It is being announced today that John Blundell, the long serving Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs is stepping down at the end of the year. He will, however, continue to be associated with the IEA and take up the position of the Institute's Distinguished Senior Fellow, while continuing his writing and research efforts.
Blundell commented: "I have always since my teenage years loved the IEA's vision and mission and I know I leave the senior management with its programmes and financial resources in much better shape than I inherited. I am very proud of all we have achieved over 17 years and I really welcome the chance to devote myself 100% to writing and lecturing as the IEA's Distinguished Senior Fellow."
The IEA is an integral part of the right of centre think tank world and Blundell's successor will need to be chosen very carefully indeed. The think tank is absolutely crucial in promulgating the ideas of free markets in a liberal society. John Blundell has made a huge contribution to the rise of the intellectual right over the years and I wish him well in his future writing.
11 comments:
The IEA is fantastic. BOM's got a photo of Hayek, Seldon & Lord Harris all having a barny just outside the door.
Good luck to Prof Blundell - I'm sure he knows what he's up to wink wink
Good to see the Un-bias BBC make Brown's policy(?) announcements headline news on their website. Obviously calls have been made, people informed and the BBC bend over ready to show where their loyalty lies. Mandy has been busy this morning......Or am I being just a conspiracy theorist?
John Redwood should take this on full time. Whilst a great MP, he would be better served heading up the IEA.
Wow, another top notch Exclusive!
Who is John Blundell and waht is th IEA?
By the way, does anyone know if Brown and co will be going to the Copenhagen conference later this year? Christian Aid seem to think Obama and Brown will not be there in person. Why is this? http://www.plenty2say.com
Is that chap from the Taxpayers' Alliance looking for a new berth? He's been very successful with them, maybe time for an upgrade?
The IEA doesn't have the influence it used to, someone needs to change this.
Guido reports that he was ousted.
Says the paymasters didn't think they were getting their money's worth. Hints at a drink problem.
Typical 'nasty party' stuff wouldn't you agree, Iain?
Hamish,
Iain Dale wants to be 'in' with the powerful and become one of them. Guido wants to attack them and bring them down.
Dale will lend support to the indefensible, forgiving the merely 'human' failures of powerful folk.
Guido will tear them to shreds for merely breathing.
Being nasty gets more readers and stirs the emotions. Guido is the more successful blogger as a result.
But that is the limit of Guido's ambitions.
Quietly building a communal approach to power is Dale's. Maybe he will deliver more than we yet know, but the two of the premier right wing bloggers (sorry MOntgomerie) need each other.
Without Guido round the corner, Dale would be a little dull. Without Dale's more constructive approach, Guido would have nothing left to savage.
This is not a nasty party. One of the main problems of being Conservative, in the past, was that of being being a tad boring, as consensual politics tends to be.
All the anger and aggression belonged to the working class determined to avenge the injustices of the past.
The blogs have changed the status quo by finding a rich seam of anger amongst right wing people.
Thatcher uncovered and mobilised right wing anger. It was sent back to sleep by Blair.
Guido and others have relit the fuse.
Dale is trying to shepherd the resulting explosion into a communal longer-lasting burn.
Both the builder (Dale) and the destroyer (Guido) are needed, and they need each other. It's not nasty. It's fun.
John's a decent guy, but in many ways that maybe his problem - too nice. Whatever, the IEA has faded to a shadow of its former self. Frankly it's an irrelevance these days.
It was a mistake for him to set up a satellite office at 58 Millbank, SW1.
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