The TaxPayers' Alliance caused a sensation in Britain's media this week after we revealed a total of 327 public bodies were paying into Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme. Between 2018 and 2021 Stonewall received over £3 million of taxpayers’ money.
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity. But its Diversity Champions Scheme has faced criticism for controversial views which essentially amount to taxpayer-funded lobbying - something the TPA vehemently opposes.
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Freedom of Information requests by the TPA revealed that more than two thirds of universities were signed up to the controversial programme, alongside 58 health bodies and most Whitehall departments. Quango Homes England spent the most on Diversity Champions and associated schemes, at a total cost of £45,942, while the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave the most of any government department at £19,012.Â
Since 2018-19, organisations have been paying for guidance on issues such as gender-neutral spaces, pronouns, and transgender inclusion. Examples included a ‘Queering Children’s Literature’ event (costing £396) at Goldsmiths University of London,
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Speaking to talkRadio on Monday morning, our chief executive John O'Connell argued that calls for spending restraint are always met with cries of "public services have been cut to the bone, we can't possibly save any more money." But as John was quick to point out, "Here's an easy way to save money! They ought to stop doing it tomorrow!"
And the media hits kept coming with articles in The Spectator, The Times, UnHerd and Daily Telegraph. GBNews also featured our findings heavily with research director Duncan Simpson appearing on Michelle Dewberry's show on Monday evening.
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We are unequivocal that taxpayers should not be subsidising campaigners who use those privileges to lecture and lobby. After years of handing over millions, some officials seem determined to prop up pressure groups like Stonewall with taxpayers’ cash.
As is often the case, public sector bodies say they have no more fat to trim but with the spending review on the horizon, it’s clear that savings can be made by ending payments like these. Ministers must act.
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TPA Talks with Toby Young
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Free speech is under fire in 21st century Britain, but why? The TPA spoke to Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, about the rise of disinformation, the role of social media, cancel culture on campuses, 'woke' Whitehall, and more in our latest must-see episode of TPA Talks!
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Toby didn't mince his words in this fascinating interview, "The default response of the rich and powerful to those challenging their authority, which is to publish and expel, has re-assarted itself. That needs to be constantly constrained by traditions, customs, institutions, the law, and I think what we've seen in the last 10-15 years or so is the gradual erosion of those constraints." Click to watch the full episode.
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. If you prefer audio-only, TPA Talks is also available as a podcast on several outlets:
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Average IHT bill now over £200,000
The latest government figures show the staggering rise in the average inheritance tax bill. According to the Express, "For the 2018/19 tax year, Government figures found that the average IHT bill in the country came to a whopping £209,502."
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The TaxPayers' Alliance has long called for this pernicious tax to be abolished. Leading the charge our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall told the Express, "There is nothing gloomier than taxing death so it's little wonder the death tax is so unpopular. Coughing up for a huge inheritance tax bill is not only anti-aspirational but also a horrible thing for a grieving family to deal with."
The TPA continues to call on ministers to abolish this death tax and show a more compassionate attitude towards the bereaved.
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TfL pensions - "expensive, unreformed and generous"
Public sector pensions were back in the spotlight after Transport for London (TfL) threatened strike action over the reform of its pension scheme. A report found the scheme was "expensive, unreformed and generous".
Taking to the airwaves on GBNews our digital campaign manager showed just how generous it is. Recent ONS statistics show that average employer contributions for defined contribution schemes (which are predominantly used by the private sector) are around 3.5 per cent. Contrast that with employer contributions at TfL of 33.3 per cent, almost ten times as much!
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Joe also highlighted the problems with union facility time (paid time-off during working hours for trade union representatives to carry out trade union duties) which cost TfL £8.7 million for over 850 employees in 2019-20. That's the equivalent of yearly salaries for 155 tube drivers.
Rightly adding, "It's baffling to think that the same taxpayers who face their commutes being halted due to union action are indirectly made to pay for those unions. It's a practice which must come to an end across the public sector." Hear! Hear!
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The financial situation in Slough is even worse than thought
Writing my regular column for ConservativeHome I shone yet more light on just how bad things are at Slough council following its recent bankruptcy. The council’s Minimum Revenue Provision (the minimum amount that must be charged to an authority’s revenue account each year for financing of capital expenditure) should be somewhere in the region of £15 million but it has just £40,000.
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The situation looks bleak. Not only does it have to find the cash to plug this hole, but the authority will likely have to convert short-term borrowing into long-term borrowing which is estimated to cost an additional £6 million per year. Currently, 20 per cent of the council’s budget is spent on debt charges. Cuts to frontline services will likely be even greater than originally forecast. Click here to read more.
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ONS stats show that we’re not out of the woods yet
Encouraging signs surrounding the UK’s economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic have emerged from the Office for National Statistics. But these positive upticks in our economy come with a caveat. As Jonathan Eida writes this week, if we are to maintain our upwards trajectory and secure a healthy economic future, we must ensure we don’t fall foul of the economic pitfalls that are lying in wait.
The primary figure which gives reason to hope that we are on our way to recovery was the strong resurgence in GDP in the second quarter of this year, following the reeling in of the government’s restrictions. It should be noted, however, that we are still 4.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.Â
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So while there is reason to be optimistic about the news of a recovering economy, bumper growth is needed to tackle the colossal cost of covid. We are very much not out of the woods. A key step must be to provide businesses with the room to grow by creating favourable market conditions. Growth means jobs, prosperity, tax revenue and all the other things post-pandemic Britain will need. Cutting taxes is the optimum way to stimulate growth.
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Taxes take the fizz out of National Prosecco Day
Friday wasn't your typical Friday as the TPA celebrated National Prosecco Day! But as Brits popped open a bottle in celebration they may not have realised they’re paying more tax on their tipple of choice simply because it happens to be fizzy. Our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall explains:
A bottle of Asda’s Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry at 10.5 per cent, almost half of the cost is alcohol duty alone (48 per cent). That’s even before we get into VAT, which tops up the total tax take by another £1. Combined, it means shoppers pay £3.86 in tax for each bottle of Asda prosecco - 64 per cent of the total price.
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In this year’s budget, the chancellor froze duty across all alcohol (for the second year running). But according to the campaign group Wine Drinkers UK, duty on wine has still risen by 39 per cent since 2010; more than beer, cider or spirits.
Hospitality and leisure sectors have been battered by the pandemic, and National Prosecco Day is the perfect time to remind politicians that these struggling sectors need a helping hand - not least by simplifying the system to prevent punishing higher rates slapped on products like sparkling wine.
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Speaking to BBC Radio Kent I was adamant that £500,000 "is not an insignificant amount of money" and pointed out it is hardly surprising that not one boat has been claimed by anyone given their part in illegal activity. I told listeners that the government must tackle the problem at the source and any boats that are seized should ideally be repurposed or donated to charity.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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