by Andrew Allum, founder and former chairman of the TPA The UK productivity puzzle is the long-term slowdown in productivity growth. But how long term, and when did it start? It is often discussed as a problem “since the GFC” or sometimes “since 2010” where the blame falls squarely on... Read more...
by Mike Denham, former chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance British taxpayers are struggling under a record tax burden. It’s been driven by a huge increase in public spending, which over the last quarter century has ballooned under both Labour and Conservative governments. The one constant trend over this period:... Read more...
By Jonathan Eida, researcher The role and conduct of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other financial regulators is, quite rightly, under intense scrutiny, with its work being looked at today by the Financial Services Regulation committee. Too often these quangos, and in particular regulators, are treated as untouchable... Read more...
By: Jeremy Havardi, director of B'nai B'rith Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) made the extraordinary decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. The absurd and reprehensible decision completely undermines the Court’s credibility by accusing the men of ‘the... Read more...
by David Taylor, Councillor for St Edward's, Havering Havering Council (East London) has just published its latest figures around staff sickness, and the report shows a mental health crisis that is costing millions. The report shows that over 50 per cent of Havering staff have taken sick leave in the... Read more...
By: Darwin Friend, head of research The first GDP release of the new Labour government was always going to be of interest, especially as they report on the period directly before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivered her first budget. Yet few could have been prepared for the figures revealed by the... Read more...
By: Elliot Keck, head of campaigns During the Conservative leadership campaign Kemi Badenoch conspicuously avoided proposing any major policies that she would pursue were she to win. Instead she would govern from “first principles.” It was a successful strategy: she won, after all. There was also genuine wisdom in the... Read more...
By: Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager The government and public health zealots have conspired to do the unthinkable, dilute our wine. Yes, one of the nation’s most cherished tipples is under threat, not from foreign invaders or bad vintages but from a confusing cocktail of tax policies and health interventions.... Read more...
On Wednesday afternoon in the Commons Rachel Reeves laid out the details of the first Labour budget in 14 years. She began by stating that “This is a changed Labour Party.” She also promised to end the ‘short-termism’ of the previous government and to ‘invest, invest, invest’. Perhaps that last... Read more...
By: Mike Denham, former chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance The chancellor recently told the BBC that she will be changing the debt rules to rely on a different measure of debt, public sector net financial liabilities rather than public sector net debt. This has been done to allow the government... Read more...
By: Mike Denham, former chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance It’s now been confirmed that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will set out new fiscal rules in her forthcoming budget. By reformulating the rules to include public sector assets as well as debt, she hopes to provide more fiscal headroom for infrastructure... Read more...
By: Jonathan Eida, researcher When the prime minister stood at the despatch box to face Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Westminster was awash with speculation and chatter around the tax rises that could be included in this Labour government’s first budget.The leader of the opposition cut to... Read more...
By: William Yarwood, media campaign manager We at the TaxPayers’ Alliance have never shied away from talking about the national debt. Recently we re-launched our debt clock campaign along with a new online debt clock tool which shows our national debt in real time, how much it's increasing by and... Read more...
By: Jonathan Eida, researcher Football, like politics, is full of pitiful platitudes and empty virtue signalling. Unsurprisingly, when the two intersect, the outcome is more hot air than substance. But behind the feel-good slogans and surface-level concerns, both football and governments are guilty of decisions that have devastating real-world consequences—especially... Read more...
by: Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife When the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022, the reasoning was that the war in Ukraine had distorted the oil and gas market. This had led to far higher profits for energy companies through no improvements on... Read more...
By: Callum McGoldrick, researcher Though Westminster may not like to hear it, the TaxPayers’ Alliance can tell them that most of the country cares more about their bins than Sue Gray’s salary or the Conservative leadership race. Bin collection is something that every resident needs, and when there is a... Read more...
By: Callum McGoldrick, researcher We have been told that the ‘adults are back in the room’ now that we once again have a Labour government, but who exactly are these adults? In the two months since Keir Starmer received the keys to No.10 we have seen the announcement of GB... Read more...
By: Shimeon Lee, researcher As students head off to university this September, they are entering a higher education system that has changed considerably in the last year. Due to the tightening of immigration rules by the previous government, the market for international students has shrunk, and thus, so have university... Read more...
By: Elliot Keck, head of campaigns Sir Keir Starmer in his first speech as prime minister pledged a “return of politics to public service.” Whether or not his early weeks in government have demonstrated this promise made on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street, there’s no doubt that this... Read more...
Guest blog by Andrew RT Davies, Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament Public services in Wales are far below the standard we expect. NHS waiting lists are longer than in the rest of the UK. Standards in our schools are lower. And vital infrastructure projects, like the much-needed M4... Read more...
By: Elliot Keck, head of campaigns As Labour relax on their four hundred and eleven seats in the House of Commons, the challenge for the Conservatives is to figure out how to redeem themselves. They lost a shocking 244 seats at the election. And with Rishi Sunak stepping down... Read more...
By: Jonathan Eida, researcher The UK is experiencing death by debt. As the Taxpayers’ Alliance new debt clock tool shows, debt is continuing to tick higher and higher without any reprieve. Currently, the debt clock shows the national debt at over £2.5 trillion, and is rapidly increasing at a rate... Read more...
By: Elliot Keck, head of campaigns We at the TaxPayers’ Alliance have no dog in the fight which is the Conservative leadership election, but we certainly take an interest. After all, the next leader of the opposition could be the prime minister one day, so their views on tax, spend... Read more...
By: Reem Ibrahim, communications officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs “This is what we believe!” declared then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she slammed her copy of F. A. Hayek’s ‘Constitution of Liberty’ onto the table at a Conservative Party policy meeting. This level of fortitude and... Read more...