Bob Lyddon

Introduction The UK government’s November 2025 Budget supplied ample corroboration of our report published by IREF in October 2025 (‘the report’), showing that the governing Labour Party plans to greatly expand the state’s direction of the UK economy.1 The means-of-control will be a decade-long programme of spending on Net Zero, industry, and infrastructure, partially funded […]

Introduction The new UK government elected in July 2024 has promised a ‘decade of national renewal’, realised through its Industrial Strategy, its Infrastructure Strategy, and the transition to Clean Power. The state’s footprint on what is meant to be a free market economy will be substantially expanded. The costs of this ‘renewal’ will test the […]

It is about the plans of the UK government to launch a decade-long programme of ‘investment’ in industry, infrastructure and Net Zero, greatly expanding the state’s role in the economy. The programme is to be funded entirely with new debt of £1.64 trillion: the same amount as the spending programme. This is 58% of the […]

We are pleased to announce a new collaboration between the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues (IREF) and the European Center for Austrian Economics Foundation (ECAEF), focused on publishing a series of articles on economic and fiscal topics. It emphasizes our commitment to independent thought, academic freedom, and critical inquiry.   Introduction Governments […]