Stephen Booth
Head of the Britain in the World Project at Policy Exchange (2020-2022)
Stephen Booth was Head of the Britain in the World Project. He was previously Director of Policy and Research at the think tank Open Europe. A specialist in UK-EU affairs, he has written extensively on the UK-EU trade relationship, regulation, and immigration policy. He has appeared regularly in the media and to give evidence to several parliamentary select committees. His work at Policy Exchange focuses on the UK’s economic relationships with Europe and the rest of the world.
Related Publications
Re-engineering Regulation
Download Publication Online Reader A new report from Policy Exchange argues the United Kingdom has a unique opportunity to streamline and modernise regulation to deliver the high environmental and social standards citizens desire, while also giving the British economy the competitive edge it needs in the post-Brexit age. Re-engineering Regulation: A Blueprint for Reform calls for a rethink in approach to regulation, putting forward a number of recommendations to create a more agile and accountable regulatory system. The project brought together an […]
Re-engineering Regulation Project
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Download Publication Online Reader Lord Sedwill, the former Cabinet Secretary, is to Chair a major new Policy Exchange project, Re-engineering Regulation, which seeks to offer a roadmap for regulatory reform fit for the post-Brexit, post-Covid era. The project will draw on the expertise of an Advisory Council comprising leading figures from a […]
Post-Brexit freedoms and opportunities for the UK
A Policy Exchange Report Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Download Publication This paper draws together analysis from the range of Policy Exchange’s experts – in Law & Constitution, Trade & Economics, Immigration & Policing, Energy & Environment, Health & Social Care – of the new freedoms and opportunities open to the United Kingdom under the terms of […]
The art of a US-UK trade deal
Later this month, the UK and the US will conduct the third round of talks on a new trade agreement. The successful conclusion of a deal with the US will be challenging but would provide a major strategic prize for the UK. In a new report for Policy Exchange released today, “The art of a UK-US trade deal”, we examine the challenges and opportunities facing negotiators.Related Blogs
The deteriorating politics of Northern Ireland has left the Government with no option other than to act on the Protocol
The Northern Ireland Protocol once again threatens to derail the UK-EU relationship. After months of talks between London and Brussels failed to reach mutually acceptable solutions, the Government has reached the conclusion it has no alternative but to start the process of introducing domestic legislation to alter the Protocol. Everyone, including the EU, recognises that the Protocol has caused major practical problems for traders and consumers in Northern Ireland wishing […]
The Queen’s Speech and Deregulation: Who will regulate the regulators? Time for more parliamentary scrutiny
As Policy Exchange set out in Post-Brexit freedoms and opportunities a year ago, regulatory reform is a major post-Brexit opportunity for the UK, and it was a prominent theme of this year’s Queen’s Speech. The Government confirmed it will introduce a Brexit Freedoms Bill, first announced by the Prime Minister in January 2022. Plans for the Bill were set out in The benefits of Brexit white paper, which outlined the Government’s broad ambition to […]
What does Macron’s re-election mean for Britain?
To the relief of the French and European establishment, Emmanuel Macron’s re-election makes him the first two-term French President in 20 years since Jacques Chirac. However, the 17-point margin of his victory over Marine Le Pen does not tell the whole story. Voter turnout was the lowest in a presidential run-off since 1969 and Le Pen increased her vote tally from 10.6 million in the second round in 2017 to […]
The Ukraine war has revived American leadership and dashed dreams of European autonomy
In the 1990s, Mark Eyskens, then Belgium’s foreign minister, described the EU as an economic giant, a political dwarf, and a military worm. This depiction has since been invoked in dozens of articles and speeches about EU foreign and security policy. The unprecedented speed and scale of the EU’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine therefore displayed a surprising degree of unity and capacity to act, from what was […]
Rees-Mogg will need Johnson’s full backing if he’s to deliver regulatory reform
All domestic Covid restrictions in England will end today, marking an important milestone as we emerge from an exceptional period of crisis. The macro-economic response to the pandemic understandably focused on damage limitation and maintaining employment, which has had a significant impact on the public finances. The painstaking work of supply-side reform has either taken a backseat or simply been overtaken by events. As I noted in my previous column, sections […]
The Government’s regulatory reform plans. We know a lot about the principles…but not much about the practice
Regulatory reform tends to receive far less attention than government policies on taxation and spending, but it is just as vital to the UK’s economic success and the country’s post-Brexit future. Last week, the Government published The Benefits of Brexit: how the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU to mark the second anniversary of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The document sets out how the Government is using post-Brexit […]
After the First Minister’s resignation, what happens next with the Northern Ireland Protocol?
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been threatening to withdraw his ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive for months over its opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Yesterday he pulled the rip cord. Paul Givan’s resignation as Northern Ireland’s First Minster has triggered a new political crisis in Belfast. Due to the power sharing arrangements, Givan’s resignation automatically means Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill also loses her position, […]
What the UK-Japan trade deal signifies
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has announced that the UK has concluded a historic new free trade agreement with Japan, the UK’s first major trade deal post-Brexit. The agreement is an important step towards the UK’s ambition to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will replicate most of the existing agreement between Japan and the EU, which will no longer apply to the […]
Farming is key to a UK-US trade deal, whoever is president
Later this month, the UK and the US will conduct the third round of talks on a new trade agreement. The successful conclusion of a deal with the US will be challenging but would provide a major strategic prize for the UK, as I explain in a new report for Policy Exchange released today, “The art of a UK-US trade deal”. The paper looks at the challenges and opportunities facing negotiators over the coming months.
What the Government’s Command Paper on Northern Ireland means
The Government this week published a Command Paper, setting out its approach to implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. The Protocol gives Northern Ireland a special economic status – within the UK’s customs territory, but in regulatory alignment with the EU single market for goods. The Protocol also requires provisions to be put in place to ensure that goods “at risk” of entering the EU single market via the land border with the Republic of Ireland are subject to the correct checks and controls. The continuation of the Protocol is subject to the ongoing consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly after four years.