Lord Daniel Hannan, a former Conservative MEP and a key figure in the 2016 Vote Leave campaign, has been appointed as the new director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a free-market think tank. He will assume the role on 1 June 2026, succeeding Lord David Frost, who served as the chief Brexit negotiator under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Frost will remain with the IEA as a senior policy fellow.
Hannan's Background and Role
Hannan, a long-time critic of the European Union and a strategist for the Brexit campaign, is also a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He will step down as international secretary of the Conservative Party, a position he held under four party leaders, and will relinquish the Conservative whip in the House of Lords to sit as a non-affiliated peer. This move underscores the IEA's commitment to maintaining political independence.
Challenging the Current Economic Consensus
The appointment comes at a time when the IEA believes the post-war consensus on high spending and taxation has returned. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has increased taxes by approximately £60 billion cumulatively over her first two budgets. The Labour government is also pursuing closer ties with the EU, a direction that conflicts with Hannan's Eurosceptic views.
Hannan emphasized that current levels of taxation and spending exceed those of 1955, the year the IEA was founded. He stated, "The route to national prosperity, now as then, is through deregulation, free trade, sound money and low spending. It's not just the politicians we need to convince. When voters understand the case for a smaller government, MPs follow."
Linda Edwards, chair of the IEA board of trustees, said Hannan would focus the think tank's work on "examining the evidence carefully." Lord Frost added, "Hannan understands that ideas are the engine of political change, and that the IEA's job is to supply them — clearly, honestly, and without flinching."
