Happy Tax Freedom Day!

As of June 2024, this is out of date. Please refer to Tax Freedom Day 2024 for the updated statistics.

EVEN PRE-COVID TAX BURDEN HIGHER THAN AT ANY TIME SINCE 1995

Taxpayers worked 149 days for the Chancellor this year, today is the first day they start working for themselves

• Tax Freedom Day falls on May 30th the latest it's been since 1995

• Brits work 149 days of the year solely to pay taxes, 1 day more than last year, but as of today workers are earning for themselves

• UK Taxpayers will fork out over £773 billion to the Treasury this year, 41.17% of net national income

• But Tax Freedom Day is based on figures from before the economic and fiscal effects of COVID19 and the lockdown came into play

• Cost of Government Day, which factors in borrowing as well taxes is the earliest it has been since 2008. The UK is successfully bringing down the deficit, but spending is still too high.

• With tax demands at record highs, the way forward for growth at the end of lockdown cannot be to increase the burden on businesses but to reduce tax on the revenue generating private sector

• Recent polling showed 72% think that the Government should reduce taxes after the lockdown to try to increase economic growth and jobs, with fewer than one-in-ten (8%) disagreeing with reduced taxes.

Tax Freedom Day is a measure of when Britons stop paying tax and start putting their earnings into their own pocket. For 2020 the Adam Smith Institute has estimated that every penny the average person earned for working up to and including May 29th went to the taxman—from May 30th onwards they are finally earning for themselves. 

British taxpayers have worked a gruelling 149 days for the taxpayers this year. More than in any year under New Labour, and one day longer than last year. Britain’s tax burden is moving in the wrong direction.

Government tax choices fall on UK Taxpayers, this year they will fork out £773bn—representing 41.17% of net national income. 

Unfortunately for Britons, this Tax Freedom Day cannot yet take into account the tax costs of measures taken to tackle COVID19. All borrowing is a form of taxation deferred and the hundreds of billions of pounds borrowed to tackle this viral threat will only begin to be borne in future years and as the government begins to unlock economic activity. 

Tax Freedom Day remains over a month later than in the USA, and the UK has fallen behind Canada where their Tax Freedom day was on May 19 this year.

In April 2020 the Adam Smith Institute commissioned Survation between 15th - 16th April 2020  to undertake a nationally representative online poll of 1,001 UK adults (margin of error +-3.1%) to investigate the financial impact of the lockdown, views on developing an economic recovery and lockdown exit plan, and tax policy after the lockdown.

There is popular support for reducing taxes after the lockdown to help boost the economy and jobs. Younger cohorts are the most supportive of tax cuts after the lockdown. Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) think that the Government should reduce taxes after the lockdown to try to increase economic growth and jobs, while fewer than one-in-ten (8%) disagree with reducing taxes.

Of those aged 18-34, two-in-five (44%) “strongly support” lower taxes after the lockdown, compared to just one-third (33%) of those over the age of 65.

The Adam Smith Institute singled out tax and regulatory changes in a recent report, Winning the Peace, that would boost growth post-lockdown and the pay packets of Britons right across the country:

1. The UK Government should respond to dire warnings on unemployment by immediately raising the threshold for employer’s National Insurance to £12,500.

2. Abolish the Factory Tax, by allowing for the immediate full write off on capital investments, to encourage business investment. ASI estimates show abolishing the factory tax would boost investment by 8.1 percent, and labour productivity by 3.54 percent (£2,214 per worker) in the long-run.

3. Governments across the UK should abolish stamp duty (in Scotland the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax). Britain’s most damaging tax, Stamp Duty destroys 75p of wealth for every pound raised. 

Dr Eamonn Butler, Founder and Director of the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“Borrowing in a crisis is easy, making sure we balance the books and stop passing the buck to the next generation will be the hard bit. An economic recession and even the possibility of a depression cannot be ruled out. There will be calls for grand plans and spending like the clappers, but what we’ll actually need is the economic freedom to make choices for ourselves. We’ve all seen the damage in recent weeks of Whitehall deciding what’s good on our behalf. 

“As we remove short-term restrictions we also need to remove the long-run burdens of government on transactions, investment, employment and our access to goods and services. We should not risk turning the last few months we’ve lost into a whole lost decade.”   

Notes to editors:

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Matt Kilcoyne, Head of Communications, matt@adamsmith.org | 07904099599

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

Raab right to extend visa offer to BNO passport holders

Responding to Dominic Raab’s announcement that the UK will extend visa rights to BNO passport holders if China does not suspend plans for new security laws in Hong Kong, Matt Kilcoyne, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“Raab is right to extend the offer of a visa. It will remind China that the UK and the rest of the free world will not sit idly by while inalienable rights, that we legally guarantee, are removed. But let's not delude ourselves, the Chinese Communist Party has no intention of swaying from its course. 

”Britain needs now to be preparing to welcome those fleeing the scourge of communism for a new life in liberty and peace. The process of applying, getting a job, and starting that new life should be as easy as possible for as many as possible. All that come should have indefinite leave to remain from the first day of arrival. This is a test of the Prime Minister’s vision of a Global Britain. We welcome our fellow Britons with open arms from the get-go. Does Boris?”

For further comment or to arrange an interview, please contact him on 07904099599 or email matt@adamsmith.org

Slash tax and cut red tape to help Britain bounce back

A new paper from the neoliberal think tank the Adam Smith Institute argues that only boosting growth by cutting taxes and barriers to trade will ensure Britain’s economy bounces back from COVID19

• Government is now loosening the public health restrictions that have undermined economic activity through a phased plan. The focus must now turn to how to successfully unfreeze the British economy.

• As the lockdown eases, focus must shift from redistributing a shrinking economic pie to expanding the economy by embracing private sector entrepreneurship and innovation, and earned success to get people back to work.

• Ongoing welfare should be broad-based and focused on helping individuals, not on bailouts to politically favoured companies.

• Extraordinary emergency measures to “freeze” the economy that undermine long-run prosperity must not be allowed to become permanent.

• The ASI has produced 30 policies to help boost transactions, investment, employment and access to goods and services

UK Government pandemic measures rightly focused on reducing the level of physical contact between people, while fiscal measures have focused on dialling down and switching off in parts for the duration of this crisis, with the corresponding logic being that when lockdown restrictions end that we can simply “switch the economy back on.” It is hoped that the economy will experience a “V-shape” recession.

The Adam Smith Institute argues that, while this would be ideal, it is by no means guaranteed with the risks of mass firm failure and an economic recession turning into a debt laden depression growing week by week. 

This lockdown marks not only the first time countries have actively tried to freeze an economy for a long unplanned period of time, but also the first time trying to unfreeze. This will raise many unforeseen challenges.

The think tank argues that the UK must change attitude from economic lockdown to delivering on future prosperity now. In line with social distancing measures, this will mean withdrawing temporary corporate welfare measures, being flexible and not excessively prescriptive, and supporting people not failing businesses. Ultimately, they argue, it will be economic growth that delivers prosperity. 

People who become jobless during a recession find it difficult to find future employment, as their skills and professional networks weaken. Young people, particularly those with higher skills, who enter the workforce during a recession have been found to have lower long-run lower earnings. This is what causes the “scarring” effect of lockdown. 

In order to reduce the economic costs to wider society from the effects of the lockdown’s restrictions on private enterprise, the government must look now at how, as restrictions are lifted the government can boost:

1. Transactions — the ability of private individuals and firms to buy and sell;

2. Investment — the purchase of goods and services that to enable future growth;

3. Employment — the ability to enter contacts between employers and an employees; and

4. Access to goods and services — the availability and the liberty to consume products.

The free market think tanks says that the next stage of the recovery will require a new approach guided by following six principles:

• Prosperity: The focus must shift from redistributing a shrinking economic pie to expanding the pie by embracing private sector entrepreneurship and innovation, and earned success to get people back to work.

• Temporariness: Extraordinary emergency measures to “freeze” the economy that undermine long-run prosperity must not be allowed to become permanent.

• Flexibility: Existing ways of thinking will not suffice, it is necessary to be adaptive to circumstance, pursue industry-specific measures and implement radical policies.

• Common sense, not micro-management: The state should not seek to micromanage the reopening of the economy, but rather encourage businesses to adapt to new circumstances.

• Supporting people, not businesses: Support should be broad-based and focused on helping individuals, not on bailouts to politically favoured companies.

• Accepting failure: The economic structure and businesses must adapt to new circumstances; this will mean accepting some previously viable firms are no longer sustainable.

The free market think tank makes 30 recommendations including scrapping transactions taxes like Stamp Duty to restart the housing market, extending permitted development rights to ensure empty office space is turned into homes in inner city areas, reduced taxes on bringing in capital from overseas, scrapping investment taxes to encourage inward investment in manufacturing to rebalance the UK economy, and allowing Britain’s pubs and cafes to operate in the country’s parks. 

With new figures out showing those claiming unemployment benefit has increased to 2.1m even with the furlough scheme, the think tank says employment taxes should be scrapped with the employers’ National Insurance threshold raised to £12,500 (employers currently pay 13.8% on every pound an employee earns over £7,488, with no cap). 

While the UK is better placed than many economies with more rigid labour markets and investment environments, recovery is by no means guaranteed. Private enterprises need stronger trading conditions to begin recouping revenue lost during the lockdown and to do this, the authors argue, British enterprises will need a concerted campaign by the government to reduce red tape and slash taxes reducing economic activity.

Matthew Kilcoyne, Deputy Director of Adam Smith Institute and co-author of the paper, says:

“If there’s ever been a moment to be bold, now is that time. British businesses have been held back from generating revenue but have been taking on debt throughout the lockdown. As we remove short-term restrictions we also need to remove the long-run burdens of government on transactions, investment, employment and our access to goods and services. Only by freeing the economy up will Boris be able to ensure that the country bounces back.”

Matthew Lesh, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute and co-author of the paper, says:

“The Government must now focus on how to unfreeze the economy and a return to prosperity. This will be no easy task. We have never tried to freeze an economy before in response to a pandemic, and nor have we tried to unfreeze one. To do so successfully will mean unleashing Britain's entrepreneurs and innovators with a radical agenda of tax and red tape cuts.”

Notes to editors:  

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Matt Kilcoyne: matt@adamsmith.org | 07904 099599.

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

Whither the economists while the economy withers under COVID19 lockdown?

With the release of the details of the make-up of the groups advising the government over the lockdown, it is now clear there is a sincere lack of economic expertise as our financial future teeters on the brink. The Adam Smith Institute’s Matt Kilcoyne calls on the government to engage now with economists:

“SAGE includes epidemiologists, psychologists, statisticians, environmental and adolescent scientists, sociologists, and hygiene experts. It does not, however, include a single macro or micro-economist.

“The lockdown is having a huge impact on our lives and livelihoods. Our wellbeing is intrinsically linked to our economic prosperity. Millions of jobs are on the line. Thousands of businesses are on the verge of collapse.

“It is essential that Government policy is based on a wide array of perspectives — but to exclude mainstream economics is a blindspot of exceptional proportions. It leaves gaps in ideas and solutions at a time when we cannot afford any mistakes to be made.” 

For further comment or to arrange an interview, please contact him on 07904099599 or email matt@adamsmith.org

Young hit hardest by lockdown, want tax cuts

The Adam Smith Institute commissioned Survation between 15th - 16th April 2020  to undertake a nationally representative online poll of 1,001 UK adults (margin of error +-3.1%) to investigate the financial impact of the lockdown, views on developing an economic recovery and lockdown exit plan, and tax policy after the lockdown. Five questions relating to the economy and people's personal finances during the lockdown were asked:

1. During the COVID-19 crisis, the UK government has issued a lockdown which has reduced business activity. To what extent, if at all, are you concerned about the impact of the lockdown on the economy?

2. Which of the following statements applies to you?

3. Which of the following statements reflects your view?

4. To what extent would you support or oppose the UK government developing a plan to reboot the economy and exit the lockdown once medical authorities deem it safe to do so?

5. To what extent would you support or oppose the UK government reducing taxes after lockdown ends to try and increase economic growth and jobs?

Nine-in-ten (89%) of respondents said they were concerned about the economic impact, compared to just 1-in-10 (9%) who are not.

A growing number of people are feeling the financial impact of the lockdown. Younger cohorts are most affected than older ones. Londoners are more impacted than the rest of the country.

Two-in-five respondents (41%) expressed concern that the lockdown is having a negative personal impact, compared to just over half (52%) who stated that it is having no negative impact. 

This reflects an increase over time when compared to other polls, indicating that the economic impact of the crisis is growing over time.

Seven-in-ten (70%) of those over-65 report that the lockdown is not having a negative impact on their finances. In contrast, half of those under the age of 54  (49%) are experiencing a negative financial impact of the lockdown. 

There is broad, cross sectional public support for developing an economic recovery plan and lockdown exit plan once medical authorities deem it safe to do so — and there are concerns the Government is not doing enough to develop this plan.

Almost nine-in-ten respondents (86%) expressed support for developing an economic recovery and exit plan, compared to just 2% who disagreed. Conservative voters were the most likely to ‘strongly support’ an economic recovery and exit plan (61%), compared to under half of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters (47%).

More people believe that the UK government has not done enough (42%) to develop an economic recovery and exit plan compared to those who think the Government has done enough (34%). While previous polls have shown that the public is very supportive of the lockdown, this support appears to some extent to be conditional on a broad belief that there needs to be an exit plan to the lockdown.

There is popular support for reducing taxes after the lockdown to help boost the economy and jobs. Younger cohorts are the most supportive of tax cuts after the lockdown. Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) think that the Government should reduce taxes after the lockdown to try to increase economic growth and jobs, while fewer than one-in-ten (8%) disagree with reducing taxes.

Of those aged 18-34, two-in-five (44%) “strongly support” lower taxes after the lockdown, compared to just one-third (33%) of those over the age of 65.
These results present the need for greater involvement of economic expertise in the Government’s decision making. 

The Government should take action to ensure economic expertise is at the forefront of analysis in the same way as scientific analysis as the next steps are planned, the think tank argues and recommends an Economic Advisory Group for Emergencies (EAGE) is set up to advise on the withdrawal of the lockdown and appropriate measures to reboot the economy. This should operate in a similar fashion, with a similar level of regard and in tandem, to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). 

The think tank recommends that the EAGE could include monetary policy specialists like the former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, economists like Paul Ormerod whose work has focused on systemic failure in the economy, or regulatory policy experts like Oxford professor George Yarrow. 

The Adam Smith Institute argues that these results show that the public, which has broadly supported the lockdown for clinical reasons, nevertheless is concerned about the economic impact, has growing concerns about their personal financial impact, would love to see a plan developed to reboot the economy and exit the lockdown as when is clinically possible.

Economically the impact of the crisis so far has been borne by the young and the private sector, the think tank argues that the results of this polling suggest that groups recognise it is the private sector that will need to be stimulated and are supportive of tax cuts to boost supportive of tax cuts to boost growth and jobs at the conclusion of the lockdown. 

Matt Kilcoyne, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute, said:

"People know that our lockdown is having a huge impact on our economy. They are facing increasing financial hardship, with the young particularly feeling the brunt. And they want an economic recovery and exit plan that includes tax cuts.

"An economic recession seems a certainty, but a depression is avoidable if we develop a plan to get the economy growing again at the end of this lockdown. We need to reduce the cost of business face and the burden of taxation."

Without a plan to reopen the economy there won't be one to reopen

A new paper from the Adam Smith Institute accuses the OBR of downplaying the lasting risks of the ongoing economic shutdown and challenges the government to come up with a plan for after the end of the lockdown.

• The outbreak of a deadly pandemic has necessitated the forced closure of one-third of the economy – causing a sizeable immediate decline in incomes and rise in unemployment.

• The longer the lockdown, the more businesses will run out of cash, lose hope, and shut down. This will cause substantial unemployment – the extent of which may currently be hidden by the ability to furlough employees. 

• The OBR’s scenarios are underestimating the network effect of the economy and the risk of systemic economic decline if lockdown is sustained. 

• The UK is behind countries across Europe including Germany, Italy, Norway, Austria, Spain, Denmark and the Czech Republic in developing a plan to exit lockdown.

• ‘Lives versus livelihoods’ is a false dichotomy — a strong economy is what keeps people fed, housed, and ensures we can afford quality health services.

• The UK should remove barriers to investment, reduce taxes on employers, cut corporation tax, reduce the burden of red tape, and remove transaction taxes to boost the private economy after the lockdown. 

The outbreak of a deadly pandemic has necessitated the forced closure of one-third of the economy – causing a sizeable immediate decline in incomes and rise in unemployment. The Adam Smith Institute argues that if we’re to lessen the damage to people’s lives and livelihoods, the UK government needs to develop a plan for the phased end of the lockdown to implement when medically sensible. 

There is broad consensus on the negative immediate economic hit from the lockdown, and support for the government’s public health oriented aims.The free market think tank argues, however, that analysts such as the Office for Budget Responsibility who have “assume[d] no lasting economic hit,” have significantly underestimated the damage being done to firms. They argue that the challenge of reanimating the economy after the lockdown has not been fully understood because of the interconnected nature of the economy.

Ordinary people looking to their own finances, jobs, and businesses take quite a different view. According to a recent YouGov poll: just 11% think the economy will bounce back quite quickly, 42% say it will be worsened for a few years and a further 41% say the economic damage will be much more long term.

The impact of the lockdown grows deeper and faster over time, with each business that closes causing knock-on issues for their staff, suppliers and customers, shareholders and creditors. The more businesses that fail, the more in turn come at risk and pass their risk onto others — just like how a virus can multiply through a population. 

High profile businesses like Debenhams, Laura Ashley, and Flybe that have already called in administrators will be the tip of the iceberg, says the think tank, as it warns that these businesses will pass on disruption to other companies integrated into their offer to clients or reliant on their custom.

The longer that a lockdown goes on, combined with the slow rollout of emergency grants and commercial loans, the more businesses will run out of cash and be forced to close. The country’s 5.9 million small and medium firms are most at risk. The British Chamber of Commerce has found that a majority (57%) of businesses have three months or less in cash reserves, while 6% of firms have already run out of cash. Unsurprising when we think just £8.7billion of the £330bn in emergency loans announced by government have been paid out.

A phased plan would allow companies to assess the feasibility of their operations and calculate the worth of borrowing; the longer lockdown continues, the less feasible an option this is. The greater the systemic loss of industry and mass unemployment, the deeper the risk of depression and the harder any economic recovery will be. 

The Adam Smith Institute’s challenge for a phased plan to end the lockdown comes in the wake of a similar call by the Labour Leader Keir Starmer. An open and transparent exit plan is more likely to ensure a broad public and that measures, such as strict social distancing, can be maintained for as long as is necessary. 

The ASI are also calling for the reopening strategy to focus on how to ensure the return of jobs and growth, by removing unnecessary barriers and excessive state involvement in the economy. 

If the Government wants to safeguard the people’s lives and livelihoods they must, the think tank argues:

1. develop, and release, a phased plan for lifting the lockdown to provide greater confidence for businesses and citizens:

   • following the best possible public health research and latest evidence;

   • explicitly aiming to prevent subsequent mass outbreaks and loss of life;

   • including a strategy for decentralised mass testing, and isolation and tracing of cases while protecting privacy;

   • encouraging physical distancing, maintaining limits on mass gatherings and special measures for at-risk groups in early stages;

   • allowing as many businesses as possible, as quickly as possible, to reopen their operations;

2. scale back the state's extensive role in the economy after the crisis to avoid crowding out the rebooting of the private sector; and

3. introduce policies, both permanent and temporary, that will enable the economy to bounce back after the crisis, including cutting excessive red tape and taxes that discourage investment.

The think tank stresses that the government should only begin lifting the lockdown following the advice of clinicians that the outbreak is under control. However they argue that the clinical priorities need to be set and stated much more clearly: not only so that people know why the economic pain must be endured, but to allow debate on how much economic pain should be endured in return for the clinical benefits.

Countries across Europe including: Germany, Italy, Norway, Austria, Spain, Denmark and the Czech Republic have announced reopening strategies and even timelines; Britain is falling behind and businesses are being held back from planning at the most crucial moment. 

Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute and co-author of the report, said:

“The dislocation that is ripping through the economy because of lockdown is like the virus ripping through the population. Each business failure produces many more, just as each infected person infects many more. Unless you get to grips with it fast, things soon escalate out of control. Business failures, bankruptcies and unemployment rocket. So we have to lay plans for how we are going to unwind the lockdown, and do it now.”

Matthew Lesh, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute and co-author of the report, said:

“The limbo must come to an end. The closure of one-third of the economy has been necessary to slow the spread and protect the health service — but it cannot last forever. We need a route out of this mess: a strategy to protect from this virus while allowing life to progressively return to normal. This will mean testing and tracing capabilities ramped up, maintaining physical distance in shared spaces, but allowing as many businesses as possible, as quickly as possible, to reopen their operations.”

Notes to editors:  

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Matt Kilcoyne, matt@adamsmith.org | 07904 099599.

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

Tone-deaf timing on HS2

Following the utterly tone-deaf timing of the government announcing HS2 entering construction phase, Matthew Kilcoyne blasted the wasteful spending and questionable economic benefits of HS2:

"The benefits of HS2 won't just be delayed and overpriced, they'll now likely never arrive. COVID-19 is already undermining the economics of the  project: with faster broadband and new technologies like Zoom fewer people will want to spend hundreds of pounds commuting across the country.

"We've got an economic crisis that's going to cost taxpayers billions. We can’t afford vanity projects like HS2. We need to get back onto a sustainable financial footing.”

For further comment, or to arrange an interview please phone Matthew on 07904099599 or email matt@adamsmith.org

ASI welcomes Hancock COVID-19 testing plan

The Adam Smith Institute, who today released a report calling for companies, universities and charities to be given permission to test for COVID-19 have welcomed Hancock’s remarks.

The ASI’s Head of Research Matthew Lesh said:

“We’ve wasted too much time with an excessively centralised, bureaucratic approach to testing. It’s welcome news that the Government will be allowing the private sector to begin testing. Lives are on the line and this couldn’t come soon enough. We will need both fast-track approval for labs and new tests in order to reach the ambitious 100,000 tests per day target.

“There is no time for usual bureaucratic delays or power grabs. PHE must stop trying to do everything themselves, we need to fast-track approval of companies, universities and charities. Importantly, we should be using every type of machine and every type of reliable test.”

Testing times in this coronavirus crisis

A new report by the Adam Smith Institutes argues that if the UK had followed the USA's CDC in allowing private lab testing, and stopped confirmatory testing at a single site (Colindale) then we could have ramped up testing to the same per capita level as those three countries have done. South Korea has tested four times as many people as the UK, Germany almost three times and the United States now almost twice as many, per capita. 

The UK is now in the bottom quarter of OECD countries for COVID-19 diagnosis testing.Since 16 March, the United Kingdom has just over doubled daily testing capacity. In the same time period, the United States has increased daily testing by a factor of 21.

The free market think tank argues that the UK is failing to make use of the over 600 accredited medical laboratories in the kingdom, of which 474 are NHS, 120 are private, and 12 are PHE and Public Health Wales. As well as the dozens of University labs that are suitable for testing. 

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt reiterates his call for a more co-ordinated and sped up approach, saying:

"A mass community testing plan is challenging but not impossible if we mobilise in the way we have to produce ventilators. That means tapping into every laboratory, every pharmaceutical company and every university in the country without delay."

The Adam Smith Institute believes that the UK Government can meet its testing targets and save lives, if it is able to:

1. Fast-track approval for private sector laboratories to conduct COVID-19 testing;

2. Substantially expand usage of NHS and university laboratories to conduct COVID-19 testing;

3. Undertake rapid approval of private sector developed tests, including mutual recognition of tests approved by other regulatory bodies such as the FDA; 

4. Reduce testing red tape, including the requirement that all initial tests must be retested centrally by PHE; and

5. Explicitly call on companies to help make testing kits and develop lab capacity for COVID-19 testing, modelled on the successful call for businesses to make ventilators.

For further comment, or to arrange an interview with report author Matthew Lesh, please contact Matt Kilcoyne via email (matt@adamsmith.org) or mobile (07904099599).

ASI comments on new housing reforms

The Adam Smith Institute has strongly welcomed the Government's housing reforms announcement by Secretary of State Robert Jenrick today.

The ASI’s Head of Research Matthew Lesh said:

“The Government’s housing reforms will improve the lives of millions by providing access to quality, affordable housing while substantially boosting the economy. They could finally succeed where others have failed: solving the housing crisis.

“The focus on densification, building around stations and on brownfields will make a real difference. The ability to demolish vacant buildings for new developments without lengthy bureaucratic processes will not only reduce antisocial behaviours but also provide more places for people to live.

“These reforms will enable more people to live where they can be most productive and earn the highest incomes while helping reduce commuting and carbon emissions.