‘From backing us up on tough decisions on foreign terrorist fighters to generally being a foil to some of the most activist lawyers that are out there’ the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Home Secretary, commended Policy Exchange at this year’s Summer Party for ‘flying the flag’ for difficult and important issues.  He spoke about the impact Policy Exchange has on the policy debate and why he has continued to rely on Policy Exchange’s research throughout his time in various government positions, and never more so since he became Home Secretary.

To mark the launch of a series of papers and events – “What do we want from the next Prime Minister?” – Policy Exchange and Conservative Home hosted Sir Lynton Crosby, Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, Ben Houchen, Mayor of Teeside, and Rt Hon Lord Feldman of Elstree, former Conservative Party Chairman, for a panel discussion on how the Tories might win votes in places such as Canterbury and Middlesbrough at the same time. Watch the event in full, read Sir Lynton’s article on Red Box and Policy Exchange Director Dean Godson’s introduction to the series on ConHome.

The final two candidates for the Conservative Party’s leadership came together on Armed Forces Day to welcome a Policy Exchange report – Protecting Those Who Serve – which calls for the incoming Prime Minister “to act urgently to protect UK troops, whether serving or retired, from ongoing exposure to legal risk and to unfair legal processes.” Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP and Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, the Foreign Secretary, were joined by a wide range of international and cross-party supporters. Read the report here, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP’s Daily Telegraph op-ed, and further press coverage in the Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail.

A day after HRH the Prince of Wales issued a call for action for “the creation and regeneration of genuinely beautiful places” – in a report that cited our research five times – Policy Exchange published a report that puts the Prince’s vision into practice to help solve the housing crisis. Building Beautiful Places, by Jack Airey, advises the incoming Prime Minister to rewrite the planning rulebook to demand that developers build more beautiful housing – in line with what the public wants.

The new PM must “seek a new approach to the Irish border issue as part of a broader strategy after Brexit to stabilise and strengthen the Union,” said a new briefing paper by Lord Bew. It featured a Foreword by Sir Graham Brady MP (read it on Red Box), author of the Brady Amendment, and was endorsed by Arlene Foster, Leader of the DUP, at the Policy Exchange event. The idea that the Backstop is required by the Good Friday Agreement, she said, is “the greatest lie told in politics today”. Watch the full event here. Read coverage in The Express.

Polling commissioned by Policy Exchange revealed massive support for social care being largely free at the point of use and funded out of general taxation. Read the full findings as reported in the Sunday Telegraph, the briefing paper by Warwick Lightfoot and Will Heaven – and watch the event, with Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and Sally Warren, Director of Policy at the King’s Fund, among others.