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Spring Budget 2023: Five things you need to know

By James Roberts, managing director As we at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said in our full response today, under the bonnet the Budget is full of problems for taxpayers. With something for everyone on tax giveaways, and a whole host of tinkers and tweaks, the devil is in the detail. Here... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog - February 2023

By: Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   February brought the news that the vast majority of top tier councils were going to hike council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent available to them. This wasn’t a surprise to taxpayers - give councils an inch and... Read more...

For your own good?

By Benjamin Elks, operations manager   Tobacco has long been the target of many nanny-state policies, intent on restricting adults enjoying a perfectly legal activity. From the menthol ban, to pack size restrictions, to the ever increasing taxes being levied, smokers are being aggressively restricted by those who think they... Read more...

Consequences for Croydon

by Michael Swadling, Croydon Constitutionalists   The recently announced 15 per cent council tax hike for the residents of Croydon is devastating news. Like the rest of the country, we are already being hit by increased heating costs, general inflation, and the 70 year high tax burden. The planned ULEZ... Read more...

What does civil service reorganisation mean for taxpayers?

by James Roberts, managing director   The dust has now settled on Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle. Last week, the prime minister sprung a reorganisation on an unsuspecting Whitehall: splitting up digital and culture, whacking business into trade and creating a new energy and net zero department. Some said the changes were... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: January 2023

By: Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   It wasn’t a happy new year for taxpayers unfortunately. Last month was a tale of bankrupt councils and indulgent spending across the public sector.   There was no worse indulgence than the BBC’s grotesque ten part series on the... Read more...

The Black Boy Lane debacle is the ultimate council clanger

by Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager   Haringey Council has hit the headlines this week after the local council spent over £100,000 of local taxpayers money on renaming a street.   Why was this necessary? Well, the street used to be called Black Boy Lane, likely after a pub that... Read more...

The poverty of globalism

By Dr. Mike Jones, researcher   British politicians have for many years talked about a ‘bonfire of the quangos’. Whether or not they’ve managed to get that bonfire going, it has meant there’s been a reasonable focus and discussion of what quangos do, who works for them and how much... Read more...

There is no quick fix to small boats

By Charlie Protheroe  Rishi Sunak’s priorities for the year ahead are admirable, if a little predictable. After all, what politician doesn’t harp on about the need to reduce inflation, debt, and NHS waiting lists, while growing the economy? The odd one out is the pledge to cut illegal immigration, because it... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: December 2022

Santa certainly visited civil servants in December. According to The Sun, £30 million of vouchers have been given out to Whitehall bureaucrats in the last few years. But even worse than that - this voucher scheme is not just used by civil service departments, it’s used across the entire public... Read more...

New Year’s speeches: More status-quo from Sunak and Starmer?

By Conor Holohan, media campaign manager    When Rishi Sunak stood up to deliver his new year’s speech on Wednesday, many were crossing their fingers for some good news.    In particular, with energy bills and inflation eroding the salaries of hardworking families, many will have wanted to hear that... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: November

By Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager   With all the waste we uncovered in October you may have thought that November would bring some relief. Unfortunately, this latest update on our War on Waste campaign makes for no easier reading.   Because in our latest investigations it seems public sector... Read more...

The lazy idea polluting clean air policy

By Benjamin Elks   Campaigns for clean air are very on trend among urban councils at the moment. Understandably so - pollutants in the air have a damaging effect on health and there are legal limits in place for emissions that councils must achieve.   A particular favourite way for... Read more...

A new age of austerity?

Watch any government minister being interviewed on TV these days, and you can play a game of politics bingo. Any mention of the NHS, they’ll start on about extra X billions - tick. Why are public finances in a mess? Well, there was the covid pandemic you know - got... Read more...

5 things Jeremy Hunt doesn't want you to know about his statement

Despite weeks of expectation management, the fiscal statement was even more painful for taxpayers than we anticipated.    There may not have been any surprise giveaways, but there were plenty of stealth takeaways. Here’s five things the chancellor doesn’t want you to know about his measures today:    1. This... Read more...

Higher alcohol taxes would be a bitter price to pay

By Benjamin Elks   At the end of October, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) released the 50th edition of their annual Good Beer Guide (GBG). The guide is packed with recommendations for finding a tasty pint in a pub near you.    But sadly, a lot has changed in... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: October 2022

By Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager   October was a month of horrors. And no, not just Halloween. But the prospect of tax rises are set against the backdrop of another bumper month of TPA waste-gathering. Some claim there’s no more fat to be trimmed. Taxpayers must think they live... Read more...

Public bodies in bed with transgender lobby groups

Earlier this month another controversy rocked the embattled charity Mermaids, when a Trustee was found to have given a speech to a paedophile aid group. While the charity has been in the news a lot recently, its long-standing connection to public bodies since 2012 has flown under the radar. Earlier... Read more...

The hidden cost of inflation

by Dr. Mike Jones, researcher   As we’ve written before, inflation is the ultimate stealth tax. We all feel the effects of it when we buy our weekly shopping, fill up our cars, or pay our energy bills. On Wednesday, it was announced that consumer price index (CPI) inflation for... Read more...

A taxpayer-friendly language guide for the BBC

One of the major criticisms levelled by many towards the BBC is its ability (or lack thereof) to maintain impartiality. This is usually most evident by the political affiliations of the guests it has on - often failing to declare they are activists for major political parties. However, there are... Read more...

Facing down trade unions

by Benjamin Elks, fundraising, operations and events assistant    Over the summer, taxpayers across the country had to deal with industrial unrest. But this was not the end of the story, with a fresh round of strikes already underway and set to get worse during the Conservative Party Conference starting... Read more...

Can we trust Trussonomics?

By Duncan Simpson, chief economist at the TaxPayers’ Alliance   It’s been a crazy fortnight. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only the start of this month that the new government under Liz Truss announced a massive state intervention in the energy market. And now we may... Read more...

Princes and Paupers - who should pay inheritance tax?

By Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   The death of Her Majesty The Queen has been refreshingly free of political debate. Outside of the fringes, most have come together in a touching display of affection and respect for a job well done and a life well... Read more...

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