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The four-day week experiment: A costly gamble for the public sector

by Conor Holohan, media campaign manager   At prime minister’s questions last week, Anthony Browne MP brought the House of Commons’ attention to an experiment taking place in South Cambridgeshire.   South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) has been trialling a four-day working week for their desk staff, and last month... Read more...

Is Labour ready to win over taxpayers?

By Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager    It’s been a topsy-turvy week. ITV’s iconic daytime duo - former best buddies Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield - have imploded in a flurry of controversy and bitter recriminations. Rishi Sunak appeared on their show to say he thought immigration was too high,... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: April 2023

By: Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   We promised a bombshell in the March edition of this blog. Well here it is. Our investigation, which splashed the Mail+ (the online late edition of the Daily Mail), found that 240 ambulances were delayed by low-traffic neighbourhood schemes... Read more...

Counselling the councillors

By Benjamin Elks, operations manager     With the dust settling on the recent local elections, a raft of new councillors will be taking their seats in council chambers across the country. Many will have dreams of fixing potholes, rejuvenating town centres, and ‘delivering’ for residents - if their pre-election leaflets... Read more...

The public sector jobs boom

By Mike Denham, chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance   Analysis by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) suggests that the number of people employed by the state is nearly double that of official estimates of 5.7 million. The original NIESR paper raises some excellent questions about exactly... Read more...

Raising a glass to the coronation

by Morgan Schondelmeier, tax and trade policy manager at the British Beer and Pub Association   The British people don’t need an excuse for a pint down the pub. One of our most famous and beloved pastimes, the pub has been at the centre of our culture and heritage for... Read more...

The Mayor's anti-car crusade will cost us all

by David Taylor, Councillor for St Edward's, Havering   The Mayor of London is on a crusade against motorists.  According to Sadiq Khan, this is necessary to combat the problem of air pollution. His latest scheme, to extend the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) out to the whole of Greater... Read more...

Ten takeaways from Town Hall Rich List 2023

Our latest research, the 16th edition of the Town Hall Rich List, reveals the top bureaucrats who have received hundreds of millions of pounds from council taxpayers.   Here are 10 things you need to know about Town Hall Rich List 2023:   We have a pretty tried and tested... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog - March 2023

By: Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   March 2023 was the wettest on record. It must come as a relief, then, to council staff that their employers are so generous when it comes to working from home. Why go out in the cold and the rain... Read more...

Why the WHO's World Health Day leaves little to celebrate

by John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance   Good Friday was also ‘World Health Day’, apparently. This niche celebration, organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), proclaims their 75th anniversary with a series of colourful graphics and self-gratifying videos. For the uninitiated, the WHO is one of the... Read more...

A tourism tax would discourage people from visiting Wales

by Conor Holohan, media campaign manager   Last week the Welsh government provided an update on their proposals for a tourism tax. The gist was that the consultation has concluded, and the law will be introduced this Senedd term.    The proposed measures would hand councils the power to introduce... Read more...

Scotland’s new first minister faces huge fiscal challenges

by Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager   Earlier this week, Humza Yousaf was announced as Nicola Sturgeon’s successor as leader of the Scottish National Party. Consequently, he replaced her as first minister of Scotland, taking office two days later and forming a new devolved government in Holyrood.   But his... Read more...

What to make of the Spring Budget after the dust has settled

On the day itself, our chairman Mike Denham told an audience at a joint TPA/IEA briefing “our major concern was that Hunt really did nothing about reducing the overall burden of taxation. We still have the highest level of taxation relative to GDP in 75 years.” That’s a problem, he... Read more...

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...

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