Do we really need another think tank?

Deborah Doane

Over the past few months, I, along with my Verdant Co-Director, James Meadway, (or should I say now ‘work-husband?’) have been meeting with multiple people in media and philanthropy asking the obvious opening question: “Do we really need another think tank?”

To the sceptics, the idea presents as a bit self-indulgent and oblivious to the fact that Westminster is already saturated with reports, roundtables and policy briefings that circulate amongst the regular Westminsterati club of journalists, advisors, NGOs and politicians.

If the answer were simply about adding up the number of think tanks there are, the answer would be a fairly clear ‘no’. But that’s not our metric.

Countering The Tufton Street Effect

Some people will remember the clever stunt promoted by the campaign group ‘Led by Donkeys’ in October 2022, after the ill-fated mini budget led by short-stint PM Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. Led by Donkeys placed an oversized blue plaque onto 55 Tufton Street, reading “The UK Economy was crashed here”, alongside launching a viral video over social media that revealed the complex web of free-market think tanks that lurked behind the façade.

It was this network of think tanks – the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the Centre for Policy Studies, the Global Warming Foundation or the Adam Smith Institute, amongst others – that have all had an outsize influence on our recent political landscape. Each one of these offers various versions of the same thing: government is bad, there is no climate change, we need more deregulation, and the market will work everything out.

The consequences of this aren’t just rhetorical. The coordinated ecosystem produces research (well-funded by high-net worth individuals, often tax exiles, or by the likes of Big Tobacco or Fossil Fuel companies), feeds the media and maintains a day to day visibility in influential political circles as well as the public imagination. And their thinking on Brexit, privatisation of our public services, taxation or the role of the state have formed the basis of mainstream policy-making, almost across the political spectrum.

Tufton street think tanks have succeeded in building scepticism about human rights, migration, about environmental regulation or about the so-called adverse economic costs of a green economy. They have been behind policy thinking that has seen a sell-off of our public assets from water to rail. Quite starkly, they have made people afraid of government that puts people and planet first.

Regardless of where you stand on these issues, they are objectively effective. The think tanks that lean towards a stronger role of the state, that support environmental regulation, or who are worried about inequality and tax justice, currently lack the serious muscle and impact of the Tufton Street club.

Gaps in the policy landscape? Gaps in our approach?

The UK does not lack progressive ideas. Environmental justice, workers’ rights, housing reform, and climate transition are all widely discussed, led by both think tanks and NGOs alike. But discussion is not the same as influence, and there are some clear areas where thinking not only needs to be deepened, but where the general public has not been fully engaged,such as: cost of living or peace, security and defence, beyond spinning populist simplistic language in the mainstream press.

Furthermore, the gaps aren’t just about the ‘what’. It’s the ‘how’ too. Think tanks traditionally work by putting out expert reports and sharing these with media, policy and political actors. And it can lead to the predictable outcome of only speaking to the converted. Meanwhile, democratic politics is on its knees. Public trust in political leaders has fallen to historic lows; only 12% of Britons say they trust politicians to tell the truth [Ipsos 2024]. Communities are divided and people feel powerless. Compounding this, think tanks themselves situate themselves within a Westminster bubble, at a time when ‘experts’ are no longer trusted.

New model think tanks can engage the public on issues that matter to them in new and more inclusive ways. People don’t feel listened-to, let alone have a voice in real-life policy-making. While it’s been tried by a few, Verdant wants to genuinely harness the power of participation in our work to build legitimacy for progressive and ambitious policies.

Verdant – our role

This isn’t just about influence and ideas; it’s about building credible, actionable policy in more inclusive ways. There are two real lessons for us: one is that eco-systems matter. Tufton street is a great lesson in this regard. But the second, perhaps equally important lesson, is that, in an age of instant information and dis-information, about mistrust in experts and faltering democracy, ‘how’ we do think tanks matters too.

So, in response to the question, do we really need another Think Tank? No: not if it simply adds more noise and stays within the Westminster Bubble.
But if it helps rebalance a system where influence is unevenly distributed towards a pro-market, anti-government model - as it is via Tufton street now - and engages people where they have previously been excluded, then yes. It needs to go beyond ideas and building networks, to co-create progressive ideas, ensure that they’re achievable and that have broad public support.

That will be our metric: to create a richer eco-system of pro-environment, pro-social justice support for a better politics over the long-run. What’s needed isn’t just another think tank. It’s a deliberate effort to build the kind of institutional power that turns positive environmental and socially just ideas – especially underpinned by sound economic thinking – into deliverable political outcomes. And right now, that might be exactly what’s missing.