A judicial review of Britain's liberties would give the Conservatives a programme of reforms and help David Cameron establish his pro-liberty credentials, says Madsen Pirie.
Released to coincide with a seminar event at the Conservative Party Conference on 7 October 2009, this paper argues that while Governments and regulators invariably claim that regulations are introduced for the most laudable of reasons, regulations often have unforeseen and highly damaging consequences. This paper discusses some striking examples of this trend across a spectrum of business and social sectors, ranging from banking and finance to health and safety regulations.
Vince Cable’s proposed ‘mansion tax’ on high-value homes has come in for a lot of flack. But is it justified?
With plans from the Conservative Party to increase the amount of government information the public can access, Anton Howes considers the value of these moves for political reform.
ASI Fellow, Tim Worstall responds to Lord Layard's latest proposal on National Happiness.
Dr Madsen Pirie welcomes Ben Bradshaw's call to halt the endless and market-distorting expansion of the BBC.
Dr Madsen Pirie in reply to the Archbishop of Canterbury, sets out that Capitalism has lifted more people from poverty and hunger than any other force in history, including religion.
In Regulatory Corporatism: Lord Turner and the Tobin Tax financial analyst Miles Saltiel attacks the idea of a 'Tobin tax' on financial transactions, calling it "misguided", "unfounded" and "incoherent". As well as being unrealistic – such a tax could only be implemented after widespread international agreement – Saltiel says the Tobin tax is a distraction from the reforms the financial sector really needs. Indeed, by guaranteeing government a bigger slice of banks' profits, it would encourage politicians to accept the too-big-to-fail, near-monopolies that have emerged in the banking sector over the last economic cycle.
The Adam Smith Institute is the UK’s leading libertarian think tank...
