1. Stamp duty land tax It is encouraging to see that the new prime minister has considered raising the threshold for paying stamp duty as well as lowering the top rate. However, he should go further and abolish stamp duty completely. There is a housing crisis in this country, with... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst When man first walked on the moon 50 years ago this week, the sheer scale of the challenge of propelling a rocket into space with a handful of astronauts took the full effort of the state. It was a challenge not many countries could financially... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Thomas Young, Volunteer In the latest of many election surprises in the past year, Greece has elected a new majority centre-right government for the first time in a decade. The New Democracy party, now led by... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Olivia Lever, Volunteer The most common argument I hear from left wing commentators about why socialism is such a grand idea is that Scandinavia is a socialist utopia. However, after attending an event at the Institute... Read more...
By Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager I love summertime in Britain. Tesco running out of bags of ice, the smell of BBQs that get used once or twice a year, long summer evenings, cricket, Love Island (yes, guilty) and everyone taking a break from complaining about how cold it is, to... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here by Harry Fone, Grassroots Campaign ManagerOver the years socialist countries have produced some truly abysmal products. When workers are stripped of economic incentives market signals are severely distorted. This blog highlights some of the worst goods... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here Mondays can be hard. To help you get through the week ahead, we've put together a list of inspirational quotes from our socialist heroes around the globe. “No mercy for these enemies of the people, the enemies... Read more...
By Scott Simmonds, Researcher New figures released today show that business rates collected last year increased by over £850 million to £25.3 billion, meaning small firms are still doing much of the heavy lifting in raising cash for local and national government. So why is that a cause for concern? ... Read more...
By Edward Chammas, Volunteer It is increasingly clear that there is a housing crisis in Britain. The ONS has stated that the averagely-priced home in England and Wales would cost a full-time worker 7.8 times their salary. This is particularly problematic for young adults trying to buy their first property.... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Danny Al-khafaji, Volunteer 5 Daily Realities Living Under Socialism 1. Expect less than the essentials With the state as the sole distributor of goods, a small disconnected clique of central planners decide what will be produced and... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Duncan Simpson, Research Director We have seen on our television screens this week scenes of rioting from the city of Hong Kong. We have seen pictures of ordinary people, particularly students and young professionals, taking to... Read more...
By Duncan Simpson, Research Director With President Trump’s visit to the UK behind us, and the outrage/adulation dissipating, it is worth reflecting on what changes have been afoot on the domestic policy front in the US. In January 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act came into force. Though a... Read more...
By Policy Analyst, Jeremy Hutton. This week sees marks the release of our latest piece of research, Hollow Highstreets, which gives a snapshot of how many council owned (non-residential) properties are lying vacant throughout the UK. Unlike our usual releases, which serve to point explicitly at examples of government waste... Read more...
By Research Director, Duncan Simpson. YouGov polling in 2015 showed that no other tax was as unpopular: 59 per cent thought that inheritance tax was unfair. Though only a small minority of estates are subject to it, people’s aspirations to pass on their wealth to their children are attacked by its... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here In the 1970’s, Britain watched in horror as a small minority of militant activists, hell bent on causing as much disruption as possible, mobilised the trade unions to bring the country to its knees. During widespread strikes... Read more...
By Policy Analyst, Jeremy Hutton. Over the past 2 years a number of high profile figures have called for an increase in defence spending. Gavin Williamson’s stint as defence secretary was characterised by his battle for defence spending. So adamant was he that he allowed service chiefs to get out... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Ethan Wilkinson, Digital Campaign Manager As a father of 3 young, energetic, strong-willed, free-spirited boys I find myself donning my army uniform and marching out onto the battlefield multiple times of day. I take up arms... Read more...
Across the country, councils are complaining about vicious ‘government cuts’ that have stripped local services to the bone. That's despite the clear evidence (from research like our own Town Hall Rich List) that councils are still wasting money hand over foot. London councils are some of the worst offenders. Londoners... Read more...
This article was originally published on the CapX website. British Steel is on its last legs. Given the huge amount of human suffering which will result if it does collapse, and the impact that this will have on the town of Scunthorpe, people are rightly concerned. The company has requested... Read more...
This article was originally published on the CapX website. The House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee has released a report on HS2. It is a damning indictment of the whole sorry scheme, one which will come as no surprise to anybody who has been following the debacle over the past few... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here by Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager Last week, footage emerged showing the army in Venezuela ramming down political dissidents with military vehicles, and shooting at them in the street. Juan Guaidó, who has been recognised as the legitimate... Read more...
by Harry Fone, Grassroots Campaign Manager Funding for local government has been a major issue in recent years and one that continues to divide opinion. Indeed, the TPA recently held a debate considering whether councils should spend taxpayers’ money on commercial property and investments. Councillors Ferris Cowper and Gerald Vernon-Jackson... Read more...
It’s nine years since that saunter through the rose garden of Downing Street. A curious bonhomie was on show that sunny day in May 2010. The coalition had a stab at fiscal retrenchment. Adjusting for inflation, total managed expenditure fell by £5 billion between 2009-10 and 2014-15, from £824 billion... Read more...