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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
By Phil Basey, head of research This week Britain ground to a halt. The snow saw schools closed and motorways not gritted. Strikes shut down the railways. Post not being delivered. Bus drivers walking out. Driving examiners on strike. And of course, nurses too. As ever when these... Read more...
By Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager With all the waste we uncovered in October you may have thought that November would bring some relief. Unfortunately, this latest update on our War on Waste campaign makes for no easier reading. Because in our latest investigations it seems public sector... Read more...
By Benjamin Elks Campaigns for clean air are very on trend among urban councils at the moment. Understandably so - pollutants in the air have a damaging effect on health and there are legal limits in place for emissions that councils must achieve. A particular favourite way for... Read more...
Watch any government minister being interviewed on TV these days, and you can play a game of politics bingo. Any mention of the NHS, they’ll start on about extra X billions - tick. Why are public finances in a mess? Well, there was the covid pandemic you know - got... Read more...
Despite weeks of expectation management, the fiscal statement was even more painful for taxpayers than we anticipated. There may not have been any surprise giveaways, but there were plenty of stealth takeaways. Here’s five things the chancellor doesn’t want you to know about his measures today: 1. This... Read more...
By Benjamin Elks At the end of October, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) released the 50th edition of their annual Good Beer Guide (GBG). The guide is packed with recommendations for finding a tasty pint in a pub near you. But sadly, a lot has changed in... Read more...
By Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager October was a month of horrors. And no, not just Halloween. But the prospect of tax rises are set against the backdrop of another bumper month of TPA waste-gathering. Some claim there’s no more fat to be trimmed. Taxpayers must think they live... Read more...
Earlier this month another controversy rocked the embattled charity Mermaids, when a Trustee was found to have given a speech to a paedophile aid group. While the charity has been in the news a lot recently, its long-standing connection to public bodies since 2012 has flown under the radar. Earlier... Read more...
by Dr. Mike Jones, researcher As we’ve written before, inflation is the ultimate stealth tax. We all feel the effects of it when we buy our weekly shopping, fill up our cars, or pay our energy bills. On Wednesday, it was announced that consumer price index (CPI) inflation for... Read more...