There are lots of words I would use to describe John McDonnell. On one hand, he is a careful, considered media performer. On some issues, his finger is on the pulse far more clearly than other Labour front-benchers; he has been readier to condemn anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and... Read more...
Our Campaign Manager, Chloe Westley, appeared on BBC Andrew Marr show on Sunday and talked about the benefits to consumers of leaving the customs union. On the programme, she referenced a statistic about how much cheaper food could be outside the EU customs union, referencing a book written by our policy... Read more...
Inheritance tax is the least popular tax in the UK - yet we have one of the most punishing death tax regimes of all developed nations. Picture the scene; the UK’s tax burden is at its highest in 30 years time. The government really hasn’t had a major policy victory... Read more...
In case you haven’t noticed, there is an election on. There are many irksome aspects of this time of year, but none as much as badly-designed, rushed-through policies aimed to wooing a certain demographic to your cause. And as time goes on and you make more and more of them,... Read more...
Talking about money is the last British taboo. In a survey conducted by the University College London, respondents were seven times more likely to discuss things like how many sexual partners they had or whether they have had an affair than their annual income. Broaching the subject of is seen... Read more...
Good news for the residents of Buckinghamshire - Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has backed a proposal for a single, unitary council. The proposed change has strong local support, both amongst the residents and the councilors. According to Buckinghamshire County Council leader Martin Tett, the move will ‘simplify the current local... Read more...
Military chiefs have today called on the government to spend more money on defence, after recent cuts have, in their opinion, left us vulnerable to threats such as Russia. Whether or not they are correct in their assessment about the preparedness of Britain’s defence force, I find it astonishing that... Read more...
Every quarter, thousands of companies enter liquidation. In July to September 2017, the latest available data, some 4,152 new insolvencies were recorded. In total, 25,479 companies were undergoing some sort of insolvency proceedings in that period. A construction company collapsed recently and filed for liquidation. True, it was a major... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has long campaigned to scrap stamp duty, a strong contender for the worst single tax in our tax system. We launched the Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign in 2013 with three heavy-hitting reports and street stalls across the country. But we haven’t been alone. A broad coalition... Read more...
Written evidence from Taxpayers Alliance (PLS0009) Executive Summary (Click here to read the full evidence) Energy bills represent a significant proportion of household expenditure and many households, especially those on modest incomes, find it difficult to pay. In response to this, the government has announced that it... Read more...
We all dream of owning our own home, a place where we can spend time with friends and raise a family. Right to Buy was one of Margaret Thatcher’s most popular policies, as for the first time many households who had been previously excluded from home ownership could now own... Read more...
Drinking too much alcohol can not only damage your health, but can also be costly for society. For example, a person who abuses alcohol over many years is more likely than the general population to suffer from various diseases which will need to be treated on the NHS. This places... Read more...
The leak of millions of documents, dubbed the Paradise Papers, has reignited a debate over “tax havens”. Much of the coverage thus far has centred on the financial affairs of high net worth individuals and the actions of the law firm Appleby. This time around, the focus of the investigation... Read more...
The gravest domestic health crisis facing our country today is the thousands of people dying from bedblocking. This is where medically sound patients who should be able to be discharged from hospitals aren’t, often due to a lack of social care. This could mean someone recovering from a broken leg... Read more...
The Department for International Development this morning released a statement to parliament on proposed changes to how Britain spends some of its aid budget. Though it still contained the usual drivel on climate change and re-stated the government’s commitment to the 0.7% target, much of it is, in principle,... Read more...
There are ‘widespread and serious failings’ in children’s services at Croydon Council according to a September 2017 report by OFSTED. The education watchdog inspected the authority's children's services this summer and found them to be ‘inadequate’. Inspectors said some children are left at risk of "significant harm" because of the... Read more...
The TUC today published a report revealing that childcare costs in England have increased up to seven times faster than wages since 2008. According to the report, childcare costs for parents with a one-year-old have increased dramatically by 48 per cent over a period when their wages have fallen in... Read more...
News came out of Wales yesterday that the Cardiff government has been subsidising business to the tune of £244 million since 2011. Only 2 per cent has so far been returned, less than £7 million. This figure is doubly painful because the government had the stated aim of moving “to... Read more...
GUEST BLOG FROM THE ADAM SMITH INSTITUTE The English have a proud tradition of standing up to greedy, tax-consuming rulers. We have consistently reasserted our belief in individual rights and government under the rule of law. No event in English history highlights this national trait more than King John affixing... Read more...
A new story this morning tells us that, once again, squaddies’ livelihoods are threatened with the top brasses’ plan to cut the number of Royal Marines by 1000. What the story doesn’t say is that generations of incompetence in the Ministry of Defence have bought us to this dire state... Read more...
Tuition fees are quickly going the way of Brexit – a hyper-sensitive issue which sends usually reasonable people on the brink. So powerful is their news-generating potential that Sunday papers will jump on any opportunity to “splash” on the latest chitter-chatter, no matter how trivial or doubtful. Cue the Sunday... Read more...
Duncan Selbie, the chief executive of Public Health England, has stated that NHS hospitals should build spas and offer Zumba classes and facials in order to encourage people to live healthy lifestyles. According to Public Health England, the NHS should create ‘health campuses’ where beauty treatments, aerobics, and swimming classes... Read more...
UK taxpayers have forked out yet more money for aid spending, even though there is little evidence it has any positive impact on the lot of the world’s poorest. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ACAI), the body charged with overseeing the UK’s Overseas Development Assistance, has found there... Read more...
Whether it’s the charge from the library for that book that you’ve had out too long, or getting a copy of your birth certificate, local authorities in England are finding increasingly imaginative ways to charge residents for services they’re already paying for. First, the good news: excluding education services (which... Read more...