Global Vision
Background
Global Vision (also known as Global Vision UK) is a Brexit-focused media outlet that provides “an online home” for “all those wanting to follow the next chapter as the UK begins the process of negotiating our future relationship with both the EU and the wider world,” according to its website. [1]
It brings “specialist coverage for everyone in the UK and beyond who wants to understand and make a success of Brexit,” and for those who advocate Britain’s future as an “independent, free-trading, sovereign nation.” [1]
Its website provides “news, analysis, comment and insight” from Brexit-supporting commentators, as well as a weekly email bulletin and video content posted on its YouTube channel. [1], [2], [3]
Global Vision is chaired by former Washington lawyer and lobbyist Shanker Singham and edited by Rebecca Ryan, who has said that Global Vision will aim to “fill the space” left by BrexitCentral, a Brexit-supporting news outlet edited by former Vote Leave CEO Matthew Elliott, which ceased to operate in January 2020. [1], [4]
Singham, who has been described by some in the British media as the “Brexiteers’ Brain” is a former international trade lawyer and an influential figure in UK politics. [5]
Since the EU referendum, Singham has worked in senior roles for pro-Brexit, free-market think tanks the Legatum Institute and the Institute of Economic Affairs, and has enjoyed “unparalleled” access to senior Eurosceptic politicians and ministers, including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Steve Baker, Liam Fox and David Davis. [6]
Ryan is the Founder of the UK-based news and comment website Free Market Conservatives and the pressure group “StandUp4Brexit.” [7]
Global Vision contributors include prominent individuals from the UK’s principal climate science denial organisation, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), as well as other figures associated with the network of pro-Brexit, free-market organisations based in and around Westminster’s 55 Tufton Street. [2]
These include GWPF Director and Trustee Ruth Lea, GWPF Advisor Viscount Matt Ridley. and Harry Wilkinson, the Head of Policy for the Global Warming Policy Forum, the GWPF’s campaigning arm. [8], [9], [10], [11]
Several of Global Vision’s contributors have links with the Eurosceptic think tank, Global Vision, established by Ruth Lea and Conservative peer Lord Blackwell in 2007, and based at 55 Tufton Street. Despite sharing a name, it is unclear if they are otherwise related. [12], [13], [14]
Although the website of the Global Vision think tank is active, it is listed as a “dormant” company by Companies House, and its last event, held with former UKIP MEP and climate science denier Roger Helmer, was in 2017. [15], [16]
Stance on Climate Change
Global Vision UK has not released any statements on climate change. However, it provides a platform for numerous individuals associated with the Global Warming Policy Foundation, as well as other figures who have expressed and promoted climate science denial.
March 23, 2020
In an article for Global Vision entitled “We musn’t let green lobbyists use coronavirus to turn us back into the ‘sick man of Europe,’” Global Warming Policy Forum head of policy, Harry Wilkinson, criticised attempts to organise a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilkinson wrote:
“The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr Fatih Birol, has opportunistically announced that we should ‘put clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans to counter the coronavirus crisis’. Why exactly building new wind turbines would make a sensible stimulus plan compared to other approaches is not explained, suffice to say it is justified on the basis that it will both stimulate the economy and ‘accelerate clean energy transitions’.
“…A sensible stimulus plan should be well-targeted and effective, and I haven’t heard any good reasons why investing in clean energy would be either of these things.
“There is greater reason to believe it would be a most iniquitous strategy. The history of climate change policies, from grants to pay for expensive electric vehicles to green energy subsidies that have primarily benefited large landowners, is one of ordinary people paying the privileged few to feel good about themselves. On what basis are we to think the regressive distributional basis of crony green capitalism has changed?” [17]
Funding
Funding sources for Global Vision are unknown.
Annual Reports
Global Vision does not appear to have been registered on Companies House.
Key People
Shanker Singham – Chair. Singham is a US lawyer and lobbyist who became an influential figure in UK politics after the EU referendum. He launched Global Vision with Editor Rebecca Ryan in February 2020. Singham was the Director of Economic Policy and Prosperity Studies at the Legatum Institute from 2016 before joining the Institute of Economic Affairs in March 2018, where he directed the IEA’s International Trade and Competition Unit and co-authored their controversial post-Brexit “Plan A+” report before becoming an IEA Fellow of Trade and Competition. Singham is CEO of his own private international trade consultancy, Competere. As recently as 2015, he was listed as an “expert” on a now-deleted webpage of the US-based climate science denying campaign group the Heartland Institute. [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]
Rebecca Ryan – Editor. Ryan is founder of the website and news outlet Free Market Conservatives, which she established in May 2019, and founder of the pro-“hard Brexit” campaign group StandUp4Brexit launched in August 2018 and most notable for its failed bid to organise the ringing of Big Ben to mark the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in January 2020. Ryan is also Campaign Director at Defund the BBC, a campaign group run by Glasgow University student, James Yucel, and which has been championed by former IEA Digital Manager, Darren Grimes. Ryan launched Global Vision with Singham in February 2020. [1], [25], [26], [7], [27], [28], [29]
Contributors
Global Vision lists the following individuals as contributors as of August 2020 :
- Aaron Rankin
- Adam Morgan
- Adrian Hill
- Alastair McMillan
- Alex Deane
- Alicia Kearns
- Alistair Kelman
- Andrea Jenkyns MP
- Andrew Rosindell
- Ben Houchen
- Brendan Chilton
- Catherine McBride
- Damien Phillips
- Daniel Hodson
- David Campbell Bannerman
- Derrick Wilkinson
- Douglas McWilliams
- Dr Gerard Lyons
- Dr Lee Rotheram
- Edward Sumner
- Elisabetta Ferri
- Emily Barley
- Ethan Thoburn
- Fawzi Ibrahim
- Paul Ormerod
- Harry Phibbs
- Harry Wilkinson
- Helen Mayer
- Hjörtur J. Gudmundsson
- Hugh Trenchard
- Jack Sowerby
- Jack Walters
- James Sproule
- Jason Reed
- Jayne Adye
- Jennifer Powers
- John Longworth
- Jon Moynihan OBE
- Jonathan De Leyser
- Joshua Mackenzie-Lawrie
- Julian Jessop
- Lance Forman
- Lars Karlsson
- Marcus Fysh
- Mark Wheatley
- Matt Ridley
- Matt Smith
- Matthew Groves
- Matthew MacKinnon
- Matthew Patten
- Owen Paterson
- Peter Allgeier
- Pieter Cleppe
- Prof. David Blake
- Prof. David Collins
- Prof. U. Srinivasa Rangan
- Rebecca Ryan
- Richard Patient
- Robert Courts MP
- Rory Broomfield
- Ruth Lea
- Shabnam Nasimi
- Shanker Singham
- Sheryll Murray
- Sir Bill Cash MP
- Stefan Garcia
- Stephen Lynch
- Stewart Jackson
- Suella Braverman
- Suzanne Evans
- Ted Jeffery
- Theodore Yarbrough
- Tim Bowling
- Tim Dawson
- Tony Smith
- Victoria Hewson [2]
Actions
June 12, 2020
In an article for Global Vision on the subject of US–UK trade negotiations, former Senior Economist of the Institute of Economic Affairs’ International Trade and Competition Unit, Catherine McBride, claimed that US chickens were farmed in “relatively luxurious” conditions compared to the UK, and said that journalists raising concerns about so-called “chlorinated chicken” were “promoting fear in the section of the UK population who could most benefit from cheaper imported food”. McBride’s web page on Global Vision describes her as an independent economist who has worked for the IEA and the Legatum Institute. [30], [31]
February 1, 2020
In a post to readers to mark the launch of Global Vision, editor Rebecca Ryan welcomed readers and said that the website’s “scope” would be to “cover the next stage of the Brexit negotiations as we establish our nation’s future relationship with both the EU and the wider world.” Ryan stated Global Vision’s position that “the 2016 vote was a positive move” and said the website was “optimistic about Britain’s future as an independent, free-trading, sovereign nation, with a global vision!” She said that Global Vision would “seek to fill the space” left by the prominent pro-Brexit news outlet Brexit Central which shut down in February 2020. [29], [32]
Related Organisations
- Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – Global Vision chair, Shanker Singham, is the former Director of the IEA’s International Trade and Competition Unit (ITCU) and is currently an IEA Fellow of International Trade and Competition Unit. Former Senior Economist of the IEA’s trade unit, Catherine McBride, and current advisor to the unit, Peter Allgeier, are both contributors to Global Vision, as is the IEA’s current Head of Regulatory Affairs, Victoria Hewson. Contributor Paul Ormerod is an IEA Advisor. [19], [22], [33], [34], [35], [22]
- Competere – Chair of Global Vision Shanker Singham is the CEO and Chair of the private trade consultancy, Competere. Jennifer Powers, a contributor to Global Vision, is an Associate at Competere and its only other known employee. [1], [36], [2], [37]
- Legatum Institute – Shanker Singham was Director of Economic Policy and Prosperity Studies at the Legatum Institute between 2016 and 2018, and headed up their “Special Trade Commission.” Global Vision contributor Catherine McBride has also worked for Legatum’s Special Trade Commission. [18], [38]
- Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) – GWPF Head of Policy, Harry Wilkinson, GWPF Director and Trustee Ruth Lea, and GWPF Advisor Matt Ridley are all contributors to Global Vision. [11], [8], [9], [10], [17]
Contact & Address
As of August 2020, Global Vision was listed at the following address [39]:
Global Vision
3rd Floor
86-90 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4NE
Social Media
- @GlobalVision_UK on Twitter.
- @GlobalVisionUK2020 on Facebook.
- Global Vision UK on YouTube.
Resources
- “About Us,” Global Vision. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/vMZ3P
- “Our Contributors,” Global Vision. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/cqYjJ
- “Global Vision UK,” YouTube Channel. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/IGCo7
- Mia Jankowicz. “Leave-supporting website BrexitCentral to shut down,” The New European. January 2, 2020. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/C0k0z
- Alex Spence. “The Definitive Story Of How A Former Washington Lobbyist Became “The Brexiteers’ Brain,” Buzzfeed. May 22, 2018. Archived July 16, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/vGhJi
- Peter Geoghegan, Jenna Corderoy. “Revealed: New evidence of ‘Hard Brexit svengali’ Shanker Singham’s ‘unparalleled access’ to senior government figures,” Open Democracy. June 14, 2018. Archived July 16, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/GZjAc
- “Rebecca Ryan,” Global Vision. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/3vnGk
- “The Global Warming Policy Foundation – Officers,” Companies House. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/uHVCW
- “Board of Trustees,” Global Warming Policy Foundation. Archived October 30, 2019. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.md/mPjWS
- “Academic Advisory Council,” Global Warming Policy Foundation. Archived June 30, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/BleyE
- “Who we are,” Global Warming Policy Forum. Archived January 23, 2020. Archive.md URL: http://archive.md/wip/reST5
- “Our Vision,” Global Vision. Archived October 24, 2019. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/hHPzC
- “Economic Advisory Panel,” Global Vision. Archived October 24, 2019. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/bS4nr
- “Parliamentary Friends,” Global Vision. Archived February 7, 2012. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/w1gcz
- “Global Vision for Britain Limited – Company No: 05888291,” Companies House. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/trnGo
- “Events,” Global Vision. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/AUW7G
- Harry Wilkinson. “We mustn’t let green lobbyists use coronavirus to turn us back into the sick man of Europe,” Global Vision. March 23, 2020. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/aBD2M
- Shanker Singham, “It’s time to seize the opportunities of Brexit and embrace a Global Vision,” Global Vision. February 2, 2020. Archived August 18, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/Sj35A
- “Shanker Singham to head up new Trade Unit at Institute of Economic Affairs,” Institute of Economic Affairs. March 9, 2018. Archived August 12, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/7YRwo
- Singham et al. “PlanA+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK,” Institute of Economic Affairs. September 21, 2018. Archived August 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- Mat Hope. “Thinktank with Ties to Climate Science Denial Censured by Charity Commission for Hard Brexit Lobbying,” DeSmog. February 6, 2019.
- “Fellows and Academic Advisors,” Institute of Economic Affairs. Archived July 16, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/7u3Jw
- “Shanker Singham,” LinkedIn. Archived August 14, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- “Expert Search,” The Heartland Institute. Archived September 12, 2015. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/aJaCG
- “Rebecca Ryan,” LinkedIn. Archived August 18, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- “Homepage,” StandUp4Brexit. Archived August 18, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/pwZa3
- “Brexit: Big Ben bongs fundraising appeal closes,” BBC News. January 27, 2020. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/wGrc1
- Steve Anglesey. “The Brexiteers behind the ‘Defund the BBC’ campaign,” The New European. July 30, 2020. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/nRStS
- Rebecca Ryan. “Welcome to Global Vision,” Global Vision. February 1, 2020. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/xG2r6
- Catherine McBride. “Exactly who are they trying to protect,” Global Vision, June 12, 2020. Archived June 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/Bog0C
- “Catherine McBride,” Global Vision. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/qdIXl
- Jonathan Isaby. “Thank you and farewell from BrexitCentral,” Brexit Central. February 1, 2020. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/uHxdE
- “Author – Catherine McBride,” BrexitCentral. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/dZbzs
- “International Trade and Competition Unit Advisory Council,” Institute of Economic Affairs. Archived July 27, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/V7OUx
- “Head of Regulatory Affairs and Research Associate,” Institute of Economic Affairs. Archived August 14, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/LBx3O
- “ABOUT SHANKER SINGHAM” (PDF), Institute of Economic Affairs, May 16, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- “Jennifer Powers,” Prosperity UK. Archived August 10, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/i9ZWr
- “Catherine McBride,” Institute of Economic Affairs. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/ErORV
- “Cookie Policy,” Global Vision. Archived August 20, 2020. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/7kHuy
