By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Following the Government's approval of the first phase of the HS2 train line from London to Birmingham, several think-tanks and campaign groups have reacted to the news. The Institute of Economic Affairs' Deputy Editorial Director, Dr Richard Wellings, said: “The government is ploughing ahead with a hugely expensive project […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. A report (pdf) from the TaxPayers' Alliance released today reveals that 1,328 Midlands council staff have been suspended for a total of 419 years since 2009, costing taxpayers £8.2 million. If these figures were replicated nationally, in line with the spending power of Councils in the Midlands, the TPA […]
Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute: “A £40bn business loan scheme, mortgage guarantees, £5bn of infrastructure spending, 'youth contract' apprenticeships, start-up tax reliefs, new R&D tax credits, extending free child care – these are all Gordon Brown-style tinkering measures that look good in the papers but end up being bureaucratic and wasteful. […]
Judging by some of the comments my piece yesterday about Freedom of Information came across as more negative than I intended it too. This morning comes news of another magnificent use of FOI requests by the Taxpayers Alliance. They asked councils how much they spent hosting and attending award ceremonies last year. From those that […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter A new report released today by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) for the 2020 Tax Commission (a joint project by the TPA and Institute of Directors) shows that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has given up on collecting £27.4billion in tax revenue over the last five years. The TPA report, […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has written a new book exposing the crippling cost of climate change policy, and the special interests that profit most. His ultimate call is for such policies to be scrapped, that are detrimental to the consumer, and are only beneficial to huge […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Jonathan Isaby, our former co-editor, will be the TaxPayers' Alliance's first ever Political Director. Jonathan's role will be centred on building links with MPs, MEPs and Ministers, in order for the TPA to better represent taxpayers in Westminster and Brussels. He will focus on representing the work of the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. On our Comment pages today Mark Field MP sets out the two great truths of the economic debate: One: We must carry on with the Osborne deficit reduction programme. When you are in a worldwide debt crisis you have to get your debts under control. Two: The Coalition hasn't […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. As George Osborne struggles to bring Britain's budget deficit under control the TaxPayers' Alliance have identified four extra savings that the public would support: Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The public support alternatives that would blunt the need for some particularly painful measures and make room […]
Matthew Barrett During the last general election, the TaxPayers' Alliance published a manifesto, setting out objectives for this Parliament. Today, the TPA published its assessment of the Coalition's progress so far. The new report assigns scores out of five (with five meaning the objective has been satisfied, or there are plans to satisfy it, and zero meaning […]
By Jonathan Isaby Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is today launching a five month consultation on the Government's plans for a High Speed Rail network which would link London, the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds with stations in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, whilst linking to existing lines to enable through-running services to other cities […]
Tim Montgomerie Four of London's leading think tanks have all attacked today's increase in VAT to 20%; an increase that George Osborne intends to be a permanent rather than emergency fixture. Leading the charge has been Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPapers' Alliance. Speaking to the BBC earlier he pointed out that David Cameron had broken […]
Tim Montgomerie In today's Times (£) Lord Heseltine comes to the timely defence of the City: “My view is a very clear one, the City of London is a vital part of the national economy. It is a world-class industry and brings huge wealth to this country. The politics [of the City] are very difficult, […]
Matthew Elliott commented: “The big political decision facing Britain this coming year is whether we should change our electoral system from one which has served us well for decades to one which even many in the ‘Yes’ camp dismiss as a very poor substitute for the system they really want. The key democratic principles of […]
Following on from the lists from the Centre for Policy Studies and Policy Exchange of the government policies which they lay claim to have proposed, Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers' Alliance explains here which TPA proposals have been adopted by the new Government. Much of the work of the TaxPayers’ Alliance is focused on building […]