Centre for Policy Studies

04/03/2026

‘Britain should get its gas from Canada’ - Pierre Poilievre on how to deliver genuine energy security

04/03/2026

No one writes thank you on their tax forms’ - Pierre Poilievre on why the free market is the only system where everyone benefits 💸

23/02/2026

⚡️ British industry pays 90% more for energy than our European competitors. Households are hit too, paying 20% more on average.

Our Energy Researcher Sean Ridley explains what’s gone wrong with Britain’s energy market, and how we can fix it

02/12/2025

The Centre for Policy Studies is delighted to announce the appointment of Lee Rowley as a Research Fellow.

He was most recently Chief of Staff to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and was previously Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire. While in Parliament, he served as Minister for Housing, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and a government whip.

Drawing on his experiences in government, Rowley will be spearheading a project examining why government so often does not work as politicians hope and the public imagine it should, to be published by the CPS in 2026.

28/11/2025

✈️ 'The new data does confirm the anecdotal evidence that has been building up over a number of years that ambitious young people feel overtaxed, under pressure from the cost of living, don't see a solution to that in the UK and have been moving abroad.'

CPS Research Director Karl Williams spoke to Amol Rajan on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning about the latest emigration numbers.

26/11/2025

'Bad in every way'

That's CPS Director Robert Colvile's verdict on today's Budget. Tax hikes now, the promise of spending restraint tomorrow.

But tomorrow never comes, as our recent briefing 'Britain’s Broken Budgets' highlighted. Out of 54 medium-term forecasts from 1990 to 2019, actual managed expenditure was always above what was forecast. There was not a single example of the Government spending less than it originally forecast.

05/09/2025

‘Just because you’ve been in a trade union, just because you’ve been part of a protest rent-a-mob, doesn’t necessarily make you the best Deputy Prime Minister’

on our panel explaining why Britain needs people with the right experience and qualifications in government - not just the right connections.

05/09/2025

🚨LIVE in 10 minutes. Is it our systems, ideas, or people that need fixing? Join us at in the Union Theatre, left of the main entrance, or watch live on X:

05/09/2025

Two hours to go! At Reform Party Conference today? Join us at 2:30pm for an important discussion: Why is Britain so badly governed?

We'll be examining whether it's our systems, ideas, or people that need fixing.

📍 Union Theatre, Birmingham NEC (left of main entrance)
🕐 2:30-4:00pm

04/09/2025

➡️ TOMORROW at Reform Party Conference: come along to our panel 'Why is Britain so badly governed?'

We're looking at whether it's our systems, our ideas, or our people that need fixing.

The panel will take place in the Union Theatre and will be chaired by our Director Robert Colvile, who will be joined by Dame Andrea Jenkyns DBE (Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire), Sam Lister (Associate Editor at the Daily Express), Alex Morton (CPS Director of Strategy), and Gawain Towler (political consultant and Reform Party board member

22/08/2025

CPS is heading to Reform Party Conference in Birmingham in early September, where we'll be hosting a Friday panel tackling the big question: ‘Why is Britain so badly governed?’

We'll be exploring whether it's our systems, our ideas, or our people that need fixing.

The panel will be chaired by our Director Robert Colville, who will be joined by Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire), Sam Lister from the Daily Express, Alex Morton (CPS Director of Strategy), and Gawain Towler (political consultant and Reform Party board member).

21/05/2025

"The divide between Westminster and the private sector is even more pronounced than I anticipated... Thankfully, the CPS and its Thatcher Fellowship are doing their bit to help bridge that gap and position the Conservative Party as the party of business once more."

Tim Dier, one of our inaugural Fellows, hits the nail on the head. While politics and business should be natural allies in driving prosperity, they often operate in separate spheres with different languages and priorities.

The Centre for Policy Studies created the Thatcher Fellowship to bring together exceptional professionals from banking, law, consulting, industry and entrepreneurship who can articulate the case for economic freedom in policy settings where these perspectives are urgently needed.

As a Thatcher Fellow, you'll participate in monthly dinners with former cabinet ministers, current shadow cabinet ministers, journalists, historians, and industry leaders, engaging in substantive debate about Britain's economic direction. You'll receive curated reading lists that strengthen your ability to make compelling arguments for free markets.

The Fellowship is structured to complement your professional life. The calendar respects the demands of busy careers while providing opportunities to expand your influence. Fellows can contribute to CapX, provide input to our Margaret Thatcher Conference and participate in policy development.

"Not a meeting went by where I wasn't intellectually stimulated, challenged, and occasionally humbled by the sheer brilliance of the other fellows." This environment, combined with exposure to Westminster, means that Fellows are exposed to both the theory and practice of making the case for free-market, pro-growth policies.

The Fellowship extends beyond the core programme. You'll join an ongoing community committed to developing ideas that can restore Britain's prosperity – the beginning of lasting relationships and continued engagement with critical policy discussions.

"Our nation may be in a state of decline, but this last year has filled me with confidence that it's not too late for the UK to become a serious country again."

Applications close June 1st at 17:00. If you're passionate about bringing your expertise to policy development, we invite you to apply:

The Thatcher Fellowship is designed to introduce the sharpest young minds from business and the City to the intellectual, academic and political arguments for free markets, and give them an understanding of how Westminster really works.