In 1978, Vaclac Havel wrote an essay, “The Power of the Powerless”. It followed the publication of “Charter 77” in 1977. In the essay Havel attempted to explain his view of what it meant to be a dissident in Czechoslovakia at that time, but the essay also described the nature of the all-pervasive ideology prevalent...Read More

There are two ways of looking at the “Aukus” initiative, recently launched by the US, Australia, and the UK. First, it may be seen, as it was described by Ben Wallace the UK Defence Secretary: as an important defence procurement trade deal between the US and Australia, involving the construction and delivery of nuclear-powered submarines...Read More

For some time now I have been concerned about the often inadequate and misleading information presented to the British public over the past 18 months, by politicians, by the senior medical-science bureaucracy, and, unfortunately by a proportion of virologists, behavioural scientists, and epidemiologists. Some of this reluctance to divulge information is perhaps understandable. The underlying...Read More

The GPI Associate Director and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Michael Lloyd, will present a paper on the subject of “The Uncertain Future of the UK Outside Europe” at the 91st International Atlantic Economics Conference, hosted by the International Atlantic Economic Society and taking place from May 19th to May 22nd. For more information on the...Read More

There is much current discussion about the relationship between the US-led West – including the UK – and China. Diplomatically it is phrased as “how to meet the challenge of China”, or, in EU parlance, China is a “systemic rival”. However, there are darker tones being used in recent political discussions of the portrayal of...Read More

Leaving aside the overblown rhetoric and repetitious structure of the document, the recently published UK strategic defence, security, and foreign policy review (SDSFR), Global Britain in a Competitive Age,1 is likely to encounter criticism from various quarters. This is perhaps not surprising as, having divorced itself from the EU via Brexit, the UK, now only...Read More

Central Banks are attacking crypto-currencies. An example is Frank Elderson, who is Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, recently (March 16th) said that: “Crypto-assets are volatile. They lack any intrinsic value and there is no reliable institution backing them.” Some commentators have, users of Bitcoin for example, have argued that this is outdated...Read More

Why are British banks so risk averse when it comes to providing long-term loan finance to businesses? In Europe the dominance of bank lending in the financing of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is well-observed. Yet in the UK exactly the opposite is the case, where most SME funding is via bank overdrafts and...Read More

In January 2020, Christine Lagarde announced that the ECB would be conducting a year-long review process of its monetary policy and remit. Much has happened since its last review in 2004, and GPI has responded to Lagarde’s ambitious agenda. The report reviews the development of ECB monetary policy over the past 30 years and concludes...Read More

GPI opinion is that the deal is to be welcomed but the process of negotiation shows up inherent weaknesses in EU governance. The approval of the European Commission borrowing facility and the total 1.1 billion Euro 7-year budget indicated a willingness to compromise on the part of all Member States find the necessary funding to...Read More