Think Tanks Flashcards
1
Q
What’s an example of the Fabien Society influencing policy during New Labours rise?
A
Member Ed Balls issuing his pamphlet about the Bank of England becoming sovereign in 1992.
2
Q
What’s an example of the Bow Groups contribution to Influence in modern politics?
A
- Their ‘keep it simple’ paper attacked tax system and outlined reform.
- group was also big supporter of Brexit and worked with Pro-Brexit campaigns to support Britain’s exit from the EU.
3
Q
What does Chatham House provide?
A
- Provides non-political debate surrounding current world issues and how best to deal with them. For example housing Margaret Thatcher in 1993 to discuss her views on defence, trade and foreign policy.
- Papers are highly respected and provide information for parliament and the government. For example a paper on Nigeria’s booking borders ‘The drivers and consequences of unrecorded trade’.
4
Q
What did George Monbiot say about think tank influence?
A
‘A few billion dollars spent on persuasion buys you all the politics you want’
5
Q
Examples of how Think Tanks can be heavily influenced by rich investors.
A
- Think Tanks funded by Philip Morris always conclude that raising tax on cigarettes is a bad idea.
- institution only started to advocate for clean energy after it received a large grant from a solar panel manufacturer.
- according to research compiled by TobaccoTactics, the Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Policy Studies, and the Institute for Economic Affairs have all previously received undisclosed funding from tobacco companies, research compiled against strong anti-smoking campaigns.
6
Q
What’s evidence that Think Tanks do not enhance democracy in the UK?
A
- Opaque TT spend more than £22 million of dark money every year to shape public debates and influence politics and policies in Britain.
- Ironically, some are registered as charities and so are indirectly subsidised by tax payers.
