On Monday, we launched the first paper in our new series on foreign aid - First aid: Fixing international development. Massive thanks to Priti Patel, former aid secretary, who joined us for the launch and gave us her insights. While government is already picking up many of the recommendations, the... Read more...
By Ben Ramanauskas, Policy Analyst With punters pouring into pubs today for St Patrick’s Day, let’s talk about Ireland. It has pulled off one of the most impressive economic u-turns in recent memory. The Republic was hit particularly hard by the global financial crisis and subsequently fell into recession. It... Read more...
UPDATE: Higher probate fees are a tax, admits the government after charge increase for grieving families was introduced to generate an extra £155 million a year by Ben Ramanauskas, Policy AnalystUnder the innocuous sounding ‘Non-Contentious Probate (Fees Order)’, the government looks sets to push ahead with its plans to hike the... Read more...
By Ben Ramanauskas, Policy Analyst After the annual dog show, Crufts, it’s clear that the UK is a nation of animal lovers. According to the PDSA, in their appropriately named “Paw” report, 49 per cent of UK adults own a pet. This breaks down to 11.1 million cats, 8.9 million... Read more...
by James Middleton, TPA intern Socialism is on the rise. From Plymouth to Orkney, young people clamour for greater state intervention in their lives, higher taxes and even higher spending. Capitalism, we are expected to believe, is a stale economic model, well past its expiry date. Free marketeers are derided as... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance hosted a panel discussion on local authorities’ spending on commercial property and investments on Tuesday 26th. The discussion, and subsequent Q&A, was wide ranging, and included the councillors’ experience of commercial property and other investments, the moral hazard for taxpayers that this may create, and the distortionary... Read more...
by Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager At the TPA, we believe in lower taxes and better public services, because these policies have been proven to improve the lives of millions of people across the world. In stark comparison, socialism has caused misery and destruction. It's failed every time it has been... Read more...
by Ben Ramanauskas, Policy AnalystDespite lifting over a billion people out of poverty and raising the standard of living in a way that is unprecedented in human history, capitalism has an image problem. It is seen as an unfair system, which enriches a small group of elites at the expense... Read more...
1. It’s really difficult to get online In a country like Cuba, don’t count on being able to use Google Maps to find your way around. As for using your phone to order a takeaway or find that special someone on a dating app - forget it. The internet is... Read more...
by John O'Connell, Chief Executive It's a truth, unfortunately not universally acknowledged, that not all countries have started on the path to socialist ruin with hardline socialist governments. The march to statism doesn't only happen with the guys in army uniforms, though they usually pop up when everything starts going... Read more...
by Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager Awards season is upon us! Cue the flashing lights, teary acceptance speeches about smashing the patriarchy, selfies on the catwalk and bickering online over the best and worst dressed Hollywood stars. It’s the epitome of celebrity culture in the 21st century - glitzy, narcissistic, a... Read more...
by Richard Mason - Research Fellow at Consumer Choice CenterAbout half a century ago, Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter wrote in his book Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy about a concept he called ‘creative destruction’. Derived from the previous works of Marx, Schumpeter perceived economic growth under capitalism as a destructive force... Read more...