Our spokespeople were quick out of the blocks to praise the move, with our investigation campaign manager Elliot Keck telling The Telegraph that “Local taxpayers will be delighted to see the government joining us in opposing the council clock-off.”  Elliot has previously explained our opposition to the trial here.

In the wake of the release of the latest edition of the Nanny State Index, the author and head of lifestyle economics for the IEA, Christopher Snowdon, joined us for a special episode of TPA Talks. The index, which ranks European countries based on excessive regulation of food, drinks, vaping, tobacco, and alcohol, makes for particularly grim reading this year, with the UK becoming the second-worst country for food and soft drink!

In this sobering conversation, Snowdon explains how Britain’s increasingly bloated public health bureaucracy is simultaneously driving up prices while failing to improve health outcomes. “I don’t think there are any countries that have the kind of food advertising restrictions that the government is looking to bring in next year” Snowdon warns. “We’re doing stuff that is unprecedented, and actually exceptionally draconian!”

Click to see the full episode

With Thames Water on the brink of collapse, Brits are rightly asking where water regulator Ofwat has been while the south eastern supplier was racking up billions in debts and paying bumper dividends to shareholders. 

This week the TPA revealed that nine Ofwat fat-cats raked in a combined total of more than £1.4million in 2021/22. Our researcher Jonathan Eida spoke for furious bill-payers when he told GB News: “Households will be shocked by these sky-high salaries. And with taxpayers now facing the possibility of picking up the tab for Thames Water’s enormous debts, questions will be raised about the regulator’s role in this sorry situation.”

On Friday the prime minister announced yet another massive cash injection for the beleaguered NHS. Naturally, our spokespeople were asked what taxpayers would make of the latest round of spending.

Speaking to LBC News, our digital campaign manager, Joe Ventre, explained that taxpayers would be sceptical of the plan: “Taxpayers will treat another multi-billion pound package going towards the NHS with suspicion after years and years of more and more investment and frankly that investment being swallowed up in bureaucracy.” 

With a lower energy price cap coming into effect in July, Brits might have been looking forward to some kind of reprieve. Unfortunately, after some sleight-of-hand from ministers, hard-working households will now have to cough-up for green levies again, contributing £170 a year to bills.

Speaking to The Telegraph, TPA policy analyst, Tom Ryan, slammed the latest set-back for struggling Brits: “Not only are these levies contributing to the 70-year high tax burden, they’re also artificially inflating prices for consumers!”

In this week’s blog, Tom examines the likely impact of the incoming global minimum corporation tax rate. While it certainly looks set to stifle competition and efficiency, it also has big implications for reforming our domestic tax regime.

As Tom points out: “The minimum would frustrate attempts to lower the tax burden, and it may keep our most damaging tax in place.” Click here to read Tom’s fascinating analysis in full.