The case for shareholder-based capitalism
Geoffrey OwenThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether these criticisms of the capitalist system are valid, and whether the proposed reforms are desirable.
The paper looks first at the historical background, showing how the doctrine of shareholder primacy came to the fore in the US and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, and how that doctrine has come to be challenged by supporters of stakeholder capitalism. A debate is now in progress, on both sides of the Atlantic, pitting defenders of shareholder primacy against a range of pro-stakeholder advocates.
The paper discusses three of the central issues in this debate: what the purpose of companies should be; short-termism; and inequality.
Stopping the Small Boats: a “Plan B”
Policy ExchangeThis report outlines a plan of action to address the Channel crisis. Plan A would be an agreement with France to accept the return of migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to crossing the Channel in small boats. If such an agreement cannot be reached, Plan B would be to remove persons attempting to enter the UK on small boats to a location outside the UK – whether the Channel Islands, Sovereign Bases in Cyprus or Ascension Island – where their asylum claims would be considered. Economic migrants (failed asylum seekers) would be returned to their home country, or to some other state willing to receive them. Genuine refugees would be resettled in a safe state other than the UK. No person entering (or attempting to enter) the UK on a small boat from a safe country would be allowed to settle in the UK, even if a genuine refugee.
UK’s Defence Space Strategy in Context
Gabriel ElefteriuThis analysis by Gabriel Elefteriu notes that the UK’s first Defence Space Strategy is an excellent document with an assertive message. It maps out a coherent and logical path towards UK space power. But delivering a range of complex space capabilities quickly within tight budgets will be a major challenge for the MoD: real civil-military integration and a unified space decision & acquisition authority at the heart of Government is required. The Defence Space Portfolio is also an economic tool that can shape the industrial landscape, so the way the new Own-Collaborate-Access framework will be applied should be a matter of wider debate and geopolitical consideration as well.
The Queen’s Speech and Health & Social Care Reform: What was not announced may be more significant than what was announced
The passage of the centrepiece Health and Care Act during the previous session of this Parliament meant that this year’s Queen Speech had a smaller offering for health and social care. A number of priority commitments set out in March as part of the Annual Mandate (which sets out the Government’s priorities for the NHS) were repeated. The priorities are well understood: bring down the elective waiting list; deliver additional diagnostic capacity, including 100 community diagnostic centres; and make progress on the hospital building programme.
The Queen’s Speech and Judicial Power: Could the British Bill of Rights make things worse?
The headline measure is the proposed British Bill of Rights, which would supersede the Human Rights Act. A perennial proposal most recently floated under David Cameron, the Bill’s stated aim is to restore “the balance of power between the legislature and the courts”. Among its main provisions are the establishment of the primacy of UK case law over that of the European Court of Human Rights, new limitations on courts’ ability to “read in” provisions that are not present in legislation, and a new burden on the claimant to prove they have suffered “significant disadvantage” before they can bring a human rights claim, with the aim of discouraging frivolous litigation.
The Queen’s Speech and Housing: Will Street Votes solve the Housing Crisis?
Housing has rarely enjoyed as high a political profile as it does today. A combination of the housing crisis, the abandoned planning bill, the government’s flagship levelling-up programme and it being led by one of the highest profile Cabinet Ministers Michael Gove as well as a slew of recent Tory electoral punishments in which housing was thought to have played a central role have all ensured that housing is now a major part of the government’s legislative infrastructure. So it assumed a pivotal role in this week’s Queen’s Speech, ironically delivered for the first time by a Prince of Wales who himself has had a profound impact on the UK’s architecture and urban development landscape over the past forty years.
£250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize 2021 seeks hospitals revolution
The 2021 Wolfson Economics Prize, launched today in partnership with Policy Exchange, seeks planning and design ideas that will “radically improve” hospital care in the UK and around the world.
The Prize is evidence of a new focus on the long-term improvement in hospital provision in Britain and globally. The UK Government has already announced £3.7 billion of funding towards new hospitals in England for what it calls the “biggest hospital building programme in a generation”.
Health Accountability
Proposals to strengthen ministerial accountability are long overdue, and will complement the changes underway to consolidate various arm’s length bodies into NHS England, said Robert Ede, Head of Health and Social Care at Policy Exchange, in an article for the Health Service Journal on the significance of this week’s Health and Care White Paper on legislative reform. Read his article re-published on the Policy Exchange website here.
Charging Up
The Energy & Environment Unit at Policy Exchange launched a paper warning that the installation of electric vehicle chargepoints would have to be five times faster during the 2020s to make the petrol and diesel vehicle ban workable. The report was authored by Ed Birkett, Senior Fellow and William Nicolle, Research Fellow at Policy Exchange. The release coincided with the Government’s announcement of £20m additional funding for EV charging infrastructure. Read coverage of the report in The Telegraph, Sky News, Bloomberg and BBC News. Read the report here.
Upcoming Events
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Monday, 7 February, 2022
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Paul Omerod Economist and chair of the Rochdale Development Agency. Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley. Chaired by David Goodhart Head of Demography, Immigration & Integration
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Wednesday, 9 February, 2022
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Policy Exchange invites you to a keynote address by Professor Richard Jones Vice-President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement University of Manchester Can We Level Up Research and Innovation? Research and innovation is a significant driver of productivity growth, so it’s significant that the distribution of R&I investment in the UK – especially in the public (more…)
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Wednesday, 9 February, 2022
18:00 - 19:00
Judges should be independent. In a constitution that is committed to the rule of law, as the UK’s constitution has been for centuries, no one seriously disputes this proposition. Yet the notion of judicial independence itself is often apt to be misunderstood, including by the judges and politicians who bear the primary responsibility for promoting and protecting it. (more…)
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