Reform, Net Zero Madness & the Social Media Ban: Are Politicians Completely Out of Touch?

Lord Frost and energy analyst Andy Mayer join host Callum Price to dissect Reform UK’s latest economic pitch, weighing up Richard Tice’s proposals for a Great Repeal Act and a sovereign wealth fund built from public sector pension pots. While the panel finds much to welcome in Reform’s supply-side instincts, including scrapping the net zero legal target and reopening the North Sea, they warn that the plan contains a fundamental contradiction: you cannot credibly promise to burn red tape whilst simultaneously reaching for tariffs, protectionism, and “Buy British” mandates.The conversation turns to energy bills, where Andy Mayer delivers a forensic takedown of the Government’s claim that falling prices represent genuine progress. He argues that shifting green levies from household bills onto general taxation is an accounting trick, not a saving, and that forcing vast amounts of renewables onto an already strained grid is making energy both more expensive and less reliable. The panel agrees that without a serious commitment to nuclear power and a halt to the clean power drive, the UK risks sleepwalking into an energy crisis of its own making.The episode closes with a pointed debate on the Conservative Party’s push to ban social media for under-16s, with both guests pulling no punches. They argue that exploiting bereaved parents at a press conference to push poorly evidenced legislation is cynical and reckless, that hard cases make bad law, and that banning children from the internet does nothing to address the real causes of poor mental health. The broader concern, as Lord Frost puts it, is a political class that simply does not trust ordinary people to think for themselves.The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered 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.The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff. 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