cap rents features in The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post

Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman was quoted in The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post criticising Labour’s pledge to cap rents from rising above-inflation for the next three years. From The Scotsman:

Think-Tank hits out at Labour rent caps

Labour leader Ed Miliband’s pledge to cap above-inflation rent rises for three years if elected is a “stunningly bad” idea that could hurt those it is meant to help, a free market think-tank said yesterday.

The Adam Smith Institute said it would “shift risk from landlords to tenants” because it encouraged landlords to “price in” rent rises at the beginning of the tenancy.

Deputy director of the institute Sam Bowman said: “Labour has unwittingly announced a policy that could devastate Britain’s cities and exacerbate the housing crisis."

From the Yorkshire Post:

But introducing rent control was called “a stunningly bad idea that could clobber renters” and “devastate” cities, by the free-market Adam Smith Institute think tank.

Read the full article here.

ASI comments on Labour's pledge to cap rents picked up by Associated Press

Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman was quoted by The Associated Press criticising Labour’s pledge to cap rents from rising above-inflation for the next three years. The quote has featured in over 90 local print outlets.

But any rent control was called " a stunningly bad idea that could clobber renters" and "devastate" cities, by the free-market Adam Smith Institute think tank.

Deputy director Sam Bowman said the Labour proposals were "less harmful" than those criticised by Lindbeck "but shift risks from landlords to tenants.

"They incentivise landlords to price in expected rent rises at the beginning of the tenancy, so if rents fail to rise as quickly as expected, the tenant is left paying more than they would need to.

"Labour has unwittingly announced a policy that could devastate Britain's cities and exacerbate the housing crisis.

"If Labour want to reduce housing costs for renters, it should advocate planning reform to increase supply so that the price of housing drops in real terms."

Press Release: Rent caps could devastate British cities and clobber renters

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Head of Communications Kate Andrews: kate@adamsmith.org | 07584 778207 Commenting on Labour’s pledge to cap above-inflation rent rises for three years, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman said:

Rent control is a stunningly bad idea that could clobber renters.

Rent caps come in two forms. The ‘first generation’ kind, which simply puts a ceiling on rents, can utterly destroy entire districts as landlords have no incentive to maintain their properties. These have been deemed by the Swedish (socialist) economist Assar Lindbeck to be “the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city except for bombing".

‘Second generation’ rent controls are what Labour seem to be proposing, and are less harmful, but shift risks from landlords to tenants. They incentivize landlords to price in expected rent rises at the beginning of the tenancy, so if rents fail to rise as quickly as expected, the tenant is left paying more than they would need to.

Labour has unwittingly announced a policy that could devastate Britain’s cities and exacerbate the housing crisis. If Labour want to reduce housing costs for renters, it should advocate planning reform to increase supply so that the price of housing drops in real terms.

Notes to editors:

The Adam Smith Institute is an free-market, libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Ben Southwood discusses UK deficit reduction on BBC Scotland 2015

Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute Ben Southwood debated the importance of deficit reduction in the UK on BBC Scotland 2015. Watch the full interview here. (Starts 4:36)

If Eurogroup meetings fail, is a Greek default inevitable? - Sam Bowman leans YES in CityAM

Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute Sam Bowman took part in the CityAM debate, arguing that failed Eurogroup meetings would make a Greek default more likely:

No country has pulled back from a peacetime debt-to-GDP ratio as high as Greece’s 175 per cent without defaulting. Its options are to grow out of debt, default unilaterally, or restructure its debt in cooperation with the Eurogroup. With the last of these off the cards, it may push for growth. But the country is in a state of near-perpetual deflation, which means that, even if it did have growth, it would still not be enough to boost its nominal GDP growth to the 4.9 per cent the Eurogroup believes is needed to start paying down its debts. Big supply-side liberalisations seem unlikely under Syriza, and certainly not on the scale necessary to deliver the growth a deflationary Greece would need to change its borrowing trajectory. However, absent debt servicing costs, it is running a budget surplus. If it defaulted, it may not need to worry about borrowing for now. If debt restructuring is truly off the table, a unilateral default may look very tempting.

Read the full debate here.

Kate Andrews debates the future of the NHS on BBC Radio Kent

Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, took part in a 30 minute debate on BBC Radio Kent about the future of the NHS and the role of privatization. Listen to the debate here. (Starts 2:29:50)

Is Google's dominance actually dangerous? - Charlotte Bowyer argues NO in City AM

Head of Digital Policy at the Adam Smith Institute, Charlotte Bowyer, argues that Google's online prominence isn't something to worry about in the CityAM Forum Debate:

There’s no denying that Google’s empire is vast. But the question is whether the prioritisation of its own services within search is actually bad for consumers. Many rival facilities exist, yet despite heavy investment and the promotion of services like Yahoo’s Bing, EU consumers just aren’t that interested. This suggests that people simply find Google’s search function superior, or enjoy the efficiency of its integrated services. But the way in which we access information and entertainment is evolving. Personal Assistant services like Siri are designed to compete with traditional search, while consumers are increasingly turning “in-app” to services like Facebook, Instagram and even Snapchat for news and recommendations. Many once-popular services and tech companies fall out of favour with time. With so many alternatives out there, there’s no reason to assume that Google’s current dominance is anti-competitive, or even guaranteed to continue.

Read the full article here.

Kate Andrews argues against minimum alcohol pricing on BBC The Big Questions

Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, appeared on BBC One’s The Big Questions to debate whether drinkers need to 'pay their way'. She argued that drinkers are already paying their way and that increasing the price of alcohol serves as a regressive tax that hurts the least well-off and contributes to the cost of living crisis. Watch the full episode here. (Segment on minimum alcohol pricing starts 22:50)