By Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant. Lockdown has two sides: the very personal tale of socially distanced interaction with family and friends, and the sobering effect these measures have had on our jobs and the wider economy. But in some cases, the personal and the economic impacts of the government's... Read more...
By Michael Swadling of the Croydon Constitutionalists Did you know councils can’t go bankrupt? No matter how much of taxpayers’ money they risk on dodgy investments, mismanagement and harebrained schemes, they’re always protected from total financial collapse. The only way to stop councils spending reckless sums is by issuing... Read more...
By Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant For many people, these political party conferences have been a busted flush. A series of pre-planned and therefore pointless speeches, delivered deadpan to a webcam. But as we face the worst recession in Europe, what the Prime Minister has to say about the... Read more...
In the past, the mention of a four day working week may have transported you back to the horrors of 1970s socialism or Edward Heath’s infamous three day week. But all such gloomy imagery has largely disappeared. In 2020, a four day week is firmly on the political agenda. ... Read more...
First there was ‘New Labour’ and now there's ‘New Leadership’, with Sir Keir Starmer turning on the charm offensive in a bid to bag your vote. But does Keir's Labour Party do what it says on the tin? Has he abandoned the hardline socialist platform the party stood on in... Read more...
By Duncan Simpson, research director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance First, the schools shut up shop. Then came the exams fiasco. The last thing worried parents needed this summer was uncertainty about term times. But little did that matter to the senior shop stewards in the teaching unions, determined to... Read more...
by Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance This crisis has confirmed many home truths. Always wash your hands. You can always trust the government to waste money. When the chips are down, don’t expect nanny state quangocrats to know what they’re doing. There’s no such thing... Read more...
by Kieran Neild, grassroots assistant at the TaxPayers' Alliance The TPA has tirelessly campaigned to cut back the quangocracy. We recognise that quangos are unaccountable, a burden to the taxpayer and often not fit for purpose. David Cameron's promise of a bonfire of quangos in 2010 has been well... Read more...
by Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Since High Speed 2 (HS2) was first imagined the TaxPayers’ Alliance has doggedly campaigned against this monstrosity of a transportation project. As I’ve said on many occasions, HS2 has consistently over-promised and under-delivered, which is exactly why it should... Read more...
By Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant The TaxPayers’ Alliance receives amazing support from thousands of people. Whether it's small business owners angry at business rates, students campaigning to axe the BBC licence fee, a potential homeowner worried about stamp duty or a pensioner suffering under another inflation-busting council tax rise... Read more...
By Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance It’s nearly three weeks since the government launched the Eat Out To Help Out Scheme designed to give a much needed boost to the hospitality sector. Early indications suggest it is working, albeit at significant cost to the taxpayer. It’s... Read more...
by Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant at the TaxPayers' Alliance It is no secret that the government gives public contracts to private companies. Departments and government agencies will tender a contract to private companies to provide public services, build hospitals and schools or supply public bodies. In principle, and in... Read more...
by Kieran Neild, grassroots assistant at the TaxPayers' AllianceTaxation affects every part of our lives. Whether it's buying food, going on holiday or even taking home a paycheque - our income and consumption is touched in some way by HMRC. This is of course not a recent phenomenon. In a... Read more...
by Darwin Friend, policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance It seems a political age has passed since February, when Downing street figures told The Times that the BBC licence fee was set to be scrapped. But even though other seismic events have understandably dominated media and political attention in recent... Read more...
by Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance Back in June, I laid out the case for abolishing ten quangos in an attempt to reignite the “bonfire” that former PM David Cameron failed to keep going. Plenty of TPA supporters have been asking me: were those to be... Read more...
By Scott Simmonds, researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Britain is grappling with the harrowing economic difficulties created in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. While signs of recovery have been small thus far, public spending and tax receipts are steadying. HMRC tax receipts for June this year have revealed... Read more...
By Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager “What’s the BBC ever given us for 58 quid!?” mused a bewildered-looking John Cleese... No, sadly, the British comedy legend hasn’t really voiced such a stinging query - and had he done so, he’d now be £100 shy of the mark. The line... Read more...
By Kieran Neild, grassroots assistant at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Emulating the former US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression, Boris Johnson has christened the government's post-coronavirus economic plan as a New Deal for Britain. Michael Gove went even further in his much-read Ditchley Lecture, claiming that... Read more...
by Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance In a recent interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the chief executive of Channel 4, Alex Mahon revealed that the broadcaster won’t be seeking a taxpayer bailout despite the economic destruction inflicted by coronavirus. At the TPA we very much... Read more...
by Scott Simmonds, researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Electronic devices play an essential role in the everyday running of any organisation, whether to check messages, access the internet, or make an old-fashioned phone call. The same goes for Whitehall. Government ministers and mandarins love their mobiles, with laptops facilitating... Read more...
by Philip Miller MBE, Executive Chairman of Radio Essex Like many others, I was angered to learn that the BBC will scrap free TV licences for more than three million over-75s. The corporation’s chairman, David Clementi, claimed it is “under severe financial pressure”, threatening to close several TV and radio... Read more...
By policy analyst, Jeremy Hutton Today another set of Estimates Day debates has drawn to a close, although if you blinked you might have missed it. Despite being relatively unknown beyond the walls of Westminster, the Estimates Day debates are theoretically one of the most important days of the parliamentary... Read more...
By Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager “Have you ever noticed how all of the roadworks happen around the end of the financial year?” The anecdote is one that will be familiar to many readers, and refers to councils’ last-ditch attempts to use up their budget before it comes under... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst Proposals to commission a new royal yacht have been common in recent years, spearheaded by a Daily Telegraph campaign that began in 2016. The proposal has attracted support from a variety of political and public figures, including the likes of William Hague, Michael Gove, Liam... Read more...