Jumping Off Points

Ep.6 - Think Tanks, Truss & the IEA

Timbah and Aidan Episode 6

On the 6th of September, Liz Truss became the prime minister of Great Britain. By the 25th of October, she had crashed the British economy, invoked the wrath of fellow MPs in Westminster, resigned and been replaced by Rishi Sunak. 

Episode six of Jumping Off Points examines the shadowy institutions capable of generating ideas so bad they can make a prime minister leave office after just six weeks: think tanks. 

In particular, the spotlight is on The Institute of Economic Affairs, whose fingerprints can be found on the spread of climate change denial, pro-Brexit talking points and anti-lockdown propaganda during the Covid-19 pandemic.