As the fuzzy outlines of the new Libservative government gradually come into focus and a new, very different political landscape emerges, this feels like a great day for think-tanks - especially those who stand for freedom and opportunity. Party politics has had a huge shake up. Many Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicans will be out of their comfort zone; party allegiance is no longer taken for granted and old loyalties - and antipathies - must be stifled. The future is precarious and within each party the need for stability will force dissidents to suppress their unease.
But for those of us who trade in policy and ideas, free of political preferment, this new landscape creates huge opportunities. Each and every policy idea can be examined on its merits, not according to its party political provenance. Shrinking the State, closing down quangos and databases, taking the poor out of tax, freeing up schools,localising decision-making - these are great policies which the Centre for Policy Studies, among others, has long advocated and will be delighted to see implemented. We shall also be making the case for more freedom and diversity in energy supplies and strongly pro-growth policies for business and enterprise. Some of these policies will be more controversial in a coalition era, but the driving force behind them will be to pull Britian out of recession and make us a free and prosperous nation once again.
Policies which are 'liberal' in its classical sense are those which limit the power of the State. Every think tank on the centre right can therefore have reason to be confident of its purpose, its donor base, its supporters and - most of all - a ready audience for its ideas. In the world of ideas, everything is possible.
