by Harry Fone, Grassroots Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance In 2018-19 there were over a million incidents of fly-tipping in England and nearly two-thirds of cases involved household rubbish. It's no surprise that council waste collection is discussed again and again on local radio stations all over the nation.... Read more...
by Harry Fone, Grassroots Campaign Manager A new report released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has analysed funding for local authorities and made a series of recommendations. Few would challenge the IFS' argument that the present funding model is unsustainable and alternative solutions must be sought. As many... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst On this day thirty years ago, the infamous Berlin Wall finally fell. For 28 years the wall stood, guarded by thousands of Soviet soldiers. For that time it divided families, split communities, and kept over a million Berliners from travelling freely throughout their homeland. Even... Read more...
By Scott Simmonds, Researcher at TaxPayers' Alliance Socialism, and socialist ideas, are having something of a revival at the moment. Like some obscure 70’s bands you thought were long gone, socialism is now touring again, captivating a newer younger audience.With this in mind, the TaxPayers’ Alliance ‘Stand Against Socialism’ campaign... Read more...
By Sam Packer, Media Campaign Manager Tomorrow morning England’s rugby players will attempt to be the second of the nation’s major sporting sides to be crowned champions of the world in 2019, following the cricket side’s July triumph. It is sometimes said in Westminster that sporting success means good news for the poll ratings... Read more...
Article written by Elke Asen of the Tax Foundation. The United Kingdom ranks 25th in our recently released 2019 International Tax Competitiveness Index, a study that measures and compares how well OECD countries promote sustainable economic growth and investment through competitive and neutral tax systems. While the UK has improved its rank by one spot compared to... Read more...
By Darwin Friend, Researcher The world is getting warmer, and to prevent the oncoming environmental disaster we must completely abandon capitalism and the free market, destroying the pillars of our economic prosperity. This is the argument of the radical left-wing campaigners, such as Extinction Rebellion, who are currently camped out... Read more...
By Stephanie Rudenko, Volunteer As we know from the TPA’s recent Freedom Factbook, freedom has changed the world. Freedom can be used in many ways. Deliveroo, Uber, WhatsApp, CityMapper and Hinge are all apps and services that have used the freedom of technology to innovate and try new things. Many... Read more...
By Policy Analyst, Jeremy Hutton. When you first think of foreign aid, you probably think of one of two things. The first is saving lives through things like mosquito nets, building wells and providing disaster relief. The alternative thought might be one of corruption, waste, and crooked NGOs. But whether you are... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst Last week the prime minister proudly pledged to “bring shipbuilding back to the UK.” This of course came as something of a surprise, as all of Britain’s current and future warships are British-built anyway. Nevertheless, underpinning this was the announcement that Babcock International had been... Read more...
By Mungo Fenwick, Volunteer The Brexit drama in Westminster over the last few weeks has overshadowed an otherwise very important moment for taxpayers. The Spending Plan was a major statement made by the Chancellor, who declared that the Conservative government were ‘turning the page on austerity’. Sajid Javid outlined his... Read more...
By Bradley Goodwin, Volunteer In the current climate, some socialists would love you to think that they’re the only ones who care about our planet. Fanatical left-wing campaigners, like Extinction Rebellion, scream at us about the need to stop everyday activities like driving and eating meat. Then there’s the Green... Read more...
John O'Connell writes for CapX So now we know for sure. Thanks to Grant Shapps, Westminster’s biggest open secret is finally out there. HS2 is actually going to cost considerably more than we were told four years ago. For us at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, this is a bittersweet moment. It’s... Read more...
By Bradley Goodwin, volunteer. For nearly 200 years, thanks to Sir Robert Peel, British law and order has been defined by the ‘bobby on the beat’. As Peel makes clear, police should prevent crime and disorder by maintaining public support, by “absolutely impartial service to the law” and the “offering... Read more...
By Charles Amos, Local Coordinator for Sussex High streets up and down the country are experiencing difficult times and have been for a while now. If we’re being honest, one of the main reasons for this is the increase in online shopping. Many consumers have welcomed its advantages, at the... Read more...
By Oliver Pike, Volunteer Bacon is the king of breakfast foods and as such is honoured with International Bacon Day once a year. That’s today by the way! And although bacon is near universally popular (it has been often dubbed a ‘gateway meat’ by vegetarians) the public health lobby is... Read more...
John O'Connell writes for CapX Freedom is underappreciated in the UK. As CapX readers well know, free markets and free people have made the whole world richer and more equal, and have helped bring freedom of speech and freedom of choice to billions. Everywhere from the United States to Hong... Read more...
This guest blog is written by Bethany Wright, a teacher of English Literature and Divinities at the West London Free School. When the coalition government entered office in 2010, they found an education system in free fall. Standards had slipped and the UK was falling down international league tables, it... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst. Over past decades travelling the world has become easier than ever, a triumph of technology and free markets. As a result, the amount of trips that Britons are taking each year... Read more...
By Dougal Burrowes, Volunteer Last week marked a century of council housing, as introduced in the Addison Act 1919. It paved the way for funds for local councils to build 500,000 houses in three years. Now 100 years later and Britain needs 250,000 built every year just to keep up... Read more...
By Michael Ward, Volunteer This July, the UK saw record breaking peaks in temperature all around the country. Britons eager to enjoy the tropical heat flocked to the beach, donning their umbrella hats, and of course tucking into a cone of cool ice cream. But there’s a bitter taste on... Read more...
To find out more about the Stand Against Socialism (SAS) campaign, click here By Dougal Burrowes, Volunteer The last few days have been big for big tech; Facebook, Alphabet (Google) and Twitter have all released their financial results from the second quarter. Since last year, Facebook’s weekly usage has increased... Read more...
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...