Ireland legalises medicinal cannabis and the ASI gets more press coverage

As Ireland becomes the latest country to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis for certain medical conditions, The Adam Smith Institute's Tide Effect paper received yet more coverage, months after its release.

The Express, The Sun, The Times and The Mirror all mentioned the report released by The Adam Smith Institute and Volteface, which was backed by a cross-party group of MPs, including former deputy prime minster Nick Clegg and former health minister Norman Lamb.

A step in the right direction, but the housing White Paper is still a missed opportunity says Ben Southwood

In response to the government's housing White Paper released today Ben Southwood, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

UK housing has needed a shake-up for decades, and although today’s White Paper is a welcome step in the right direction, it might well be remembered as a missed opportunity.

Sajid Javid seems to understand Britain’s housing problems in a way that previous communities secretaries have not. However, many of the bold ideas that had been floated in the past few months have been dropped, presumably because not all his colleagues recognise the scale of the problem.

The government now finally acknowledges that housing demand is local—building housing in Doncaster or Rochdale will not relieve pressure in Cambridge or Bristol. It also understands that density does not have to mean Brutalist tower blocks, and it sees building in popular styles—such as mansion blocks and terraced houses—as one way to overcome local opposition to development.

But ultimately this is not the white paper we were hoping for. Knowing the problems is not the same as solving them, and changing council targets may end up having no appreciable impact on the market as a whole.

Seeing the green belt as a last resort for development is another mistake: much of it is ugly scrap land or intensive farmland with little amenity and high environmental costs. It is also an error to force developers to rapidly build on any sites they have permission for—the only reason they don’t do this already is our strict planning laws, and raising the costs of building further may actually prevent needed developments."

Like many others, we’re disappointed: there’s very little today that tackles the green belt, height restrictions, or perverse incentives that make people oppose development. But it would be a mistake to let that blind us to the steps forward in this, small as they may be.

For further comment or to arrange and interview please email flora@adamsmith.org.

Ministers let the green belt slide in housing white paper

As Sajid Javid “reaffirm[s] this government's commitment to the green belt” in the housing white paper, City AM covered Executive Director Sam Bowman's disappointment about the lack of change:

"Only a tiny amount of the UK's green belt would need to be freed up - less than two per cent to give us room for more than a million new homes. Britain has some of the smallest and most expensive homes in Europe, and a family-friendly Conservative government must create space for new homes to be built by the private sector."

The Independent also covered Head of Research Ben Southwood's comment:

"Like many others, we’re disappointed: there’s very little today that tackles the green belt, height restrictions, or perverse incentives that make people oppose development. But it would be a mistake to let that blind us to the steps forward in this, small as they may be."

Comment also appeared in The Sun, Financial Times, and The Sunday Times in print.

Sam Bowman's essay in The Conservative

As The New Statesman covered a week in the life of Daniel Hannan, they also mentioned one of the "significant Conservative figures" contributing to The Conservative, "a quarterly journal... sponsored by the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe", of which Hannan is editor-in-chief.

Sam Bowman's article "Making Immigration A Force For Good" is available on The Conservative Online.

The greenbelt isn't all green, says the ASI in The Sun

After the release of the housing white paper, The Sun reported The Adam Smith's calculation - that 1.4million more families could get on the housing ladder if our nation’s politicians let us build on just 1.5 per cent of this protected land encircling our bigger cities - to put forward the argument that this country needs to relax planning restrictions in order to combat the housing crisis at its roots.

Are millennials paid too much?

Sam Bowman says it's none of our business on Sky News.

Press Comment: Renationalisation is a complete red herring

In response to the potential renationalisation of Southern Rail, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, Ben Southwood, said:

“Renationalising Southern will not solve its problems: it’s already state-run for all intents and purposes. In fact, if it was still a franchise—as it was up till 2015—the company would likely have bought off the union, whether or not their concerns about drivers are operating doors are valid.

“The whole Southern palava is a bizarre case of everyone pulling the wool over everyone else’s eyes. The system is simply not run in a remotely private fashion, like Virgin on the East and West Coast Mainlines, or First with Great Western. It’s run like Arriva “runs” London buses—that means the government calls the shots and Govia Thameslink Railways simply does everything they ask, including on pricing, staffing, and revenues.

“Once again, renationalisation is a complete red herring - it's essentially already happened."

For further comment or to arrange and interview please contact flora@adamsmith.org.

Press Comment: The congestion charge isn't working - It's time for road pricing

Sam Dumitriu, Head of Projects, in praise of The London Transport Committee's suggestions to scrap the congestion charge and implement road pricing said:

The London Transport Committee are right to say that the congestion charge is 'no longer fit for purpose.

Congestion is costing the capital billions and proper road pricing could change that.
The current congestion charge is too low to meaningfully reduce congestion. Instead, it merely acts as a regressive tax on motorists. And it's too inflexible to nudge motorists into avoiding travel at peak times.

Road pricing means upping the charge during rush-hour and lowering it during the rest of the day. That would ensure delivery vans aren't contributing to sluggish traffic at peak times.
And it works. In London traffic flows on average at a painfully slow 7.2mph. In Singapore (the first country to implement road pricing) it flows at nearly 20mph and that's in rush hour.

London should follow Singapore's lead and bring in proper road-pricing.

For further comment or to request an interview please contact flora@adamsmith.org

Press Comment: Sam Bowman's reaction to May's Brexit speech

Sam Bowman, Executive Director  of the Adam Smith Institute, said:

The Prime Minister struck a welcome and surprisingly balanced tone in her Brexit speech today, emphasising the need for a deep, comprehensive deal with the European Union that removes tariff, regulatory and customs barriers to trade between the UK and the EU. Her preference for a phased withdrawal from the EU gives negotiators time to work out the details in reducing regulatory barriers to trade, and help to facilitate the British economy’s transition to the new arrangements in place.

The ‘global Britain’ angle is good news, too. Britain can be more nimble than the EU at negotiating free trade deals with the world’s largest economies, and we’re delighted that the Prime Minister sees Brexit as a chance to make Britain a world leader in free trade. As she rightly said, trade is not a zero sum game – the more open we are to it with both the EU and the rest of the world, the richer we’ll all be.

Ultimately, it is confirmation that she is looking to get a Brexit deal that can satisfy a majority of both Leavers and Remainers, uniting the country – a point that Mrs May stressed, to her credit. Some will be unhappy that she is not defaulting to WTO rules, some that she is leaving the single market. By striking a middle course between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ Brexit options, May will be attacked by die-hard Remainers and Leavers alike. But she should take heart: a good compromise leaves everyone mad.

For further comment or to arrange and interview please contact flora@adamsmith.org. 

ASI voice of reason in light of misleading Oxfam claims

Following the release of Oxfam's latest wealth statistics, Ben Southwood appeared across national and regional media debunking the story. He said:

"It is not the wealth of the world's rich that matters, but the welfare of the world's poor - and this is improving every year. The consumption of the world's poor continues to rise, as does their education, healthcare, and height."

His response was covered across the full spread of national newspapers, including The Daily Express, The Evening Standard, Metro, City A.M, The Sun and The Telegraph, as well as national magazines, such as The Spectator and The Week.

Ben was interviewed across BBC World News, Al Jazeera and the Victoria Derbyshire show, as well as being the voice of reason on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Wales, BBC World Service Radio, CNN International, Radio 5 Live and appearing in the hourly news bulletins across every BBC regional station.  

Finally, op-eds from ASI staff appeared in City AM, IB Times, Huffington Post and Verdict and CapX.