In the Telegraph today, Toby Helm and Christopher Hope list profiles of what they reckon are the top twelve UK thinktanks.
It's clear that funding-wise the 'progressive' movement is still at least twice the size of the conservative one:
Right of centre
- Policy Exchange - £1.7m
- Civitas - £704,000
- Reform - £550,000
- Centre for Policy Studies - £500,000 approx
- TaxPayers’ Alliance - £300,000
- Open Europe - undisclosed (but less than the above)
Left of centre
- IPPR - £4m approx (surely more than that!)
- Demos - £2m
- Fabian Institute - £800,000 approx
- Social Market Foundation - £711,000
- Compass - £200,000
- Smith Institute - £483,000
In terms of staff the IPPR is way ahead, followed by Demos then Policy Exchange. The most notable omission in the list is the Centre for Social Justice which in terms of funding competes well with the six centre right organisations listed, and in terms of influence is probably second only to Policy Exchange.
The Right have closed the gap a little in recent years. Four of the six centre right organisations listed were founded this side of the last millenium and some big Tory donors chose to invest in thinktanks and campaign groups rather than Cameron's Conservative Party.
That said, you can include the subtle partisanship of organisations like the Royal Society of Arts in the Left's armoury, not to mention hundreds of academic departments and government-funded bodies!
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