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We couldn’t do it without you
We often say that the TPA punches above its weight. We’re a small team and, while we may not have been the only voice wanting lower, simpler taxes and cutting out wasteful spending, it has often felt quite lonely on this crusade of ours. From the seemingly endless extravagance of government spending and the princely pay packets of council bosses to the politicians who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk (you know who you are), the cards often seemed stacked against the sensible views that unite most hard-working Brits. Often we are fighting large bureaucracies who will do anything to stop their secrets getting out.
We’re not here to sugarcoat it for you, but we are here to fight for you.
We’re not afraid to tackle the mainstream orthodoxy that says state spending must always increase and taxpayers just need to suck it up. Everyday a new demand for taxpayers’ cash gets floated and pushed by those who believe success is measured by the size of government budgets. Everyday we take a stand and call out the bloated bureaucracy that seeks to slip its fingers ever deeper into your pocket.
But without people like you, none of our work would be possible. I don’t mean that figuratively, it's a simple truth. Thousands of people donate ([link removed]) to help keep the TPA going and I want to share with you a snapshot of what that support has enabled us to achieve over the last few weeks.
Getting our message out to politicians and the wider public is incredibly important, which is why we try to make our research, investigations, and campaigns as engaging as possible.
Just this week, our investigations campaign manager, Joanna Marchong, had her latest findings splashed across the front of the Sun. Digging through UK Research and Innovation grant data, Joanna found that millions of pounds are being dished out for weird and wacky initiatives that, frankly, don't deserve a penny from hard-pressed Brits. She uncovered more than ÂŁ10 million in highly questionable grants going towards everything from trans-friendly robots to online dancing ([link removed]) . Off the back of a record January, the TPA has been cited or appeared in the media almost 1,000 times so far in February alone!
As you’ll know, we pride ourselves on getting outside of London and taking our message to towns and cities across the country. In these first seven weeks of 2025, we’ve defeated the Maidenhead and Windsor tax hike and are currently campaigning in South Cambridgeshire against the four-day week, and in Trafford against their £120 rate rise. This is what sets the TPA apart from other Westminster based groups, our commitment to local campaigning on the issues that matter to hard-working people.
Our campaigns aren’t limited to the local level. From ditching the diversity managers ([link removed]) and opposing the nanny state ([link removed]) , to drumming up opposition to the Chagos sell-out ([link removed]) , if it means taxpayers shelling out or having their lives restricted, we’ll be there. And one of the great injustices of the current tax system is inheritance tax. A vicious tax that hits grieving families and punishes those who just want to pass something on to the next generation. With farmers and family businesses in the sights of ministers, we’ve launched a campaign for the outright abolition of the death tax ([link removed]) .
All of this work is underlined by our agenda-setting research. Since the start of the year, the TPA eggheads have churned out eight separate briefing notes and research papers ([link removed]) with many more in the works. Just this morning, our latest findings revealed that trade union facility time ([link removed]) (paid time for public sector workers to do union activities) cost taxpayers almost ÂŁ100 million in 2023-24. A shocking 993 public sector employees spent 100 per cent of their time on union duties rather than the job they were actually hired to do ([link removed]) .
I can’t say this enough, none of what we do would be possible without you. The thousands of hard-working taxpayers who have supported our work are the reason we’re still here after 20 years. Our achievements are your achievements. On behalf of the whole TPA team, I want to say thank you.
But the fight must continue. As I said at the top of this email, it can certainly feel like the cards are stacked against us. The greed of politicians in Westminster and town halls across the country seems to know no bounds. Which is why your support has never been more important. At the TPA we don’t take any handouts from the government, we’re completely reliant on your generosity. And we know that times are tough for many people which is why we squeeze as much value from every donation as possible (just ask our head of finance). Can you help us continue campaigning, continue producing hard hitting research, and continue giving a voice to taxpayers? If you can, please click here to donate ([link removed]) .
Can we unite the right?
A nation of taxpayers
In this week’s episode of a nation of taxpayers, podcast host, Duncan Barkes, is joined by Ben Habib, Chair of Great British PAC and former co-deputy leader of Reform UK.
Sitting down with Duncan and Elliot Keck, our head of campaigns, Ben talks about the creation of the Great British PAC, being a Brexit Party MEP, why he quit Reform UK and how he views Nigel Farage. You can listen to a nation of taxpayers on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , and YouTube ([link removed]) .
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
Crazy foreign aid spending
When how the foreign aid budget is being spent raised its ugly head, John O’Connell, our chief executive, took to the airwaves. It’s fair to say he was on top form ([link removed]) when he spoke to GB News.
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After the hosts ran through some disgraceful examples, John had some strong words he’d clearly been sitting on for a while ([link removed]) . John blasted: “This is the hard-earned money of plumbers, electricians, hair-dressers, bar staff being taken from them by force and being sent overseas to fund the moral crusade of an upper-middle class elite that simply are completely out of touch with the rest of the country.” Check out John’s fiery interview in full here. ([link removed])
Civil servants abroad
Regular readers will be familiar with council staff working from the beach ([link removed]) , but now it looks like civil servants have been getting in on the action. Our investigation revealed that more than 300 bureaucrats were given permission to work from abroad between 2021 and 2024 ([link removed]) .
As Joanna made clear when she spoke to the Guido Fawkes website: “Civil servants get pay, pensions and perks frequently unavailable in the growth-generating private sector. Ministers need to consider whether these benefits deliver value for money for taxpayers.”
Blog of the week
Government waste is back in the headlines
Continuing the theme of the week, Elliot penned a blog ([link removed]) looking at how government waste is firmly back on the agenda and highlights some examples that we’ve dug up.
After 20 years of campaigning, poorly spent taxpayers’ cash is now getting the attention it deserves and, as Elliot notes, the time of unaccountable spending is fast coming to an end ([link removed]) : “Over the last year or so we’ve seen a more sustained interest driven at home by the work of journalists such as Charlotte Gill and of course abroad by the work of Elon Musk and DOGE. As a result, the waste and inefficiency that is endemic at every level of the state has been given the sustained, consistent attention it deserves. From counterproductive EDI spending to virtue signalling foreign aid projects, it’s clear that bureaucrats have nowhere to hide."
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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