>> The institute of Economic Affairs has an annual income of £2.3m and 20 staff, and
>> lobby generally on right wing policies. They are a side show, albeit with high level
>> access.
I think you should take them more seriously. They and the other 'lobbyists' under the same roof have been incredibly successful at framing the agenda and providing off the peg policies for the hard right, which as you may have noticed now includes a large chunk of the Conservative party which almost certainly share some donors with them.
The IEA and the others have been frequent and regular participants on QT, and I don't recall them ever being introduced as paid right wing lobbyists. They always pose and behave as if they are some sort of official and or objective expert body.
There is no equivalent on the left. If there was, at least there would be some balance. No doubt some on the left are jealous of their success and would emulate it if they could, but to pretend that their work is in any way comparable with unions pushing their agenda is either naive or disingenuous. The unions do not purport to be anything other than part of, the spring of, the labour movement.
I hope we are going to hear and understand much more about Tufton Street in the future, now that we have seen the results some of their policies. That the BBC should actually ask them for expert analysis on the very day Kwarteng got the boot for putting their policies into practice is almost unbelievable.
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