The TaxPayers' Alliance - About

Dr Lee Rotherham, Policy Analyst, EU

Dr Lee Rotherham is a veteran from behind the stage scenery of European Union politics.  After researching for the “Westminster Group of Eight” Eurorebels, he advised three successive Shadow Foreign Secretaries, a role part-based within the European Parliament.  This expertise led to his appointment as ‘Chief of Staff’ to the Rt Hon David Heathcoat-Amory MP, British parliamentary delegate to the Convention on the Future of Europe, and a central role behind delegates opposing the European Constitution and the drafters of the Minority Report.

He has been closely involved in a number of grassroots EU campaigning organisations over the years, most notably the Bruges Group, CAFE, and as a columnist for  the European Journal.  He has been extensively and internationally published on a palette of subjects.  Since the TPA’s last edition of the Bumper Book of Government Waste (which he jointly wrote), 2008  has seen him co-author a major book for Open Europe on the EU’s PR budgets. 

He is a fluent French speaker and tortures a large number of other unfortunate languages.

Lee comes to the TPA in 2009 after a stint as Corporate Communications Manager in English Heritage; TA service in Helmand Province, Afghanistan; and an heroic failed bid to become Mayor of London in order to abolish it (the mayoralty, not the city).

Maria Fort, Policy Analyst, Public Spending

Maria Fort was born in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, in 1985.  After moving to Chicago, Illinois, and later to Richmond, Virginia, Maria attended Saint Catherine’s School, and all-girl, Episcopalian school where she discovered her passion for conservative politics.

She studied Economics and International Affairs, with a concentration on Europe, at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and received a Bachelor of Science degree in May 2008.  It was at James Madison that Maria became involved in the Republican Party through her work with the College Republicans.  Maria spent her university career working with the Republican Party through various internships and local and national campaigns, including a position with the College Republican Federation of Virginia for which she received an award for her work on a state-wide grassroots volunteer programme as the Political Director of the CRFV.  She also spent a semester in London studying British culture and politics through her home university, JMU.   Maria spent several months in Washington DC interning with foreign policy think tank the Nixon Center and the United States Department of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

Maria joined the TaxPayers’ Alliance in September 2008 to experience life in British politics by playing an active role in Britain’s fastest growing campaign group.  In December, she was promoted to a full time Policy Analyst, joining the team permanently.  She remains a Republican Party activist.

Susie Squire, Campaign Manager

Susie Squire was born in Newport, South Wales. She was educated at Rougemont School, before completing her high school education in Johannesburg, South Africa. As well as being Head Girl in her final year, she was awarded full school colours for debating, drama and cross country running.

After receiving a distinction at matriculation level, Susie then moved onto to study at the University of Cape Town, where she completed a double major in Political Philosophy and English Literature, specialising in Elizabethan Literature and Constitutional Philosophy. During her time in Cape Town, Susie also co-ordinated the 'Masizikhulise' initiative, a community project based in the townships around Cape Town aimed at helping unemployed single mothers gain employment through teaching them comprehension and career skills.

Susie also worked in a rape crisis centre, and wrote and sub-edited for UCT's Varsity newspaper, reporting on issues including racial discrimination and campus rape. Susie then went on to attain a first class Masters' degree in English from the University of Cape Town, whilst simultaneously working as a freelance journalist for Conde Nast and regional African media, often focusing on the divisive nature of natural resource wealth in West Africa. She also contributed to numerous travel guides of the Southern African region.

Before joining the TaxPayers' Alliance, Susie was the Network Development Manager at the Stockholm Network. There she was responsible for liaison, co-operation and co-ordination of over 138 free market organisations across Europe. She also edited numerous publications and newsletters, focusing on market-oriented reform of European social welfare systems, and was called upon for regular public speaking appointments in Brussels, London and other European capitals. She headed up all Brussels-based activity, pan-European networking events and compiled and edited the weekly e-newsletter which reached over 3,000 people worldwide.

Susie has previously edited State of the Union, a publication that tracks the progress of market oriented reform across the EU, as well as compiling and editing Eye on Europe, a quarterly newsletter focusing on regional European politics. Susie has also contributed to New Contrast, The Cape Times and various Conde Nast publications.  At the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Susie works with Campaign Director Mark Wallace to ensure that our important message is covered in the media.

Sara Rainwater, Operations Director

Sara Rainwater was born outside of Nashville, Tennessee in America in 1978.  She has been involved in politics and campaigning from a very early age, having helped her uncle’s first local election campaign at the age of 12.  She received her Bachelor of Science in International Relations at Middle Tennessee State University in 2001, with minors in Twentieth Century European Studies and German.  She completed two prestigious internships with the US Department of State – at the US Mission to the United Nations and the US Embassy, London – and was active in local and national political campaigns during her undergraduate studies.

Sara moved to London in 2002 and spent six months working for a US immigration attorney in Mayfair before completing a postgraduate degree in European Union Studies at the London School of Economics.  Her thesis focused on the British Eurorealist movement, which she became involved in whilst working as a research assistant for the European Foundation.  She was subsequently hired as the European Foundation’s EU-US Relations Specialist in 2003.  She was then promoted to Editor of The European Journal, the Foundation’s main publication and the UK’s leading Eurorealist publication, in 2005.  She was also Organising Secretary of the European Reform Forum from July to December 2005.

In March 2007, she went to work as Manager of Global Vision, where she helped Ruth Lea and Lord Blackwell establish the campaign as a new leading voice in the Eurorealist debate.

A self-confessed ‘born organiser’, Sara joined the TaxPayers’ Alliance in August 2008 as Operations Manager to oversee the administration and management across their two offices in London and Birmingham.

Sara also enjoys event management and has organised many high-profile events with international dignitaries such as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic, former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing and former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton.

Ben Farrugia, Policy Analyst, Public Services

Ben Farrugia was born in 1984, in London. He attended Port Regis and then Bryanston School, before moving to Birmingham to read Modern History and Political Science. A highly commended dissertation on the relationship between European Union enlargement and integration helped Ben to obtain a first class degree, and a place at the London School of Economics. There he took a masters degree in Political Sociology, concentrating on the importance of political institutions, and culminating in a thesis on Malta’s exceptionally high electoral turnout.

Previously Ben has worked in the rare book department of Sotheby’s auction house, and as a researcher for a Sunday Times journalist. With family in both Italy and Malta, he has spent much of the past decade ruminating on the similarities and differences between European political cultures - usually more on the differences when working on the family farm in Sicily. He is currently involved in co-writing a radio play and research into the politics surrounding water usage.

Mark Wallace, Campaign Director

Mark Wallace was born in North Shields, North Tyneside, in 1984.  Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, he chaired the school Debating Society and competed in various national debating competitions.

After school, Mark studied Archaeology at Durham University, specialising in Roman and Early Medieval British Archaeology and worked for the Bamburgh Research Project. Outside academic life, he was involved in student campaigns as Senior Student Union Representative and, later, Senior Man (JCR President) of St Chad’s College, Durham.

Mark has been politically active since his teens, supporting campaigns against the Euro and for a referendum on the EU Constitution before campaigning for a No vote in the 2004 referendum on the North East Regional Assembly – in which the Assembly was resoundingly rejected.

Before joining the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Mark was the Campaign Manager of The Freedom Association between September 2005 and October 2007, campaigning in defence of individual, economic and political freedom on issues from ID cards and free speech to tax and the EU. He has been a regular guest speaker at political meetings, dinners and rallies across the country as well as a commentator across the media on a variety of topics.

Mark has written for a variety of publications, including Freedom Today magazine, ConservativeHome.com, the Newcastle Journal and the Birmingham Post. He is also the Deputy Editor of LibertarianUK.

Articles

‘Democracy and Criminal Justice must be defended’, ConservativeHome.com, September 2006
‘No Place for Penny Pinching in the Armed Forces’, Birmingham Post, December 2006
‘Belgium without the waffle’, Libertarian UK, September 2007

Mike Denham

Mike Denham is a former Treasury economist who worked extensively on public spending and fiscal analysis during the 1970s and early 1980s. His work included cost benefit appraisal of public projects, analysis of public sector cost inflation and value for money studies. For the next 20 years he worked in the City as an investment manager, closely following fiscal and monetary policy developments. Now semi-retired, he scrutinises public spending on the TaxPayers' Alliance Burning Our Money blog.  Mike studied PPE at Oxford University, and has a Masters in Economics from the LSE. He lives in Surrey with his wife, and has two sons.

Corin Taylor, Research Director

Corin Taylor read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Balliol College Oxford, where he was awarded a Hall Scholarship and the Jenkyns Prize.  He was also one of the Triarchs of Cerebrus, the Balliol PPE Society, and he rowed for the college.  During his time at university he spent a brief period working for the No campaign against the introduction of the euro in Britain.

After graduating in 2004 Corin worked for the think tank Reform for two years as Economics Research Officer, where he authored a number of papers on tax and economic reform, including co-authoring a pensions reform plan with the Prime Minister’s former economic adviser, Derek Scott.  He drew up Reform’s “Growth Rule” for more sustainable public spending and lower taxes, which made front page of The Telegraph in February 2005 and is still widely quoted.  He also researched an influential paper on welfare reform.  An article in favour of flat taxes also appeared in the Financial Times in 2005. 

Since leaving Reform Corin has given several talks on public service reform in Canada and has worked for a number of organisations, including the Institute of Directors and the Social Justice Policy Group.  He also wrote several sections of the Tax Reform Commission report, which was published in October 2006.

As the TPA’s Research Director, Corin is responsible for the research output of the campaign, bringing in leading economists and other figures to give expert advice to the research programme.  Under Corin’s direction, the TaxPayers' Alliance commissioned the respected Centre for Economics and Business Research to produce a dynamic model of the UK economy, showing the beneficial economic effects of lowering taxes.

Other research projects include a series of papers examining how the structure of government can be changed to reduce waste and improve services, and a campaign exposing local authority spending on non-priority areas, which showed how modest reductions in spending could give families relief from record council tax bills.

Corin is also a Senior Policy Adviser at the Institute of Directors, working on fiscal policy and public sector reform issues, and sits on the Economic Dependency Committee of the Centre for Social Justice.

Matthew Sinclair, Research Director

Matthew Sinclair was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1983 and educated at Fearnhill School in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.  He then studied economics and economic history at the London School of Economics at undergraduate and Master’s level.  His Master’s thesis examined the effects of government deficits in the United Kingdom during the twentieth century.

While at university Matthew was involved in student journalism, with the LSE student newspaper, and intervarsity debating.  At the student newspaper he became editor of the features section and succeeded in radically improving its scale and content.  In his time debating he reached the grand final at Oxford and won the University College London, Manchester Intervarsity and World Masters’ competitions.  He was also actively involved in student politics, arguing the case for economic liberalism in a highly anti-capitalist environment.

In breaks from university he worked for a life assurance company based in Birmingham – seeing first hand the costs of government regulation – travelled to China to make a start at learning Mandarin and to Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Matthew joined the TaxPayers’ Alliance in May 2007.  At the beginning of December 2008 he became Research Director.  He has produced studies on the National Health Service, crime, big government projects, the dynamic effects of tax cuts, Gordon Brown’s economic record, hate education in Palestine and environmental policy.

Beyond the Dome provided the most comprehensive account yet produced of the record of over-runs in major government projects.  The report Wasting Lives used heavyweight statistical analysis and data processing to provide context for the debate over NHS performance and establish that thousands are dying thanks to high treatable mortality rates relative to other European countries.  The Case Against Further Green Taxes, followed on this year by The Burden of Green Taxes, pioneered testing existing green taxes against the scale of the externalities created by climate change – similar estimates have since been produced by other groups including Government departments.  The Burden of Green Taxes also included ground breaking estimates showing how green taxes affect people in every local authority in the country.  The reports The Cost of Crime in London and The Cost of Crime were the first attempts to form a comprehensive picture of the burden that crime imposes on different local communities.  More recently, How cutting corporation tax would boost revenue uses new regression analysis and examples to make the case that the dynamic rewards from cutting corporate tax are now sufficient to increase revenue and Gordon Brown’s Economic Failure provided the most comprehensive case yet that Brown’s record as chancellor was a poor one.  Smaller reports have provided insights issues including the effect the Olympics is likely to have on construction inflation and the political effects of cutting Fuel Duty.

Matthew authored the TaxPayers’ Alliance’s Response to the Quality of Life Policy Group which provided the most comprehensive account available of the problems with that report and drew a response from one of the authors on the ConservativeHome website.  The report Funding Hate Education was submitted as evidence to the House of Commons International Development Committee.  He has also represented the TaxPayers’ Alliance frequently on radio, television - with appearances on the BBC News Channel, Sky News, Bloomberg, the Daily Politics and Newsnight – and in person at a range of events.

Matthew has played a central part in developing the current website that was launched last Summer and commissioning the Brown Calculator – implementing the TaxPayers’ Alliance strategy to build an active presence on the web.  As well as writing for the TaxPayers’ Alliance website he writes at his own blog - which was nominated for the ConservativeHome Best Young Conservative Blogger award – and for ConservativeHome’s CentreRight.

Books

"The Union Modernisation Fund", The Little Red Book of Labour Sleaze, 2006

Reports

Gordon Brown’s Economic Failure, September 2008
How Cutting Corporation Tax Would Boost Revenue, September 2008
The Burden of Green Taxes, August 2008
The Cost of Crime, July 2008
The Looming Winter of Discontent, May 2008
The Cost of Crime in London, April 2008
The Economic and Political Case Against Higher Fuel Duty, March 2008
Budget 2008 Report, March 2008
Wasting Lives: A statistical analysis of NHS performance in a European context since 1981, January 2008
Funding Hate Education, January 2008
Rewards for Failure: Hospital Acquired Infections, December 2007
Pre-Budget Report Projects 30 per cent Council Tax Rise, October 2007
Response to the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group Report, September 2007
The Case Against Further Green Taxes, September 2007
Green Tokenism: Government Cars, August 2007
Effect of the 2012 Olympics on Construction Inflation, August 2007
The Cost of the 2012 Olympics, July 2007
The Global Warming Industry in Local Government, July 2007
Beyond the Dome: Government projects £23 billion over budget, July 2007

Articles

How Brown wasted our taxes and our chance to prosper, Yorkshire Post, September 2008
Cameron learns his lesson from green debacle, Yorkshire Post, August 2008
The Strange Death of the Tory Climate Crusade, The American, July 2008
Decentralisation is key to better value for money in hospitals, Kent on Sunday, February 2008
The Still Emerging Blairite Legacy, TCS Daily, July 2007
America's secret success story has classical liberalism to thank, The Business, June 2007
The Political Right's Separation Anxiety, TCS Daily, April 2007

Fiona McEvoy, West Midlands Campaign Agent

Fiona McEvoy was born in Blackpool in 1983 and educated at Arnold School where in her final year she received a national award for one of the top five A level Classics marks in the country.  In 2001 she moved to the West Midlands for the first time to study English Literature and Drama at the University of Birmingham, then moving north again to read Classical Studies at the University of Durham, where one of her concentrations was Greek political philosophy and practice. Academic accolades whilst at university included a first class dissertation, and two other pieces of work – on Platonic and Greek Sceptical philosophy - rated as publishable.

Whilst at the University of Durham, Fiona became an active and lifelong member of the Durham Union Society, participating in talks, debates and events on a regular basis. She has also frequently assisted with various student election campaigns, and is a member of ‘The Next Generation’ at the Adam Smith Institute. Work wise, Fiona has extensive sales experience but most recently she worked for Spicerhaart, the UK’s largest asset manager, where she dealt first hand with housing repossession and witnessed the escalating numbers of people unable to cope with the financial burden.

Recreationally, Fiona has been involved in the arts in various ways; performing as part of an improvised comedy ensemble, playing in a band, and acting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also enjoys reading. 

Fiona is excited to be involved with the launch of this new TPA outpost, which hopefully marks the beginning of continued and sustained expansion for the campaign throughout the country. She hopes that, from its inception, the West Midlands TaxPayers' Alliance will be successful in promoting a low-tax agenda through highlighting residents’ tax concerns, incidents of waste and mismanagement and arguing for the need to cut taxes and regulations as well as opposing road pricing to help businesses in the region compete.