Further to my previous post about Lord Harris of High Cross, founding director of the Institute of Economic Affairs who died 20 years ago this week, I wonder what Ralph would have made of recent developments at the IEA.

It’s not my business, and I don’t want to stir the pot, but following the revelation last night of yet another significant departure, I can’t help but ask, what’s going on?

To put things in perspective, from 1993 to 2023 the IEA had just two director-generals - John Blundell (1993-2009) and Mark Littlewood (2009-2023). Since Mark left three years ago the top job has been occupied by a further three people - Tom Clougherty, Lord Frost, and, currently, Lord Hannan.

Tom, Mark’s immediate successor, spent just under two years in post. I don’t know him well, but we first met when he was working for the Adam Smith Institute. He attended the launch of the Hands Off Our Packs campaign in 2012 and I liked him immediately.

He subsequently spent several years in America working for the free market Cato Institute before returning to the UK as head of tax at the Centre for Policy Studies. He therefore seemed a good fit for the IEA who, word had it, wanted someone a little less pugnacious following the successful but occasionally tumultuous Littlewood years.

After less than two years Tom left late last year and the job went to Lord Frost, the former Conservative minister who came late to party politics having previously been a diplomat and civil servant.

I was told this was the third time Frost had been considered for the job, which had previously gone to Littlewood and Clougherty. I’m guessing however that this time, rather than applying for the job, he was approached by the IEA because there was no word of anyone else being in the mix.

Either way it was a huge surprise when he announced, after just two months in the job, that he was stepping down. That was in March, and a few weeks later it was revealed that he would be succeeded by Lord Hannan, an MEP from 1999 to 2020 and, like Frost, a Conservative peer (although to be director-general of the IEA they both had to give up the party whip and become non-affiliated peers).

Hannan took up the post in June and in recent weeks there have been no fewer than three significant departures - Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics (see End of an era?); Daniel Freeman, managing editor and deputy editorial director; and now Kristian Niemietz, editorial director and head of political economy, who announced last night that he will be leaving the IEA “in a few weeks” after an impressive stint of 18 years.

To that list you can add the departure, earlier in the year, of head of media Reem Ibrahim who is now working in Washington DC (see Reem joins the British invasion), strategic partnerships manager Matthew Bowles who is now working for the Prosperity Institute, director of communications Callum Price, and chief operations officer Andy Mayer. That’s seven significant departures this year, several in the last few weeks.

I mention all this because, thanks to Lord Harris and later Mark Littlewood, Forest has enjoyed a connection with the IEA that goes back over four decades. In fact, in addition to Ralph, two of our non-executive directors - John Burton and the late Russell Lewis - also had close ties with the IEA. John is (or was) a fellow of the institute, while Russell was once acting-director.

While John Blundell was in charge it’s fair to say Forest was kept at arm’s length, but under Mark Littlewood our relationship with the IEA blossomed and I remain hugely grateful to Mark for his support.

You can understand therefore why I’m taking such an interest in what’s occurring at the IEA. The only question is, should I be saying this out loud?

Update: The Guido Fawkes website has reported Kristian Niemietz’s forthcoming exit here but they’ve missed the most newsworthy point about it being the latest in a succession of largely unexplained departures, not to mention the rather obvious headline, ‘Will the last person to leave the IEA please turn out the lights?’. Doh!

What’s occurring? IEA latest

Remembering Lord Harris of High Cross