Embargoed: 00:01 Tuesday 14th February 2023 Responding to research from the County Councils Network (CCN) showing that three in four councils plan to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent, Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Surging council tax bills are the last thing hard-pressed... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the GPC files, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be shocked by the examples of waste uncovered in this investigation. “While households are toiling under a record tax burden, politicians and bureaucrats have been splashing our cash on frivolities... Read more...
NOTE: The original version of this press release said that Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provided translation services for the “Entean” language. The trust has contacted us to explain that they made an error in the original FOI response, which was supposed to read "Eritrean". We have amended the press release... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Michael Gove’s announcement that Croydon, Thurrock and Slough councils will be able to increase council tax by above the referendum threshold, John O’Connell of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the dismal failure of their local authority to... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the IMF’s growth forecasts, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “The cost of government crisis continues to hold back the UK economy. “With inflation continuing to pile pressure on hard-pressed families, the biggest tax burden in over 70 years merely compounds... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the chancellor’s speech, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “The chancellor’s pledge to make Britain the most competitive tax regime in the world may ring hollow after years of punishing tax hikes. “Without concrete proposals, reheated rhetoric on spending restraint will... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports in The Sun of a possible scale back of HS2, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “HS2 has gone off the rails in spectacular fashion. “A scaling back of this project would be welcome, but taxpayers would still be... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to data showing PPE write-down costs to be £6 billion larger than previously forecast, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “These latest figures unmask the calamitous cost of the covid hangover. “While ministers had to work quickly during unprecedented times, the scale... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports the chancellor is planning to extend the 5p cut to fuel duty, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers would breathe a sigh of relief if the fuel duty freeze was extended. "With petrol prices still stubbornly high, the government... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 16 January 2023 The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that public bodies continue to hand over £1,221,222 per year to lobby group Stonewall, despite government departments being told to withdraw from the controversial Diversity Champions scheme. Membership of the scheme cost taxpayers at least £709,225 in 2021-22,... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Keir Starmer’s speech, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Keir Starmer gave some welcome words on spending restraint, but working Brits will need to see the detail. “Taxpayers can’t be expected to dip into their pockets again and again to prop... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports of Michelle Donelan, secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, recommending against privatising Channel 4, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will feel betrayed that the culture secretary has caved in to broadcasting big-wigs and backtracked... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 2nd January 2023 Rail subsidies since the beginning of the COVID pandemic will have cost £42 billion by March 2023, according to new research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. That includes £30 billion in additional subsidies to cover for COVID disruption. This amounts to around £1,300 for... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reporting in The Guardian, that just £18 million of up to £4 billion in PPE fraud has been recouped, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “We all know that the government had to act quickly to secure and supply PPE when... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Thursday 15th December 2022 With strikes grinding Britain to a halt, new TPA research puts pay demands in context, with the public sector growing in size every quarter for four years. The pandemic only partly explains the growth in headcount of 426,000 since September 2018. The DVLA, which... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Gordon Brown’s Commission on the UK’s Future, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Gordon Brown is right to point to the enormous savings that could be made by moving civil servants out of London. “Shifting government out of the capital would... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Tuesday 29th November 2022 A TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) investigation has revealed that councils spent £2,689,959 on luxury mayoral limos between 2019 and 2022. The data, which is broken down by local authority, reveals that Birmingham city council spent the most at £59,884. This covered leasing, maintenance and... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the Section 114 notice issued by Croydon Council, Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Residents are tired of the rank incompetence of Croydon Council. “The failure to get finances under control will cause yet more misery for taxpayers, who have... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 21st November 2022 Official tax burden is the direct burden of tax on the economy, and will reach record levels, but does not account for the indirect impact of lost growth. By comparing to a growth-maximising scenario, the TaxPayers’ Alliance have estimated the value of lost... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the fiscal statement, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “These plans look set to prolong the crippling cost of government crisis. “Taxpayers will take a kicking over the coming years to pay for a raft of spending increases, with most tough... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the civil service union voting to strike, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Civil servants shouldn’t expect sympathy for their strikes from the working taxpayers who pay their wages. “Bureaucrats already benefit from generous pay packets and plush pensions, with job... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports of planned tax rises, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Further Tory tax hikes would not just break manifesto pledges, they would hammer households at the worst possible time. “With Britain already facing a challenging winter, big increases in income... Read more...
Embargoed 00:01 Wednesday 9th November 2022 With the row ongoing about Arts Council grant funding, TaxPayers’ Alliance analysis has identified cash still going to London-based organisations pushing wacky, woke and wasteful projects. The Arts Council National Portfolio, which will provide £446,264,485 per year for a total of around £1.34... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to news that Matt Hancock is due to appear on the latest series of I’m a Celebrity, Joe Ventre of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Matt Hancock’s plans to wriggle out of his responsibilities are shameful. “This grubby spectacle will leave a bad taste in the... Read more...