For immediate release Responding to the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster’s letter asking quangos to justify their existence or be shut down, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“For too long, Britain’s sprawling network of quangos has operated in the shadows, with successive governments all too willing... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30 Monday 31st March 2025 Town Hall Rich List 2025 finds that a record 3,906 officials received more than £100,000, with 1,092 receiving over £150,000 in 2023-24, another record. The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) provides a council-by-council breakdown of local government executive pay deals. A regional breakdown is available in... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the spring statement delivered by Rachel Reeves, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“The excruciating sight of a chancellor facing the consequences of her own actions will not provide any schadenfreude for businesses facing surging tax bills, job-seekers seeing opportunities evaporate, and... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to MP’s pay rising by 2.8 per cent for the next financial year, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers will be frustrated that while their own income is squeezed, MPs will face no such hardship.“Despite overseeing a soaring tax burden and crumbling public... Read more...
Embargoed: Sunday, 23rd March 2025 Starmer government set to spend £6.43 trillion by end of parliament, despite calls for spending cuts. Starmer set to be second highest spending PM since second world war, behind only Boris Johnson. Four of the ten biggest spending years in that period will be during... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to government data showing that council tax is rising by an average of 5 per cent in England Elliot Keck, head of campaigns of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Fresh government data on council tax rises shows that once again local authorities across the country have failed in... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Liz Kendall’s speech on welfare reform, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“It is difficult to take the government’s claim that it wants to get people back to work seriously given its relentless assault on British businesses and taxpayers.“Liz Kendall talks about giving... Read more...
For immediate release The main green taxes in the UK cost taxpayers £17.8 billion in 2023-24, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed.This comes in response to the leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch's speech warning about Britain's “impossible” plans to achieve net zero by 2050.The green tax burden, which includes the... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on reshaping the state, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers will be sceptical about the prime minister's rude awakening to the urgent need to reform the state, given he’s spent his time in office handing inflation-busting... Read more...
CORRECTION: Since publication of this research, we have been informed that the figures on the pension contributions for Sunil Chotai, as published in the accounts for Charles Darwin Academy Trust, were incorrect. These have now been updated in the research paper and in the press release below. A link to... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30 Monday, 3rd March 2025 Almost half, or 47.2 per cent, of councils that published their accounts for 2023-24 increased their financial reserves despite raising council tax. 59.5 per cent of local authorities in the East Midlands reported an increase in usable reserves from March 2023 to March 2024,... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech on increasing defence spending, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“The Prime Minister deserves credit for being the first politician in some time to go beyond the rhetoric and actually boost defence spending, particularly through cutting the extraordinarily... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Kemi Badenoch’s speech at Policy Exchange criticising global quangos and activist courts, John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Kemi’s speech will come as a welcome change for Brits fed up with the managerial diatribe emanating from their political class. “Taxpayers have been funnelling... Read more...
Embargoed: 19:00, Saturday 22nd February 2025 Number of public sector organisations reporting trade union facility time drops by half in one year, ahead of law changes. Despite drop in reporting, trade union facility time still is costing a confirmed £98.2 million. Andrew Griffith MP describes plans to remove mandatory reporting... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30, Sunday 16th February 2025 The UK’s national debt could be a £1.2 trillion bigger problem than currently feared, according to analysis of long-term GDP figures by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The last time debt surpassed the current level of 93.9 per cent of GDP was in 1963-64. However,... Read more...
For immediate release TPA declares “personal recession”, meaning two consecutive quarters of falling GDP per capita. Research by the group has found that this is third “personal recession” since the mid 2010s. This comes as ONS figures show that in October to December 2024 the economy grew by 0.1 per... Read more...
For immediate release Major report calls for number of London boroughs to be halved from 32 to as few as 16 Savings from consolidation of London councils could reach over £1 billion Larger councils would mean increased competition, power and independence, report finds A landmark report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s announcement that MPs’ pay is set to increase by 2.7 per cent, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:"This will be a bitter pill to swallow given politicians of both front benches have for years hammered the living... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30 Friday, 7th February 2025 The £18 billion upper estimate for the Chagos deal matches the government's projected savings over 12 years from means testing winter fuel payments. The lower £9 billion estimate for the Chagos deal exceeds the combined costs of various public sector projects, from efforts to... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the Bank of England cutting the UK’s growth forecast in half, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“This latest downgrade to UK growth forecasts will come as no surprise to taxpayers and businesses in the real world, who are paying the price for... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports that Rachel Reeves could be forced to announce further tax rises in the Autumn, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers will be rightly nervous at the news that they could be facing further tax rises in the Autumn.“The chancellor is reaping... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30 Tuesday 4th February 2025 Over one in ten councils in the UK, 42, are considering reducing one or more bin collection services. Three councils (Bristol, Carmarthenshire, East Ayrshire) are considering changing residual waste collection to once every four weeks. Four councils (North Ayrshire, Dundee, Angus, East Ayrshire)... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01, Tuesday 4th February 2025 Responding to an embargoed briefing of NAO head’s annual speech in parliament tomorrow, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“The National Audit Office is an increasing rarity now in the public sector, given its relentless focus on the core issues actually impacting... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the local government finance settlement, Elliot Keck, head of campaigns of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers will be expecting to see immediate results from the inflation-busting tax hikes that they’re being subjected to, particularly given the increase in government funding above and beyond this rate rise.“Every... Read more...