Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP’s first Budget as Chancellor the Exchequer reflected a wide range of Policy Exchange’s recent research priorities, including: reforms “to bring the planning system into the 21st Century”, as outlined in Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century; the establishment of a new high-risk, high-reward Advanced Research Projects Agency, as called for in Visions of Arpa; a greater role for regional representatives in trade missions, as argued for in Modernising the United Kingdom; hundreds of millions invested at the scientific frontier, including in space, as found in Space: What do we want from the next Prime Minister?; the freezing of Carbon Price Support at £18t/CO2e for 2021-22, as called for in Clean Growth; and a major review into the FinTech sector, explored in our recent report, FinTech for All.

Pupils will receive university offers only after their A-level results, in radical reforms to the admissions system reported on the front page of The Times. The change reflects the key recommendation made in Policy Exchange’s 2019 report Sins of Admission, which noted the disastrous impact unconditional offers can have on individual students and entire cohorts. The Times also cited Policy Exchange’s new paper, Universities at the Crossroads, which warned that universities are losing the nation’s trust. Policy Exchange’s paper also featured in The Daily Mail and in The Guardian under the headline, ‘Universities brace for government scrutiny after Policy Exchange report’.

The next round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme will be inclusive of more forms of renewable energy, including onshore wind, solar and floating offshore wind developments, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, announced yesterday. The new policy reflects a key recommendation made in Policy Exchange’s 2015 report, Powering Up: The future of onshore wind in the UK, which argued for the continuing inclusion of new and repowered wind projects under the CfD scheme at a time when the policy of excluding onshore wind from future CfD auction rounds was emerging.

Policy Exchange is delighted to announce that Open Europe’s team of experts – Stephen Booth, David Shiels, and Dominic Walsh – is joining us to lead the work of our Britain in the World Unit. Simon Wolfson, until now Open Europe’s Chairman, is returning to Policy Exchange’s Board of Trustees. Sir David Ord, the co-owner and Managing Director of the Bristol Port Company, will also be joining Policy Exchange’s Board of Trustees. Read the full announcement here.

“If anyone was to draw up a list of the top twenty most influential think tanks in Westminster, can anyone seriously doubt that Policy Exchange would be at number one?” That’s the verdict of Iain Dale in the LBC presenter’s latest column for Conservative Home. He calls Policy Exchange “the pre-eminent think tank in the Westminster village” and notes our unique convening power, saying: “There are few organisations that could attract power players like Mark Carney and Alan Greenspan, or Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo to appear on its platforms.”

Policy Exchange was delighted to welcome Hon Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State, to speak on “The Future of the Special Relationship”, in conversation with Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, the Foreign Secretary, at an event in Westminster. The discussion – which ranged from Brexit to the rise of China – was moderated by Dean Godson, Director of Policy Exchange. Watch the full video here, and read coverage in The Express

The Sun reported that the Government is considering a Department for the Union to strengthen the bonds between the nations, as recommended in Policy Exchange’s Modernising the United Kingdom paper. This follows the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee backing Policy Exchange’s proposals to increase the number of sporting events that must be shown on free-to-air TV, for example women’s national football tournaments and test cricket in Public service broadcasting: as vital as ever.

Policy Exchange was delighted that the party election manifestos reflected the priorities of our cross-party research since the last general election (and even earlier). Ideas from at least 24 papers were contained in the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green 2019 manifestos – from social care to education, farming to judicial power. Explore the infographic showing which ideas were adopted by the different parties here.

Dean Godson, Director of Policy Exchange, was delighted to welcome the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, to the official launch of the final volume of Charles Moore’s authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, Herself Alone.

The event, hosted by Policy Exchange, was the Prime Minister’s first visit to a think tank since he took office. It was attended by some of the surviving dramatis personae from the Thatcher era and other senior figures from the world of politics, journalism and public life.

The Prime Minister praised the biography, saying, it is “not just the greatest recent work of biography but… also, in our lifetimes, the greatest work of modern British history”. Charles Moore, the author of the 20-year project, is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and was previously Chairman of the Trustees. Watch the video of the speeches on YouTube