Think tank claim NHS is nothing special sparks free speech row Sadly, we are living in a culture in which politicians screaming is now the norm
9 February 2021 • 7:00pm
Angela Rayner said Matt Hancock, pictured, should return a donation from the IEA s chairman
Credit: Joshua Bratt
The NHS is “nothing special and the coronavirus pandemic should not be used to justify how it is organised, a new report has argued, sparking a free speech row over the role of think tanks in politics.
A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs, released on Tuesday, argued that the NHS was “nothing special” and the Covid-19 crisis had been used to justify “conventional wisdom” that a state-run service is the best model for public healthcare.
Andrew Bailey is not easily ruffled. The Bank of England governor has been in the furnace of enough crises to know that the best response is to keep calm and carry on.
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BY: Kester Aburam Korankye
Category: General News
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Discussants at a forum on public expectations of the second-term mandate of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have urged the President to be firm in reducing corruption and indiscipline and also ensure good governance.
In separate submissions, they said corruption and bad leadership were part of the foundational challenges hindering the socio-economic development of the country.
The forum was organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra yesterday on the topic: What s new, Mr President? Expectations in the second term .
The discussions were led by the Director of Research and Policy at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Kwabena Otoo; a former Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr Yofi Grant, and the Director of Research at the IEA, Dr John Kwakye.
Clearly that is no longer the case. So when did Britannia’s liberator become her gaoler?
A new era
Those close to Kwarteng argue the world has changed. Covid, Brexit and the net zero carbon emissions goal have all altered the entire political and economic landscape since the book was published, requiring a very different Government approach.
He has retained his passionate belief in free markets, they say, and so will bring market forces to bear on policy goals. Examples include unlocking private investment in green energy, rather than simply pumping in Government cash.
The political atmosphere has changed, too.