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Credit where it’s due
It’s true that we’ve not had a lot of good things to say about this Labour government since they took office. They launched an all out assault on wealth creation and free enterprise with their tax-raising, job-destroying, high-spending budget back in October and plunged hard-working Brits into a personal recession ([link removed]) .

But on Tuesday, the prime minister did something that we wholeheartedly support.
Standing at the despatch box, Keir Starmer declared that the foreign aid budget would be cut to 0.3 per cent of gross national income freeing up around £6 billion to fund an increase in the defence budget. In this increasingly unstable world, ensuring our armed forces are properly equipped and have the capabilities to defend us is surely something we can all get behind. And it was also refreshing to see that this new spending won’t simply be another line on the nation’s credit card bill but would actually come from an existing budget.

Of course, the armed forces have been feeling the squeeze for many years and this won’t undo all of that damage but, when ministers get things right, we’re happy to give them our support. Reacting to the statement ([link removed]) , John O’Connell, our chief executive, made clear: “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 wasteful aid budget… It’s vital now that the government is rigorous in ensuring every penny goes towards investment in our military and our defences, rather than being wasted on pricey procurement and vanity projects.”
If the prime minister needs help to work out what to cut, Elliot Keck, our head of campaigns was on hand to give him some pointers ([link removed]) . In an op-ed for City A.M., Elliot wrote: “Certainly foreign aid, when directed to genuinely humanitarian efforts, will have saved lives. At 0.3 per cent of GNI, it can continue to do so. But foreign aid also goes towards poetry workshops in Colombian jails and studying shrimp health in Bangladesh. We can no longer afford to devote British resources to such virtue signalling nonsense.” Have a full read of his article here. ([link removed])

While this is certainly the right move for ministers to make, things might not be as clear cut as they seem. Number 10 has so far failed to rule out this extra cash, not supporting our armed forces but, instead being handed over to Mauritius ([link removed]) as part of the payment for giving away the Chagos Islands.
Let’s be frank, it wouldn’t be the first time British governments have pulled this kind of sleight-of-hand. But we won’t let them go unchallenged. The Chagos surrender potentially undermines our security and could land UK taxpayers with an £18 billion bill ([link removed]) . We’re calling on our supporters, people like you, to contact your MP ([link removed]) using our tool and urge them to oppose the Chagos sell-out ([link removed]) .
A nation of taxpayers
Reeves’ budget will close care homes and people will die

For this week’s episode of a nation of taxpayers, Elliot and podcast host, Duncan Barkes, were joined by Dr Robert Kilgour.
Robert is a business leader, entrepreneur, investor, property developer and philanthropist. He is also the Executive Chairman of Renaissance Care in Scotland and Chief Executive of Dow Investments Plc. Robert talks about the negative impact the Chancellor's Budget will have on the care sector, along with his other thoughts on the current government.

Listen to the latest episode (and previous ones) of 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
A torrid week for the BBC

There’s something going seriously wrong at the BBC. Our national broadcaster seems to be stumbling from crisis to crisis and this week saw a double whammy of controversy.

Aunty’s week kicked off with the news that they’re yet to recover £200,000 paid to disgraced former presenter ([link removed]) , Huw Edwards, after his arrest.
Joanna Marchong, our investigations campaign manager, was furious when she heard ([link removed]) the news telling the Mirror: “BBC bosses need to get their house in order and ensure that no other contracts open themselves up to this kind of liability. The BBC can’t afford these costs especially when they are going to someone accused of serious crimes.”

But the bad news didn’t stop there. Hot on the heels of their controversial Gaza documentary, we learnt this week that licence fee payers’ money is funding the Taliban’s propaganda wing ([link removed]) in Afghanistan.
Elliot was crystal clear ([link removed]) when he spoke to the Telegraph: “Taxpayers will feel sick to the stomach by what the BBC is doing in Afghanistan. The BBC is funding what is effectively the propaganda wing of the Taliban. If the price of remaining in Afghanistan involves bending over backwards to Taliban demands then the BBC should consider pulling out.” Quite right!
TVs for inmates

There’s one group who won’t have missed any of that BBC related drama and that’s those spending time at His Majesty’s pleasure. It emerged this week that more than £15 million has been spent on TVs for prisoners. ([link removed])
181,800 TVs ([link removed]) were bought for lags ([link removed]) between 2019 and 2024 by the ministry of justice, despite there only being around 87,000 inmates. William Yarwood, the TPA’s media campaign manager, was having none of it and slammed the spending in the Daily Star: “Ministers need to get a grip and make sure prison is a punishment and not an opportunity to catch up on programmes.” Hear hear.
Blog of the week
Will DOGE be a flash in the pan?

With Elon Musk fighting the good fight in the US with the Department of Government Efficiency, wasted money has become a bit of a hot topic in the UK too. Joanna uses this week’s blog to ask, will the latest focus on waste be just another flash in the pan? ([link removed]) Here today, gone tomorrow?
Getting to grips with how our money is spent ought to be a top priority for any government so Joanna has some words of advice for the prime minister and his colleagues: “If Keir Starmer wants to avoid the Clinton trap of big talk, little action, and a long list of ‘lessons learned’ memos gathering dust, he must take a hard line on public sector waste… Westminster needs a Trump-style shake-up. This doesn’t mean gold elevators in Downing Street; it means having a backbone when it comes to cutting waste. Without it, we will be having this same conversation in another decade.” Have a read of Joanna’s blog in full here. ([link removed])
War on Waste
The British Business Bank, owned by the department of business and trade, which is meant to support small businesses, splashed £5 million on a failed plan for a theme park in Kent ([link removed]) .

Taxpayers are sick of being taken for a ride by bureaucrats spending their money!

Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager

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