Happiness Rules: Should Wellbeing Dictate Government Policy? (Lord Richard Layard)

Radical with Gabriel Gatehouse · Jul 2, 2026 · 50m

This week, Amol sits down with Lord Richard Layard, the author, economist, and Labour peer who has spent decades making the case for happiness and wellbeing. He successfully helped implement talking therapy to the NHS, and was a key figure in persuading the UK government to measure wellbeing.

But he wants to go further - in this conversation, Lord Layard outlines why he wants happiness to become the main objective of all government policy, and argues that this radical change would even pay for itself.

But what actually are happiness and wellbeing? How can we make ourselves happier? And why…