Adam Smith Institute

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[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

This is what we believe.

[The Critic @TheCriticMag]

“At the macro and micro scale, our energy system is a catastrophe.”

@maxwell_marlow on what the failed £2bn project says about Britain’s grid.
https://t.co/IGLYCz24Yk

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Commenting on the Budget, Silvia Andreoletti, Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“Instead of cutting taxes and spending, the Chancellor delivered a hodgepodge of expensive measures without a clear direction. They'll plunge the country deeper into debt and sabotage efforts to get Britain growing.

The OBR figures could not speak more clearly: inflation is on the rise, growth is a distant dream, and government borrowing is out of control. Support on energy costs and small business rate relief sound good from the dispatch box, but they will likely be wiped out by rising inflation and sluggish demand.

What good is business rate relief for a small business that can’t afford to hire employees because the minimum wage has been increased, can’t borrow money because its bank is overburdened by taxes, and can barely pay its rising energy bills?”

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Commenting on today's Budget, Sebastian Charleton, Head of Programmes and Partnerships at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“With all the talk of cutting the price of pickles and marmalade, this budget is the fiscal equivalent of fiddling while Rome burns, ducking the tough choice needed to halt our slide into ever deeper debt.

We already spend more servicing our national debt than defending the realm - a worrying milestone made worse by the absence of any credible plan to fund ambitious new defence commitments.

With an ageing population and anaemic growth, Britain's spending trajectory is blatantly unsustainable, locking us into a doom spiral that will see public debt balloon to an eye-watering 330% of GDP by 2075.

Fixing this requires real political bravery. This means bold supply-side reforms to kickstart productivity, paired with genuine structural restraint on spending. Sadly, this budget delivered neither - prioritising short-term political wins at the expense of Britain's long-term economic health.”

[Viggo Terling @viggoterling]

One thing missing from today’s Budget: a single mention of Heathrow.

Expanding Heathrow is a pro-growth opportunity on Number Ten’s doorstep, yet decades of indecision have kept it grounded.

I explained why in @TheCriticMag:

https://t.co/kHluhcR2D4

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Commenting on the energy measures announced in today's Budget, Jasper Ostle, Head of Research and Education at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“The Chancellor's Budget has missed the mark on reducing energy costs. Abolishing standing charges will only further distort the cost of energy, whilst he's avoided tackling the root cause of our sky-high energy prices and dangerous energy insecurity: the proportion of electricity that comes from intermittent sources like wind and solar.

The Government's plan to finally address the UK's industrial electricity prices, which are among the highest in Europe, is a welcome commitment. However, the proposed 25% cut comes nowhere near the 82% gap between British and French electricity prices, and it does nothing to address the fundamental reason costs are so high.

Bringing industrial electricity costs down to French levels could increase long-term GDP by over 4%. This can only be done through a sensible strategy to increase the UK's energy production - a glaring omission in today's announcements.”

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Please save responsibly. We need the tax revenue.

The Government is presenting a U-turn as new generosity to savers. The cash ISA cut hadn’t even taken effect. Meanwhile, savers exceeding tax-free allowances face a bigger tax bill.

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Commenting on today's budget, Maxwell Marlow, Director of Public Affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“This is a budget defined by fiddling around the edges, rather than delivering the bold tax changes that would fix the economy.

With welfare spending forecast to reach over £400 billion by the 2030s, the government must have a sober reassessment of its priorities.

Deep spending and red tape cuts are required to deliver the growth in living standards the nation is crying out for.”

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Read Our Bounden Duty. 👇
https://t.co/Eajb4fJlwu

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Reacting to Chancellor John Healey’s Budget 2026 alcohol duty relief announcement, Viggo Terling, Chief of Staff at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“£10 million of relief on a tax that raises £12 billion will be gratefully received by the small minority who qualify for it. Everyone else gets another inflation-linked rise.

Alcohol duty is already an unreliable source of revenue: last year the tax base shrank by 3.3% and receipts fell by 1.4%, in a year when rates went up.

The system currently taxes every drinker in the hope of curbing harm caused by a much smaller group. A moderate drinker’s first pint is taxed as heavily as a heavy drinker’s twelfth. Bolting on another bespoke relief does nothing to address this and only adds complexity to a regime in need of simplification.

The Chancellor should replace the present patchwork of alcohol duties with a single flat duty per unit of alcohol, whatever the drink or the size of the producer, and a relief for drinks served in pubs, where drinking is safer and already heavily taxed.”

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Can we trust the numbers driving government policy?

One week today, The Spectator’s Michael Simmons joins our Next Generation drinks to ask: “Who’s Afraid of the ONS?”

📅 3 November, 6pm
📍 ASI, Westminster
🍷 Free drinks | Ages 18–35

Sign up: https://t.co/rDFDaZKiTf

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

Analysis by economists at the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) found that the average household will pay £206.50 extra on gas and electricity in 2027, and £36 on water.

Higher inflation will mean their grocery bills will cost £112.19 more and their fuel an extra £140.64, adding up to £495.33.

🔗: https://t.co/tQM2hFyftw

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

"Reform's alternative budget released today includes many proposals that will finally get Britain's economy growing again.

Abolishing the Energy Profits Levy will play a crucial role in ensuring the country's energy security, which a recent ASI index ranked below Romania and Ukraine. Windfall taxes undermine the incentive on firms to be ready to drill when prices are high: without them, the UK's domestic energy supply will be far more secure, and the country will be less vulnerable to price hikes and energy crises. It will also lower electricity costs at a time of eye-wateringly high energy prices, which will cost the average family an extra £206 in the coming year.

The alternative budget's proposals will also give a desperately needed boost to housebuilding. Leaving the Aarhus convention, which paralyses planning reviews and raises costs for developers, will make it easier and faster to build new homes. Repealing Biodiversity Net Gain rules will also reduce costs and delays for housebuilders, 94% of which have been hit by delays due to the rule.

Taken together, these changes will mean more houses are built faster and for a lower cost - which will go a long way to solving Britain's housing crisis. If done right, planning deregulation like those proposed by this alternative budget could single-handedly raise long-run GDP by 7.05% - a rise of almost £3,000 per person."

- Silvia Andreoletti, Head of Communications

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

Heathrow is one of Britain’s greatest economic assets, connecting us to the world and driving growth across the country.

A third runway would unlock its enormous potential and strengthen the UK’s global competitiveness.

@viggoterling makes the case in @TheCriticMag.

https://t.co/taAdXuwPIu

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

🎉 TODAY'S THE DAY!

The 2026 Ayn Rand Lecture has arrived!

This evening, we will be joining ASI President Dr Madsen Pirie at the magnificent Drapers’ Hall for his lecture, ‘A Rational Life’.

We look forward to seeing everyone joining us for what promises to be a fantastic event! 🥂

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

https://t.co/YoBSKza7Lh

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

How to become energy insecure in five steps

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

https://t.co/YoBSKza7Lh

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

How energy secure is Britain? The ASI's new Global Energy Security Index 2026 ranks 187 countries to find out.

Learn more about why the UK is only 41st and what it can do to climb the rankings on our website at https://t.co/hXSuXcIz9D

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

https://t.co/RGZ3GsOJAJ

[Adam Smith Institute @ASI]

🗽 Reason. Freedom. Individualism.

This Monday, join us for the 2026 Ayn Rand Lecture, delivered by ASI President Dr Madsen Pirie!

📍 Drapers’ Hall, London
🗓️ Monday 26 October

Don't miss out on what promises to be a fascinating evening.

🎟️ Secure your place!