NHS England Abolished, DEI Quotas Scrapped & Tobacco Crisis | IEA Podcast

In this episode of the IEA Podcast, host Callum Price, Director of Communications, discusses recent policy developments with Reem Ibrahim, Communications Manager, and Dr. Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs. The team analyses the recent abolition of NHS England, exploring whether this represents meaningful change or simply shifts bureaucracy from one department to another. The conversation then turns to financial regulators backing away from diversity and inclusion targets for regulated bodies, with the panel examining whether this represents a broader cultural shift or merely a response to government pressure to focus on growth. Finally, they discuss recent tobacco duty figures showing a 41% drop in legal sales while smoking rates remain unchanged, highlighting how high taxation has fuelled black market growth and questioning the effectiveness of proposed smoking bans.We bring you a public affairs podcast with a difference. We want to get beyond the headlines and instead focus on the big ideas and foundational principles that matter to classical liberals.The Institute of Economic Affairs is an educational charity, it does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit economicaffairs.co.uk/subscribe