Social Market Foundation

The Social Market Foundation is a Blairite pro-market think tank. According to its website "the SMF was established in 1989 to provide a source of innovative economic and social policy ideas. Steering an independent course between political parties and conflicting ideologies, the SMF has been an influential voice in recent health, education, welfare and pensions policy reform. Our current work reflects a commitment to understanding how individuals, society and the state can work together to achieve the common goal of creating a just and free society."

The Social Market Foundation organised a wide range of fringe talks at the 2004 Labour Party conference. Many of the discussions were sponsored by companies that have a direct business interest in the topic under discussion. Nearly all of the discussion panels feature a Labour minister. For example, the Mobile Operators Association(MOA) sponsored a discussion with the title "Listening to the public: does community consultation improve the planning process?", with environment minister Alun Michael MP on the panel. The MOA has been lobbying for some time to prevent stricter planning regulations on mobile phone masts. The MOA sponsored a similar talk at the 2003 conference.

The SMF shares its 11 Tufton St. address with the Adam Smith Institute. Dahrendorf argues in the SMF's 2003 - 2004 Annual Report that 'The Social Market Foundation is well placed to combine economic, social and political analysis. The three approaches are often separated, yet for policy decisions they have to be brought together. This makes the SMF uniquely relevant.' Given that the SMF line-up are familiar faces in the think tank circuit (Stevenson, d'Ancona and Haskins have ties to Demos) its difficult to percieve what is so unique about the Foundation.