For immediate release
The TaxPayers’ Alliance today announces a new research council to bolster its groundbreaking research team.
Formed by leading thinkers in the fields of economics, accounting, finance and politics, it will play a key role in the coming months by adding to the group’s already highly-regarded research output.
Senior figures at the TPA will be joined by David Owen, a former senior civil servant; Stephen Herring, a chartered accountant and former head of taxation at the Institute of Directors; Mike Denham, a former Treasury economist and former chairman of the TPA; Lee Rotherham, political campaigner and adviser; Simon Cook, a data scientist; and Dan Lewis, an energy expert, among others.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance was founded in 2004 and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Darwin Friend, head of research of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
“With the tax burden approaching a record high, national debt close to the size of the UK economy and billions being spent inefficiently there has never been a better time for this group of experienced professionals to come together and make the case for simpler, fairer taxes.
“This builds upon the TaxPayers’ Alliance twenty years of being at the forefront of standing up for taxpayers. I’m looking forward to the contribution the research council makes in that undertaking.”
Full quotes and biographies of each member of the research council can be found below
Media contact:
Elliot Keck
Head of Campaigns, TaxPayers' Alliance
[email protected]
24-hour media hotline: 07795 084 113 (no texts)
Notes to editors:
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Founded in 2004 by Matthew Elliott and Andrew Allum, the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) campaigns to reform taxes and public services, cut waste and speak up for British taxpayers. Find out more at www.taxpayersalliance.com.
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Future press releases will include the newly formed research council in the notes to editors, in place of the advisory council, which has now been disbanded.
- Biographies and quotes can be found below.
BIOGRAPHIES AND FURTHER COMMENTS:
David Owen
David Owen’s experience as Head of Operational Research at HM Treasury set the direction for a career focused on what stops the public sector making better use of taxpayers’ money and how to address that.
In a variety of roles promoting value for money, notably at the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, David has witnessed the strengths and flaws of the system. Advising successive Chancellors on a range of taxation issues, he has also seen how presentational and practical challenges get in the way of simpler, fairer and more efficient taxation.
Commenting on joining the research council, David Owen said:
“Government tries to do too much, and taxes too much. It needs to be braver and cleverer in how it taxes and in delivering the public services taxpayers deserve.
“I'm delighted to be joining the TaxPayers' Alliance's research council where I hope to use my experience in government to add to an already impressive body of work looking at how to spend taxpayers' money more efficiently.”
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Stephen Herring
Stephen is a Chartered Accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
He has an honours degree in Economics & Politics from Manchester University.
Stephen was a tax partner in three international accounting firms: Grant Thornton; Ernst & Young; and BDO. His clients ranged from entrepreneurial businesses to global corporations and UK listed companies. He had a special focus on commercial and residential real estate investors, developers and funds.
Subsequently, Stephen was a member of the Institute of Directors Policy Unit and Head of Taxation Policy for six years until his retirement from full time work
He was a member of the HM Treasury Tax Professionals Forum for seven years from its formation.
Commenting on joining the research council, Stephen Herring said:
"In my experience, governments invariably underestimate the behavioural consequences of tax rises on the businesses and individuals affected and, accordingly, the damaging impact most tax rises have on the UK economy.
“The TaxPayers' Alliance have for years been at the forefront of making the case for lower, simpler taxes and I'm looking forward to playing a role in that endeavour."
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Rory Meakin
Rory Meakin is a research fellow at the TaxPayers’ Alliance. He has contributed to various projects and was Lead Researcher to the 2020 Tax Commission, playing a key role in the policy development of the Single Income Tax proposals.
In May 2012 he became Head of Tax Policy and was the author of 'How to abolish National Insurance' and 'How to fix corporate taxes'. Rory has also written for various outlets including the IPA Review, Taxation magazine, City A.M. and the Yorkshire Post.
Before working at the TPA, Rory worked in a governance team for the NHS. He has a degree in Economics and Politics and holds the Investment Management Certificate
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Mike Denham
Mike Denham is a former Treasury economist who worked extensively on public spending and fiscal analysis during the 1970s and early 1980s. His work included cost benefit appraisal of public projects, analysis of public sector cost inflation and value for money studies. The experience convinced him that government is institutionally inefficient and largely incapable of significant improvement. He then moved on to work in the City for many years as an investment manager, staying closely in touch with fiscal and monetary policy developments.
Mike was chairman of the organisation from 2019 until 2023. He is the author of many TPA research papers and blog posts focused on the scrutiny of public spending. He is also the author of Burning Our Money, a detailed study of how government wastes taxpayers' cash.
Commenting on joining the research council, Mike Denham said:
“TPA research plays a vital role in exposing government’s egregious squandering of taxpayers’ money, a key driver of our ballooning tax burden.”
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Simon Cook
Simon has previously been a quantitative fund manager in London and Hong Kong and was later the Leader of Canterbury City Council. He now works as a data scientist. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Commenting on joining the research council, Simon Cook said:
“When the government's tax take is at a multi-decade high yet many public services are failing, it's important to check that the money is spent as carefully as possible. The TaxPayers' Alliance has a long history of doing exactly that and I'm keen to join them in this.”
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Dan Lewis
Dan Lewis has been working across Westminster since 2003, primarily across energy, infrastructure and crunching big data. From 2003-2008 he was Research Director of the Economic Research Council and left to start the Economic Policy Centre (EPC) - a big data think tank - and Future Energy Strategies, an events consultancy. He latterly ended up at the Institute of Directors from 2011-2018, whom he represented on energy and infrastructure policy.
He has authored some 30 plus publications and contributed to many others as well as the media. Under the aegis of the EPC, he developed UKCrimeStats.com - a geospatial crime statistics platform , www.euariffs.com - a database of EU import tariffs from 2016-2020, and www.ukgovspending.com - still in development.
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Darwin Friend
Darwin is head of research at the TaxPayers’ Alliance. He was previously a researcher and policy analyst before working in propositions for a fintech firm. Before joining the TPA, Darwin spent a period working as a researcher for an MP.
He graduated in 2019 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of East Anglia.
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Rory McGregor
Rory is chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance. He started his career in 1990 at Barclays Bank in New York and worked in Tokyo, before returning to Jamaica as Foreign Exchange Treasurer for Jamaica Citizens Bank (now part of the Royal Bank of Canada). After completing his MBA, he joined Credit Suisse in London. In 1999, he founded and managed a wireless technology company before joining Emso Asset Management in 2003. As of April 2023, he has stepped back from his role as COO but continues to be a board member and shareholder of the firm.
Rory earned an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Rutgers University.
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Lee Rotherham
Lee Rotherham is one of Westminster’s most prominent campaigners on issues around good governance, the fight against fraud and waste - as well as being a leading expert on EU and post-Brexit issues such as fisheries reform, ECHR costs, and slashing red tape.
He has advised and aided MPs, MEPs, a delegate to the Council of Europe, three Shadow Foreign Secretaries, ministers in government, and the Conservative Party's (Eurosceptic) delegate to the Convention on the Future of Europe.
Commenting on joining the research council, Lee Rotherham said:
"The TPA has been at the vanguard of good government and sensible spending since the magic money tree era of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. It's framed the debate about wasted taxpayers' money.
"In a new age of eye-watering government debt and hungry trades union bosses, its work is needed more than ever. It's an honour to expand my long connection with such a groundbreaking team on such an important mission.”
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John O'Connell
John O'Connell is the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
He has written major reports for the TPA on quangos, government capital procurement, regional business policy and local government pensions. He co-authored the influential paper How to Save £50 Billion: reducing spending for sustainable public finances, released in conjunction with the Institute of Directors. He also uncovered how local councils were spending Preventing Violent Extremism grants, finding more detailed information than could be gathered by Parliamentary Questions.
John oversaw the work of the 2020 Tax Commission. He also wrote and edited several sections of its final report, The Single Income Tax, which won the Templeton Freedom Award from the Atlas Network.
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Elliot Keck
Elliot Keck is head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance. He joined in January 2022 and was previously Investigations Campaign Manager with specific responsibility for the TPA's War on Waste campaign.
Before the TPA, Elliot spent a period working in Parliament running the press and campaigns for a backbench MP, after a stint working for a think tank.
He has a master's degree in International Politics from City, University of London and a BA in History and Politics from University of Birmingham. While at university he did a year abroad in Canada.