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.
[16] In November 2012, O'Brien was appointed as a special adviser to George Osborne,[17] and in 2013 he was succeeded by Dean Godson, formerly head of Policy Exchange's security unit.
[18] In November 2018, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, described Policy Exchange as "multidisciplinary, highly influential, a productive force at the heart of Westminster and our political system.
[20] In 2019, Marcos González Hernando, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, summed up its political position and evolution as follows: "Policy Exchange (PX) is a right-of-centre think tank founded in 2002 by Conservative modernisers who believed their party needed to move beyond a strict adherence to Thatcherite ideas.
In November 2020, it awarded the inaugural Grotius Prize to Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister, "in recognition of his work in support of the international rules based order".
[25] This idea has been pursued by Policy Exchange in its Indo-Pacific Commission, a project chaired by Stephen Harper, former Canadian PM, and given public support by Shinzo Abe, former Japanese Prime Minister,[26] who argued in a foreword to the Commission's first report: "Britain can work with countries throughout the region on upholding democratic values and supporting the multinational institutions that have developed in recent years.
Policy Exchange's Judicial Power Project has also been involved in scrutinising the 2016 case R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, publishing a number of arguments that were used by the Government in their Supreme Court appeal.
[citation needed] In September 2017, Andrew Gimson in ConservativeHome wrote that 'Policy Exchange's work on "lawfare", as it came to be known, was the UK equivalent of the Manhattan Institute's "Broken Windows" moment, for it drastically changed the terms of the debate, and led to decisive action to deal with the problem.
That is not, in my view, a tenable position..." Suella Braverman, the Attorney General for England and Wales, described the Judicial Power Project as "so influential, and so often mentioned in Parliament, both on the left and right.
[30] Another attorney general, Sir Geoffrey Cox, said that "Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project provides an invaluable counterpoint to the expansive liberal constitutionalism that has come to be the prevailing legal orthodoxy of our day.
Its foreword was written by James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the report was by commended by Theresa May in a speech to Policy Exchange.
[45][non-primary source needed] In a Policy Exchange event on beauty in the built environment and the left, Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan, argued that the building of "grim, grey, massive tower blocks" in the post-war period was proof that the planning authorities had not listened to the concerns of ordinary people.
It included a survey of public opinion which showed that two-thirds of people believe the leading social media companies are not doing enough to combat online radicalisation.
Five former Chiefs of the General staff wrote to the Times on 8 April 2015 to support the recommendations, saying "We urge the government to recognise the primacy of the Geneva Conventions in war by derogating from the European Convention on Human Rights in time of war and redefining combat immunity through legislation to ensure that our serving personnel are able to operate in the field without fear of the laws designed for peacetime environments.
The authors contrasted this with examples of Britain and the wider international community failing to intervene in time to prevent mass atrocities, such as the Rwandan genocide, massacres in Bosnia and most recently the death of hundreds of thousands of people in the Syrian Civil War.
The report argued that the new government should pursue a 'Grand Strategy to modernise the United Kingdom, drawing on the strength of the Union to stimulate local areas through both an audacious programme of infrastructure investment and further devolution of powers.
Lord Mandelson wrote a foreword to the paper and argued: "Instead of moving Britain forward, with new ideas and utilising the opportunities that digital technology and AI, for example, offer us to transform the economy and public services, a Corbyn-McDonnell government wants to reassert the statist mindset that New Labour disavowed.
Polling that informed the paper revealed that 'a solid core of 30% of students are consistently in favour of free speech' however noted that 'cancel culture' was becoming prevalent on UK campuses.
[33] Gavin Williamson endorsed the paper in an article in The Times in which he wrote, 'Despite the "snowflake" stereotype, recent polling by the Policy Exchange think tank shows a large number of students want an environment in which they're free to hear a diversity of views.
The report was widely covered by the media as it was highlighted that Dominic Cummings was 'used as a source by the think tank Policy Exchange for its new briefing paper "Whitehall Reimagined", which recommended that the Prime Minister's office and special advisers should lead fundamental reforms to "unlock the potential" of the civil service.
The report was endorsed by a range of figures including Rt Hon Michael Gove MP (then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster), Sir Howard Bernstein (former Chief Executive of Manchester City Council), and Dame Sue Owen (former Permanent Secretary at DCMS).
[63] Policy Exchange has been addressed by senior figures from all governments of the past 15 years including Hazel Blears, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Sir Michael Fallon, Michael Gove, Philip Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Ed Miliband, Baroness Morgan, Dominc Raab and Amber Rudd.
[citation needed] Other speakers include Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, Mark Carney, Dr Andrea Coscelli CBE, S. Jaishankar, Professor William Kovacic, John Larkin QC, General James Mattis, Benjamin Netanyahu, General David Petraeus, James Plunkett, Mike Pompeo, Speaker Paul Ryan, Malcolm Turnbull and Rt Hon Lord Tyrie.
[65] [non-primary source needed] In December 2017, in what was the first time two holders of these positions have spoken together in a public forum, Policy Exchange hosted US National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R.
[67][68] [non-primary source needed] In May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave a speech on security at Policy Exchange,[69] his first major intervention after the 2024 local elections.