by Jonathan Eida, researcher The chancellor claims to be desperate for growth. The latest quarterly GDP data made grim reading, with output rising by a meagre 0.1 per cent. This was hardly surprising. It follows years of anaemic economic performance and the forward outlook remains similarly bleak. The IMF... Read more...
by Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager Families are struggling to pay their bills, the NHS is under pressure, and the taxman is completely unreachable. Meanwhile, what has the public sector been up to? They have been busy proving, once again, that they treat your money like it's from an... Read more...
by Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager The junior doctors are striking. Again. Five day walkouts have become a disheartening fixture of the NHS calendar. Despite already having received one of the largest public sector pay settlements in recent history, the British Medical Association (BMA) is once more demanding an... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher Speculation ahead of the next Budget has reached new heights, fuelled by the Chancellor’s hints at potential tax rises. With fiscal pressures mounting and public finances stretched, speculation is once again turning to pensions. The Autumn Budget 2024 marked a turning point in the government’s... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher The state should be doing less, not more. The government must refocus on deregulation, not regulatory expansion. Businesses are already weighed down by a complex web of compliance. This burden creates a mountain of costs due to the vast amount of time and resources consumed... Read more...
by Paul Wiltshire, founder of Universitywatch.org and the author of the report ‘The Graduate Debt Trap & Lower Academic Entry standards' There are 31,613 courses from 335 providers available on UCAS. I am absolutely positive that some of these are utter dead-ends. But in the large majority of cases,... Read more...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns We were hoping that we would never need to mention Prince Andrew, the disgraced royal, in any TPA communications, but given the extent of news coverage over his living arrangements and the clear taxpayer implications, we thought it worth explaining exactly what is... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher Ahead of the chancellor’s budget next month, there has been much speculation about how the chancellor will meet her fiscal rules. One of the main issues for the chancellor is the persistent anaemic growth. The latest Office for National Statistics growth figures, for August 2025,... Read more...
by William Yarwood, media campaign manager and Shimeon Lee, policy analyst The government has announced that it is once again pursuing the implementation of mandatory ID cards. It’s become a hot topic of debate and the TPA office has been running through the pros and cons of the policy.... Read more...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns We’ve had to wait for a long time for a detailed, clearly laid out policy agenda from the leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch. There’s certainly been a drip drip of undeniably sound proposals, such as extending to ten years the amount of... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher The financial services industry remains a key pillar of the UK economy. In 2023, it accounted for 13 per cent of total economic output, equivalent to £294 billion, and directly employed 1.1 million people. A further 1.4 million worked in related professional services. Collectively, the... Read more...
by Mike Denham, former chairman The Economist recently asked if Britain is slowly going bust. With public sector debt already approaching 100 per cent of GDP and our floundering government seemingly incapable of getting a grip, many of us are asking the same question. Are we going bust, and... Read more...
by Shimeon Lee, policy analyst Statistics on the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), better known as the sugar tax, were released this week showing receipts down for the second consecutive year, with £327 million collected in 2024-25 down from £338 million in 2023-24. Originally introduced in 2018, the... Read more...
by Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager From ministers jet-setting to the multi-million-pound bin strikes that have plagued Birmingham, the last few months have shown once again that Whitehall and town halls alike treat taxpayers' cash like Monopoly money. While families are still counting pennies, the public sector seems determined... Read more...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns Sir Ed Davey represents the worst of British politics. Before you accuse me of hyperbole, let me expand. He’s not a fascist, or a communist - the two extreme ends of the political spectrum which were responsible for the mass slaughter of millions... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher The government’s fiscal position is deteriorating rapidly. Caught in a bind of its own making, ministers are trapped by competing pressures: vast public spending commitments, unsustainable borrowing, and manifesto pledges not to raise the three big revenue levers of income tax, national insurance, or VAT.... Read more...
by Callum McGoldrick, researcher London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has just accepted a £5,281 pay rise. This brings his total salary up to £170,282. Khan is now paid more than the prime minister and is Britain’s highest paid politician. First elected in 2016, Khan became London’s third mayor and... Read more...
by Jonathan Eia, researcher The Treasury committee has released its report into the Lifetime ISA (LISA), following a request to examine the scheme’s continued relevance and effectiveness. Initially introduced by then Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 and launched in 2017, the LISA was designed with two main purposes: to help... Read more...
by Anne Strickland, researcher The Green Party’s election of Zack Polanski as leader with 85 per cent of the vote marks a shift toward what he calls “eco-populism.”: a mix of radical environmentalism, economic redistribution, and hard-line identity politics. He has called for sweeping wealth taxes, vast increases in public... Read more...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns The TPA as a rule does not comment on an individual’s tax affairs, particularly when there is no evidence or allegation of illegal activity. The reason is simple: everyone has a right to arrange their tax affairs in the way that best... Read more...
by Darwin Friend, head of research “Drill baby drill”, the phrase popularised by Donald Trump for producing more oil and gas, has spread across the globe. And it’s clear it's spread here too, with Kemi Badenoch’s call to get “all our oil and gas out of the North Sea”.... Read more...
by Jonathan Eida, researcher Parliament is returning from its holidays, and far from a cause for celebration the warning lights are already flashing. Lined up are bills stuffed with fresh red tape, tax grabs and thinly veiled raids on pensions, the sort of measures that make hiring harder, investment... Read more...
by Benjamin, Byung Hoon, Ko, political commentator When I first moved to London, there was one thing that shocked me more than anything… the price of a pint. I had to pay nearly £8 for a Guinness. Even in my local pub outside of London, the prices have gone... Read more...
By Shimeon Lee, policy analyst It’s always fascinating to see how some researchers interpret the word “minimum”. For most people, it refers to the basics: food, rent and transport. But in certain circles, the minimum has come to mean something quite different. In the latest example of its ever... Read more...