Press releases

HomePress Releases
March 3, 2021

Bright Blue responds to the Budget 2021

For further comment or to arrange an interview please get in touch with Joseph Silke: joseph@brightblue.org.uk or 07948 420 584.  Commenting on the Budget, Ryan Shorthouse, CEO of Bright Blue,…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 26, 2021

Bright Blue: Turn away from Thatcherism and look to East Asia on economic policy, Tory policy chief Neil O’Brien MP urges

Speaking to Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, Chair of the Conservative Policy Board, Neil O’Brien OBE MP, has urged the Conservative Government to move away from…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 9, 2021

Bright Blue: UK exporting firms overwhelming back more climate action from UKEF

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published a new report entitled Toward Green Export Finance? Investigating the views of UK exporting firms towards UKEF. The…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 4, 2021

Nikita Malik appointed as the new Deputy Director of Bright Blue

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, is delighted to announce that Nikita Malik has been appointed as its new Deputy Director. Commenting on her appointment, Nikita Malik…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 4, 2021

Bright Blue: More radical policies needed to boost uptake of both new and used EVs

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published a new report, entitled Driving uptake: maturing the market for battery electric vehicles, which proposes a mixture of…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 2, 2021

Government adopts Bright Blue policy on banning bottom trawling in marine protected areas

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government's new proposals to prohibit the use of bottom trawling fishing in four of England's key marine protected…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
January 17, 2021

Bright Blue: London and left-behind areas experience biggest rise in UC claimants

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published new analysis, entitled Widening chasms, showing that the Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating geographical inequality in England, with London…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 12, 2020

Government adopts Bright Blue policy on ending support for fossil fuel sector overseas

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Prime Minister's announcement that the UK will end taxpayer support for fossil fuel projects overseas. Responding, Andrew Leming,…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 10, 2020

Bright Blue evidence on welfare policy is published by the Scottish Affairs Committee

Evidence from Separate Support? Attitudes to Social Security in Scotland submitted by Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has been published by the Scottish Affairs Committee as…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 10, 2020

Bright Blue: Securing a trade deal with EU currently top priority for UK exporters

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, finds that UK exporters are most likely to say securing a trade deal with the EU is the most important thing…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 2, 2020

Bright Blue launches new Tax Commission to advise on tax reform

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has launched a high-profile cross-party and cross-sector commission to advise on reforms to the tax system in the years ahead to…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 25, 2020

Bright Blue: Huge spending is right and unavoidable but smaller cuts are odd

Commenting on the Spending Review, Ryan Shorthouse, Chief Executive of Bright Blue, said:  “The eye-watering COVID-releated expenditure to support the economy and public services is necessary. There is no alternative.…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
Press Releases
November 18, 2020

Bright Blue: Laudable and welcome new Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution must be met with credible detail

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Prime Minister’s new Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.  Phase out of petrol and diesel vehicles…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 12, 2020

Bright Blue: Fast track free UK citizenship for COVID key workers

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today released a new report entitled A better reward? Public attitudes to citizenship, calling for reform of the UK’s citizenship…
Anvar Sarygulov
Love0
HomePress Releases
October 22, 2020

Bright Blue: The Chancellor’s measures are insufficient for the self-employed

Commenting on the Chancellor’s new measures to support businesses and workers, Sam Robinson, researcher at Bright Blue, said: “Today’s adjustments to the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and Self Employed Income…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
October 19, 2020

Bright Blue evidence on Universal Credit is published by the Work and Pensions Committee

Evidence regarding the wait for a Universal Credit first payment submitted by Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has been published by the Work and Pensions Committee…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
October 2, 2020

Bright Blue: UK public sceptical net zero will be achieved by 2050

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published unique and comprehensive analysis of UK public attitudes to the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050,…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
September 29, 2020

Government adopts Bright Blue policy on flexible lifelong loan entitlement

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Prime Minister's latest speech on skills, announcing a new flexible lifelong loan entitlement to four years of post-18…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
September 24, 2020

Bright Blue: The Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan is generous but poorly targeted

Commenting on the Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: “The Chancellor has, in effect, extended and evolved current government support for job retention, now expecting…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
September 19, 2020

Sarah Sands appointed as the new Chair of Bright Blue

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, is thrilled to announce that Sarah Sands, the former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today and The Evening Standard, has been…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
August 17, 2020

Government adopts Bright Blue policy of lifting the temporary cap on university places

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government's announcement that it is withdrawing the cap introduced for university admissions.  Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
July 8, 2020

Bright Blue’s response to the 2020 Summer Statement

Commenting on the Statement, Ryan Shorthouse, director of Bright Blue, said: “The generous and significant new spending and tax cuts announced today could stimulate substantial economic activity in struggling sectors.…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
July 6, 2020

Bright Blue: 44% of businesses expect to cut at least some staff when the furlough scheme closes

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, and Opinium, the strategic insight agency, have today published analysis of polling providing a snapshot of the experiences and expectations of…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
July 3, 2020

Bright Blue opens new call for written evidence on maturing the market for ultra low emission vehicles

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, is conducting a call for written evidence to inform the development of a report exploring new ideas to mature the market…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
May 15, 2020

Bright Blue and WSP: Net zero more urgent than ever for government and business

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, and WSP, the leading engineering professional services firm, have today published a major essay collection, Delivering Net Zero, which outlines radical…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
April 13, 2020

Bright Blue Scotland: Scots support more generous and devolved social security system, but support for alternative policies high

Bright Blue Scotland, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published a major new report, Separate support?, which reveals the pre-COVID 19 attitudes of the Scottish public on…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
March 26, 2020

Bright Blue: Chancellor’s package hugely impressive and welcome, but will require looking again at tax contributions

Commenting on the Chancellor's initial measures in response to COVID-19, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: “The Government has made a hugely impressive and welcome intervention to support individuals…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
March 25, 2020

Bright Blue submits evidence to the Economic Affairs Committee

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has submitted written evidence to the Economic Affairs Committee's inquiry on the economics of Universal Credit. The submission is available here.
Sam Lampier
Love0
Press Releases
March 11, 2020

Bright Blue’s response to the Budget 2020

Commenting on the Budget, Ryan Shorthouse, director of Bright Blue, said: “This Budget confirmed that the Conservative Government’s fiscal approach this decade will be dramatically different to the one pursued…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
March 9, 2020

Bright Blue: London now neglected by national politicians, Rory Stewart says

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published the latest edition of its magazine Centre Write, entitled “Digital disruption?”. This magazine explores the positive and negative…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 27, 2020

Bright Blue: Post-Brexit Britain should become the global green giant

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published a major new report, Global green giant? A policy story, which proposes original policies to ensure the UK…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 21, 2020

Bright Blue: 70,000 English homes in areas prone to flooding at risk of having no insurance

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published new analysis, entitled High and dry: Preventing tomorrow’s ‘flood ghettos’, identifying the number and location of residential properties…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 19, 2020

Bright Blue’s response to the Government’s immigration policy statement

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government's policy statement on the UK's new points-based immigration system. Commenting, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:…
Sam Lampier
Love0
Press Releases
February 7, 2020

Entries are now open for the Tamworth Prize 2020

The essay of 2019 winner Anya Nash featured in Summer 2019's Centre Write magazine. The Tamworth Prize 2020 The Tamworth Prize for 2020 is open now! The question for this year’s…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 5, 2020

Bright Blue’s response to bringing forward the phase-out of coal

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government's announcement that it is bringing forward the deadline for the phase-out of coal by a year to…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
January 17, 2020

Bright Blue and the Fabian Society: Cross-party call for new pensions commission

The Fabian Society and Bright Blue, a centre-left and centre-right think tank, join together to call for a new pensions commission. New research from the think tanks reveals strong cross-party…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
January 8, 2020

Bright Blue: Public still sceptical that Conservative Government will deliver for those on modest incomes

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, and Opinium have today published analysis of polling providing a snapshot of the immediate public expectations of, priorities for, and perceptions…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 19, 2019

Bright Blue’s response to the second Queen’s Speech of 2019

  Commenting on the December 2019 Queen’s Speech, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: “The Conservatives won record levels of support from people on modest incomes in the latest…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
December 10, 2019

Bright Blue’s response to the new Conservative Party election immigration policies

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Conservative Party's newly announced election immigration policies, which propose setting limits on particular categories of migrants and giving this power…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 24, 2019

Bright Blue: A down-to-earth manifesto from the Conservatives

Commenting on the Conservative 2019 general election manifesto, Ryan Shorthouse, director of the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, said: “The Conservative Party is playing it safe, delivering a straightforward…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 21, 2019

Bright Blue: Labour promise unnecessary and unprecedented expansion of the state

Commenting on the Labour 2019 general election manifesto, Ryan Shorthouse, director of the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, said: “The Labour Party’s manifesto contains some positive policies, but overall…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 20, 2019

Bright Blue: Liberal Democrat manifesto exhaustive, but not economically liberal

Commenting on the Liberal Democrat 2019 general election manifesto, Ryan Shorthouse, director of the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, said: “The Liberal Democrats have produced an exhaustive manifesto with…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 5, 2019

Bright Blue submits evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has submitted written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee's inquiry on Human rights: Freedom of religion and belief, and human rights…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
November 2, 2019

Bright Blue: Boris Johnson takes decisive and welcome action on fracking

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, welcomes the Government’s announcement today that it will place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking'. Commenting, Sam Robinson, Researcher at…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
October 14, 2019

Bright Blue’s response to the Queen’s Speech 2019

Commenting on the Queen’s Speech, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: “Boris Johnson’s Government has extensive and some welcome plans for domestic reform, but the truth is there is…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
October 2, 2019

Bright Blue: London is divided between “the haves and have-nots, the socially liberal and free, and the socially downtrodden and trapped”, conservative candidate for Mayor of London says

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, will at Conservative Party Conference 2019 publish the latest edition of its magazine Centre Write, entitled “On the home front”. The…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
September 23, 2019

Government adopts Bright Blue policy idea of increased funding for international biodiversity

The Government has announced a new 'International Biodiversity Fund' from UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), starting with an initial injection of funding of £220 million for endangered animals such as the black rhino,…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
September 4, 2019

Bright Blue’s response to the Spending Round 2019

Commenting on the Spending Round, Ryan Shorthouse, director of Bright Blue, said: “Over the past decade of fiscal retrenchment, some government departments and services have been disproportionately deprived of funding,…
Sam Lampier
Love0
HomePress Releases
August 12, 2019

Bright Blue: Post-Brexit Britain needs ambitious limits and policies to be a global leader on clean air

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of conservative modernisers, has today published a new report, Emission impossible? Air pollution, national governance and the transport sector,…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
July 15, 2019

Bright Blue: A new measure and plan to strengthen social integration

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published a report, Distant neighbours? Understanding and measuring social integration in England, which proposes and studies a new measure…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
July 8, 2019

Bright Blue: Britain is divided, politicians are terrible, and we need more help with housing, young adults say

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of conservative modernisers, and Opinium have today published analysis of polling providing a snapshot of the attitudes of young…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
June 25, 2019

Government adopts Bright Blue call for improved accessibility of new homes for disabled people

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government’s announcement today on higher accessibility standards for new housing. Commenting Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said:…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
June 12, 2019

Bright Blue: Theresa May takes bold and correct decision on net-zero

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government’s announcement today on legislating for a new net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. Commenting Will Nicolle,…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
June 7, 2019

Bright Blue and the Fabian Society issue call for written evidence on the case for an independent pensions commission

Bright Blue and the Fabian Society are conducting a call for written evidence to examine the case for and nature of an independent pensions commission. The written evidence which Bright…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
May 30, 2019

Bright Blue: Augar Review is Theresa May’s final mistake

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the publication of the Augar Review. Commenting Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: “The Augar Review is Theresa…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
May 23, 2019

Government adopts Bright Blue policy idea of a social mobility supplement to attract teachers to teach in the most deprived areas

The Government has announced that new mathematics and physics teachers working in the most deprived areas will be given a £2,000 retention payment in a bid to improve recruitment and retention. Ryan…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
May 8, 2019

Bright Blue submits evidence to the International Development Committee

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has submitted written evidence to the International Development Committee's inquiry on UK aid for combating climate change. The submission is available here.
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
May 2, 2019

Bright Blue: Response to the CCC Net-Zero report

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, welcomes the Net-Zero report by Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which recommends a new, net-zero emissions target for the UK. Commenting…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
April 24, 2019

Bright Blue submits evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has submitted written evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee's inquiry on the Welfare safety net. The submission is available here.
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
April 22, 2019

Bright Blue Scotland: UK should become a quasi-federal state after Brexit to stop separatism

Bright Blue Scotland, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published new research, entitled Our still United Kingdom, proposing new constitutional arrangements for the UK after Brexit. The report,…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
March 13, 2019

Government adopts Bright Blue idea for decarbonising UK gas

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, welcomes the announcement in the 2019 Spring Statement of the Bright Blue policy of requiring an increased proportion of green gas…
Robert Hansard
Love0
HomePress Releases
March 11, 2019

Bright Blue: introduce an upfront ‘helping hand’ payment, and financial compensation for late payments, to improve Universal Credit

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of conservative modernisers, has today published a report, Helping hand? Improving Universal Credit, based on new and extensive analysis…
Robert Hansard
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 25, 2019

Bright Blue: To support millennials, deficit reduction should still be an economic and moral priority

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today published new research, entitled Tackling intergenerational inequity at its roots, calling on the Government to introduce reforms to mitigate…
Bright Blue
Love0
HomePress Releases
February 15, 2019

Bright Blue: new government incentives and investment needed to end UK’s dependency on natural gas

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism and home of conservative modernisers, has today published a new report, Pressure in the pipeline: decarbonising the UK’s gas. The report…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
February 7, 2019

Bright Blue submits evidence to the Education Committee

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has submitted written evidence to the Education Committee's inquiry on Life chances for their report on 'Tackling disadvantage in the early…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
January 22, 2019

Government adopts Bright Blue policy of making the breach of a Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) a criminal offence

The Government has announced that the new Domestic Abuse Bill will make it a criminal offence to breach a Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO), with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment,…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
January 14, 2019

Response to the Clean Air Strategy 2019

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government’s new Clean Air Strategy 2019. Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: "The Government has introduced new…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
December 19, 2018

Bright Blue: Response to the Immigration White Paper

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government’s new white paper The UK’s future skills-based immigration system. This white paper adopts two Bright Blue policy…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
December 18, 2018

Bright Blue: Difficult decisions ahead for meeting recycling targets

Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today responded to the Government’s new Resources and Waste Strategy for England. Commenting Wilf Lytton, Senior Researcher at Bright Blue,…
Robert Hansard
Love0
Press Releases
December 17, 2018

Office for National Statistics adopts Bright Blue policy of asking voluntary question about gender identity in the Census from 2021

The Office for National Statistics has announced that everyone aged 16 and over will be asked in the 2021 Census if they wish to declare their gender identity. Bright Blue, the independent…
Robert Hansard
Love0

Next Press Releases

Previous Press Releases