Policy Exchange

Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in The Daily Telegraph as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". Policy Exchange is a registered charity; it mostly refuses to disclose the sources of its funding and is ranked as one of the least transparent think tanks in the UK. It was founded in 2002 by the Conservative MPs Francis Maude and Archie Norman, and by Nick Boles, who later also became a Tory MP.

It describes itself as "an independent, non-partisan educational charity whose mission is to develop and promote new policy ideas that will deliver better public services, a stronger society and a more dynamic economy." The Washington Post said Policy Exchange's reports "often inform government policy in Britain" and Iain Dale described it on ConservativeHome as the "pre-eminent think tank in the Westminster village".

The policy ideas developed by the think tank which have been adopted as government policy include free schools, police and crime commissioners, garden villages and protecting the Armed Forces from prosecution under human rights laws. Its Judicial Power Project examines the power of the British judiciary and argues that unelected judges have accrued too much power. The significance of Policy Exchange in UK politics remains contentious, primarily due to its alignment with factions on the political right and its utilisation as a political podium.

It describes itself as seeking localist, volunteer and free-market solutions to public policy problems, with research programmes covering education and social reform, energy and environment, Britain's place in the world, economics and industrial policy, housing policy, space, counter-terrorism and demography, integration and immigration.

History

Policy Exchange was set up in 2002 by a group including Nicholas Boles (director), Michael Gove (chairman) and Francis Maude. In May 2007, Boles was succeeded as director by Anthony Browne, a journalist and political correspondent for The Times. In September 2008, Browne stepped down to work for Boris Johnson, and was succeeded by Neil O'Brien, formerly director of Open Europe.