Itâs true that weâve 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.
But on Tuesday, the prime minister did something that we wholeheartedly support.Â
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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 ÂŁ6 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 wonât simply be another line on the nationâs credit card bill but would actually come from an existing budget.Â
Of course, the armed forces have been feeling the squeeze for many years and this wonât undo all of that damage but, when ministers get things right, weâre happy to give them our support. Reacting to the statement, John OâConnell, our chief executive, made clear: âThe 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⊠Itâs 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.â
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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. In an op-ed for City A.M., Elliot wrote: âCertainly 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.â Have a full read of his article here.
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 as part of the payment for giving away the Chagos Islands.
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Letâs be frank, it wouldnât be the first time British governments have pulled this kind of sleight-of-hand. But we wonât let them go unchallenged. The Chagos surrender potentially undermines our security and could land UK taxpayers with an ÂŁ18 billion bill. Weâre calling on our supporters, people like you, to contact your MP using our tool and urge them to oppose the Chagos sell-out.
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Reevesâ budget will close care homes and people will die
For this weekâs episode of a nation of taxpayers, Elliot and podcast host, Duncan Barkes, were joined by Dr Robert Kilgour.
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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, Spotify, and YouTube.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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A torrid week for the BBC
Thereâs 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.Â
Auntyâs week kicked off with the news that theyâre yet to recover ÂŁ200,000 paid to disgraced former presenter, Huw Edwards, after his arrest.
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Joanna Marchong, our investigations campaign manager, was furious when she heard the news telling the Mirror: âBBC bosses need to get their house in order and ensure that no other contracts open themselves up to this kind of liability. The BBC canât afford these costs especially when they are going to someone accused of serious crimes.â
But the bad news didnât stop there. Hot on the heels of their controversial Gaza documentary, we learnt this week that licence fee payersâ money is funding the Talibanâs propaganda wing in Afghanistan.
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Elliot was crystal clear when he spoke to the Telegraph: âTaxpayers 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.â Quite right!
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TVs for inmates
Thereâs one group who wonât have missed any of that BBC related drama and thatâs those spending time at His Majestyâs pleasure. It emerged this week that more than ÂŁ15 million has been spent on TVs for prisoners.
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181,800 TVs were bought for lags between 2019 and 2024 by the ministry of justice, despite there only being around 87,000 inmates. William Yarwood, the TPAâs media campaign manager, was having none of it and slammed the spending in the Daily Star: âMinisters need to get a grip and make sure prison is a punishment and not an opportunity to catch up on programmes.â Hear hear.
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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 weekâs blog to ask, will the latest focus on waste be just another flash in the pan? Here today, gone tomorrow?
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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: âIf Keir Starmer wants to avoid the Clinton trap of big talk, little action, and a long list of âlessons learnedâ memos gathering dust, he must take a hard line on public sector waste⊠Westminster needs a Trump-style shake-up. This doesnât 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.â Have a read of Joannaâs blog in full here.
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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