In Defence of Collective Security
As Putin celebrates another election victory, today’s Labour party should remember that there can be no coherent response to the Russian provocation without an appreciation of how our collective security is underscored by NATO and the role Labour played in its creation. In a new essay, In Defence of Collective Security, Professor John Bew, Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World project and an award winning biographer of Clement Attlee, argues that our current system of Western security, based on NATO, was painstakingly put in place by Attlee and Ernest Bevin and that the current Labour leadership betrays that legacy.
Second-Guessing Policy Choices: The rule of law after the Supreme Court’s UNISON judgment
In the UNISON case, the Supreme Court quashed the Government’s use of its statutory power to impose fees for employment tribunal proceedings. It ruled that the fees were unlawful because the level at which they had been set had the effect in practice of limiting access to justice. The judgment has been widely hailed as a victory for access to justice and another case in which courts have defended the rule of law from the executive. In this new paper for Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project, former First Parliamentary Counsel Sir Stephen Laws argues that the Supreme Court went badly wrong in the UNISON case, taking over a policy question that was not for it to decide.
Completing the Revolution: Delivering on the promise of the 2014 National Curriculum
High-quality textbooks and teaching methods are needed to ensure children from all backgrounds receive the rigorous education they deserve. According this new Policy Exchange report, inadequate materials for teaching the National Curriculum are holding back pupils in England and increasing teacher workload. Working in collaboration with respected institutions like the British Museum, the Government should support the creation and take-up of world-leading curriculum materials.
Commonwealth Summit – A new opportunity for an old institution?
Does the presence of an Indian Prime Minister after several years of absence, Brexit and a return to great power politics offer a new role for the Commonwealth?
Fixing roofs in the sunshine – why central banks must reconsider loose monetary policy
Central banks should use the relatively benign economic conditions to reorientate money policy argues Warwick Lightfoot – himself former special adviser to three chancellors. As the world economy has recovered, central banks need to re-examine their lax approach to tools such as interest rates so that they can respond to any future crisis. Not doing so will leave their arsenals worryingly empty.
Network problems: The peculiar case of home heating in Northern Ireland
The recent cold snap – and the ensuing spike in home heating oil prices – underscores the decarbonisation challenge in Northern Ireland, argues Policy Exchange’s Matt Rooney.
Policy Exchange experts dominate MPs’ reading list
Two of Policy Exchange’s experts are among the most read authors in Parliament, a new Freedom of Information request has revealed. Road to Somewhere, by Policy Exchange’s Head of Demography, Immigration and Integration David Goodhart (longlisted for this year’s Orwell Prize) was the second most borrowed book in the House of Commons, behind only ‘How Parliament Works’. The Head of our Britain in the World Project Professor John Bew’s Orwell Prize-winning Citizen Clem was also one of the most borrowed books in the House of Commons in 2017. Both books were named last year by the Observer among their 100 best political books.
Policy Exchange hosts Defence Secretary’s first keynote speech
Policy Exchange was delighted to host Defence Secretary Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE for his first keynote speech, held at Rolls Royce’s site near Bristol. The Defence Secretary condemned Russia’s “atrocious” actions in Salisbury and committed to a modernising defence programme because “soft power only works because hard power stands behind it”.
Policy Exchange welcomes Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Policy Exchange was delighted to host an event with the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Julie Bishop. She testified to the strength of the relationship between Australia and the UK ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in April.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, 5 March, 2018
10:15 - 12:45
Policy Exchange’s Making Good on Global Britain conference culminated in a discussion between General David H Petraeus (Ret.), former Commander of United States Central Command and former Director of the CIA, and Hon Alexander Downer AC, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, who explored the theme of hard and soft power from their unique perspectives.
- Monday, 26 February, 2018
18:00 - 19:30
The acute threat we face from terrorism will only be tackled when the whole of society understands and responds to the chronic threat from extremism, says Mark Rowley in his keynote valedictory address as Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police for Specialist Operations and National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing delivered at Policy Exchange.
- Wednesday, 14 February, 2018
10:30 - 11:30
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, set out his vision for a liberal Brexit in a speech given at Policy Exchange.