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Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross (10 December 1924 – 19 October 2006) was a British economist. He was head of the
Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...
from 1957 to 1988.


Background

Harris, the son of a tramways inspector, was "one of four children born to working-class parents on a council estate in Tottenham, north-east London".''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 October 2006
Lord Harris of High Cross
/ref> He was educated at Tottenham Grammar School. He read Economics at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with a first-class degree. At Cambridge he was influenced by Stanley Dennison, "who introduced him to the works of
Friedrich von Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Hayek ...
".Russell Lewis, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', 21 October 2006
Lord Harris Of High Cross: Founding father of the Institute of Economic Affairs
/ref>


Career

After working at the Conservative Political Centre at
Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...
, Harris was a lecturer in
political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...
at
St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
from 1949 to 1965. He was an unsuccessful Conservative Party candidate for Kirkcaldy in
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
and for Edinburgh Central in 1955, and became a leader writer for the ''
Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'' in 1956. Harris became general director of the
Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...
(IEA) in 1957. He remained in this post until 1988, when he stepped down to become its chairman and was replaced by
Graham Mather Graham Christopher Spencer Mather CBE (born 23 October 1954, Preston) is a British former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Mather was educated at Hutton Grammar School and New College, Oxford. While there, he became an officer in the O ...
. Harris was then a founding president of the IEA from 1990 to his death. The IEA was set up by Antony Fisher and
Oliver Smedley Major William Oliver Smedley (19 February 1911 – 16 November 1989) was an English businessman involved in classical liberal politics and pirate radio.''The Times'' (18 November 1989), p. 12. Early life Smedley was born in Godstone, Surrey, on ...
in 1955.
Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...
had suggested that an intellectual counterweight was necessary to combat the prevailing
Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...
consensus "
Butskellism The post-war consensus, sometimes called the post-war compromise, was the economic order and social model of which the major political parties in post-war Britain shared a consensus supporting view, from the end of World War II in 1945 to the ...
" of
R. A. Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary ...
and Hugh Gaitskell. Harris, together with editorial director
Arthur Seldon Arthur Seldon, (29 May 1916 – 11 October 2005) was joint founder president, with Ralph Harris, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, where he directed editorial affairs and publishing for more than thirty years. He is the father of po ...
, built the IEA into a bastion of
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
liberal economics Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...
. The IEA developed links with economists such as
Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...
,
Gottfried Haberler Gottfried von Haberler (; July 20, 1900 – May 6, 1995) was an Austrian-American economist. He worked in particular on international trade. One of his major contributions was reformulating the David Ricardo, Ricardian idea of comparative advant ...
, Harry Johnson,
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
,
George Stigler George Joseph Stigler (; January 17, 1911 – December 1, 1991) was an American economist. He was the 1982 laureate in Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and is considered a key leader of the Chicago school of economics. Early life and e ...
and James Buchanan, and published many pamphlets and papers on public finance issues, such as taxation, pensions, education, health, transport, and exchange rates. In 1979, during
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's first few months in power, he was made a life peer as Baron Harris of High Cross, of Tottenham in Greater London. Yet, despite his strong affiliation with Tory free-marketeers, Harris sat on the
crossbenches A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
to show his independence from any political party. He served on the council of the
University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...
from 1980 until 1995. It was founded in 1976 following a call from Harris and Seldon in 1968 for an independent university. Harris was Secretary of the
Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...
from 1967, and its president from 1982 to 1984. He was "a moving spirit in the Wincott Foundation and the founding of the
Social Affairs Unit The Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning think tank in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs, it publishes books on a variety of social issues. Its website notes that "many SAU supporters are inc ...
". He did not like to be described as a "Thatcherite", but was a founder of the No Turning Back group in 1985. Harris became a Eurosceptic, and was chairman of the Bruges Group from 1989 to 1991. He was a director of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's
Times Newspapers News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ' ...
company from 1988 to 2001, although he read and wrote for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
''. Nonetheless, Harris described Murdoch as the "Saviour of what we used to call Fleet Street". Harris helped set up a fighting fund so Neil Hamilton could sue the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for libel in 1986 and Mohamed Al Fayed for libel in 1999. He was chairman of Civitas from 2000. He also supported the poll tax. Harris was interviewed about his work at the IEA and the rise of
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
for the 2006
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
TV documentary series '' Tory! Tory! Tory!''. In August 2006 he told
Andy Beckett Andy Beckett (born 1969) is a British journalist and historian. He writes for ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Books'' and ''The New York Times'' magazine. He studied Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford, and journalism at the Univer ...
who interviewed Harris for his book "When the lights went out – Britain in the 1970s" that he voted Labour twice at the two General Elections in 1974 because he was angry at Heath's U-turn of 1972, his inability to stand up to the miners, and because if you voted Labour at least you knew what you were getting. A pipe smoker, he was a chairman of smokers' rights campaigners,
FOREST A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, and its president in 2003. He was not convinced that
passive smoking Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called secondhand smoke (SHS), or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhalat ...
was dangerous and published and campaigned against the banning of smoking on trains from Brighton to Victoria station in 1995. Harris died suddenly of an ruptured aortic aneurysm at his home in North London on the morning of 19 October 2006.


Personal life

Harris married Jose Pauline Jeffery in 1949. They had two sons and a daughter. His sons predeceased him, dying in 1979 and 1992. Lady Harris died in 2017.


Bibliography


Own writings

* ''Politics without prejudice'' (1956) * ''Hire purchase in a free society'' (1958; 1959; 1961; with
Arthur Seldon Arthur Seldon, (29 May 1916 – 11 October 2005) was joint founder president, with Ralph Harris, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, where he directed editorial affairs and publishing for more than thirty years. He is the father of po ...
and
Margot Naylor Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following: People with the given name Margot * Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith * Marguerit ...
) * ''Choice in Welfare 1965'' (1965) * ''The Urgency of an Independent University'' (1968; 1969; with
Arthur Seldon Arthur Seldon, (29 May 1916 – 11 October 2005) was joint founder president, with Ralph Harris, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, where he directed editorial affairs and publishing for more than thirty years. He is the father of po ...
) * ''Choice in Welfare 1970'' (1971) * ''Down with the Poor'' (1971) * ''Not from Benevolence'' (1977, with
Arthur Seldon Arthur Seldon, (29 May 1916 – 11 October 2005) was joint founder president, with Ralph Harris, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, where he directed editorial affairs and publishing for more than thirty years. He is the father of po ...
) * ''Overruled on Welfare (1979)'' * ''No, Prime Minister!'' (1994) * ''Murder a Cigarette'' (1998, with Judith Hatton)


Primary sources

* *


References


External links


Interview with Ralph Harris
on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

A Conversation with Harris and Seldon
The Institute of Economic Affairs, 2001 (PDF, 96 pages) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrisofhighcross, Ralph Harris, Baron 1924 births 2006 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English Anglicans Crossbench life peers Conservative Party (UK) politicians Academics of the University of St Andrews People associated with the University of Buckingham People educated at Tottenham Grammar School 20th-century British economists Member of the Mont Pelerin Society