by Darwin Friend, head of research Today's Spending Review should have been an opportunity to set priorities and bring some discipline to the public finances. Instead, it confirmed what taxpayers have long feared. Rather than balancing the books, the government is committed to a reckless approach of funding everything,... Read more...
by Mike Denham, former chairman The Bank of England’s ‘quantitative easing’ (QE) scheme is costing taxpayers billions. The Bank’s most recently published estimate puts the total cost at around £150bn, and the final bill is probably going to be even higher. All of it falls on the shoulders of... Read more...
by Ted Newson, Institute of Economic Affairs intern and politics graduate Government intrusion touches nearly every aspect of life in modern Britain. Even a simple pleasure, like enjoying a pint at the pub on a Friday, is being squeezed by the relentless growth of the tax burden driving prices... Read more...
by Edward Bennett The Labour government announced on 25th May that South Western Railway (SWR) had been nationalised in what they described as a “new dawn for rail”. But if history is any guide, this is anything but a bright new beginning. Past experiences with nationalisation and government run... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher It wasn’t supposed to be like this. When the Lifetime ISA (LISA) was introduced in 2017, taxpayers were told it would help first-time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder. With a generous 25 per cent government top-up and the promise of tax-free savings,... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher At a Treasury Committee hearing this week, senior figures from the UK's largest banks -including Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC UK - urged the government to revisit ring-fencing rules first introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Ring-fencing was designed to protect retail... Read more...
by William Yarwood, media campaign manager Here’s a quote for you: “The theory that higher migration necessarily leads to higher growth doesn’t hold based on the evidence”. You’d be forgiven if you thought those words came from Nigel Farage, or perhaps Kemi Badenoch. But no — those were the... Read more...
by Atlanta Neudorf, operations assistant The TPA team was out and about in Essex last week, talking to local residents on the streets of Canvey Island. According to our research for Town Hall Rich List 2025, not one but two senior executives at Castle Point Borough Council were... Read more...
by Callum McGoldrick, researcher The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sat down on Monday afternoon to quiz industry experts on the use of private finance for infrastructure projects. A key message was that it’s not that the private sector would never want to invest in infrastructure projects, it’s that they... Read more...
by John O'Connell, chief executive A deeply concerning trend is emerging from Spain - a blatant disregard for the rule of law that should cause panic in any country with like-minded governments. Their state-driven campaign of coercion against its own citizens is not merely a policy misstep; it represents... Read more...
by Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager Start as you mean to go on, and that’s exactly the approach that I’ve taken this year when it comes to uncovering waste in the public sector. After a revelation-packed Christmas, where the TaxPayers’ Alliance made headlines for exposing scandal after scandal, 2025 has... Read more...
by Mike Denham, former chairman It wasn’t supposed to be like this. When taxpayers were first introduced to fiscal rules, we were told they would limit public sector debt to prudent and stable levels. Yet three decades later, we find ourselves on the hook for debts of almost £3 trillion... Read more...
by Matthew Bowles, strategic partnerships manager at the Institute of Economic Affairs Potholes have quietly become the tyrants of Britain’s roads – multiplying faster than they’re mended, swallowing tyres, and turning mild-mannered motorists into furious fender-benders. Once a symbol of minor inconvenience, potholes have become a totem of local authority... Read more...
by Callum McGoldrick, researcher Monday brought with it the release of our second research paper in our Britain’s Quangos Uncovered campaign - the quango rich list. Top of the list, and therefore being the highest paid quangocrat in the country, was Channel 4’s chief executive Alex Mahon who received... Read more...
by Andrew Sheldon, Essex County Councillor “We believe this is a witch-hunt against officers, we oppose it, and if this goes ahead, we all know what will happen”. Those words were uttered by the ‘leader of the opposition’ in a public council meeting that up until recently was still... Read more...
by Atlanta Neudorf, operations assistant Earlier this week the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its public sector finances report for March 2025, closing out the figures for the financial year 2024-2025. Unsurprisingly, the report makes for grim reading, and confirms that fiscal recklessness is a permanent feature... Read more...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns We at the TPA have just launched a new project, Britain’s Quangos Uncovered, which seeks to pull back the curtain on the quango state - the nexus of regulators, committees, advisory bodies, service providers and much more which sit largely out of ministerial... Read more...
by Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager At last, some sanity from the Supreme Court: ‘woman’ means woman. In an age where public debate has seemed increasingly unmoored from reality, the Supreme Court has thrown down a welcome anchor. In a ruling that cuts through the fog of gender... Read more...
by Dr Peter Wynarczyk, former senior university manager, academic economist, and higher education and business consultant. A large majority of English councils have taken the opportunity given to them by government to apply a second home premium of up to 100 per cent, following the lead of Wales and... Read more...
by William Yarwood, media campaign manager Over the weekend, social media was flooded with MPs posting selfies from trains and tubes en route to Westminster to “#saveoursteel” after Parliament was recalled to pass emergency legislation - the Steel Industry Special Measures Bill - to give the government effective control... Read more...
By: John O’Connell, chief executive The TaxPayers’ Alliance has ever since its inception been a firm opponent of the nationalisation of British industry. Privatisation has certainly had its challenges. But the standard for success is not necessarily perfection - it’s improvement. And on that metric, privatisation has consistently delivered, producing... Read more...
by Emma Revell, external affairs director at the Centre for Policy Studies A YouGov survey published earlier this week lays bare the scale of the task facing those of us who believe a smaller, more efficient state would deliver significant benefits to Brits, not least through lower public spending.... Read more...
by Atlanta Neudorf, operations assistant The economic sword of Damocles that has been hanging over taxpayers since the autumn budget has finally fallen. With the inauguration of the new tax year this past Sunday, increased tax burdens have landed with a heavy thud on the heads of employers and... Read more...
Well they’ve landed. Across the country, council tax bills have landed in inboxes and postboxes with the new, increased rates that taxpayers will have to pay. In some places, such as Wandsworth, residents are getting off lightly. In others, such as Falkirk, bills have shot up by 15 plus per... Read more...