Politicians know that the British public is fed up with high taxation and wasteful spending.

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TaxPayers' Alliance invites Keir Starmer to join
Thursday saw the TaxPayers' Alliance take to the airwaves of BBC2 as our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall made her debut appearance on the ever-popular Politics Live. The big issue of the day was a 14,000-word missive by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer setting out his vision for Britain ahead of his party's conference this weekend.

Some of his writings make good reading for taxpayers. For example, Sir Keir wants low paid workers to keep more money in their pockets. As Danielle pointed out to viewers it's a "breath of fresh air compared to what we're experiencing with the Johnson government and the recent increase in national insurance!"
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Similarly, the Labour leader is keen to tackle poor public sector procurement. Danielle praised his efforts throughout the pandemic to fight wasteful PPE spending ([link removed]) . As Labour MP Chris Bryant nodded along in agreement, Danielle said she very much hoped that Sir Keir will keep up his efforts to ensure taxpayers get a good deal long into the future.
It was with this mantra in mind that we slightly tongue-in-cheek suggested that Sir Keir Starmer might want to consider joining the TaxPayers' Alliance. ([link removed]) As Westminster blogger Guido Fawkes pointed out, given his "newfound commitment to low taxes he would be welcome to join the thousands of members of the TaxPayers' Alliance."

All jokes aside though, one thing is clear. Politicians know that the British public is fed up with high taxation and wasteful spending. It's great to see that the opposition is taking note. Let's hope the current government does too!

In case you missed it, you can watch Danielle's appearance in full on Politics Live here. ([link removed])
Grassroots News
The TPA made the long journey north to Preston on Friday to take part in the Lancashire Business Expo. Setting out our stall we spoke to hundreds of local entrepreneurs about our campaigns. We received an overwhelmingly positive response and our literature on the burdens facing businesses proved very popular.
Many people that my colleague Scott Simmonds and I spoke to were utterly fed up of being hammered with ever bigger tax bills. They were delighted that the TPA was fighting their corner and we've already seen a big spike in subscriptions to our email bulletins. We'll be attending more business expos across the country in the coming months so stay tuned for more details!
Think Tent 2021
If you're attending Conservative Party Conference next week be sure to join us at ThinkTent. ([link removed]) Our joint venture with the Institute of Economic Affairs has become a staple of the fringe scene at Conservative Party Conference.
We'll be in Manchester from Sunday 3rd October to Wednesday 6th October, where we will be hosting politicians, journalists, academics, and business leaders to discuss the key issues facing the country. Click here for the full schedule of events. ([link removed])

We'll also be live-streaming a number of events for those unable to make it in person so make sure you're following our social media for more details.
TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
Councils call for nine per cent tax rise

The Local Government Association (LGA) has claimed that council tax rises of 9 per cent will be needed to meet funding requirements for social care. Currently, councils can increase bills by a maximum of 5 per cent (3 per cent of which is for social care) but according to an article in The Times, the LGA "estimated that councils needed an extra £2.6 billion a year to stabilise social care and keep up with demand".
Obviously, the last thing households need is another tax rise which our chief executive made crystal clear to Times' readers, “households face being hammered by tax hikes next year” and he urged ministers and councils to “settle on a fairer and more sustainable solution than forever ramping up rates and throwing more money at problem." The TPA is already gearing up to lead the fight against more council tax rises.
There's plenty of fat to trim in the bloated public sector

Sticking with social care, our policy anaylst Darwin Friend wrote an excellent piece ([link removed]) for The Telegraph showing that eradicating wasteful spending can pay for social care. From High Speed Two, to national pay bargaining and civil servants' bonuses, billions of pounds could be saved every year.
As the economy recovers from the pandemic the last thing employees or employers need are higher taxes. The tax burden will reach the highest level in 70 years. The tired argument that there is no more fat left to trim simply doesn’t hold true. The government could save tens of billions of pounds instead of reaching ever deeper into taxpayers' pockets.
Should MPs get a pay rise?

But Darwin didn't stop there. GBNews hosted a fiery discussion ([link removed]) yesterday evening about whether MPs should get a pay rise. Appearing on Mark Dolan's show, Darwin was adamant that they shouldn't.

Given the dire consequences of covid he argued it would be "tin-eared" of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (which sets MPs' pay) to award a pay rise given the huge budget deficit and public sector debt.
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Despite frequent interruptions from former Conservative MP Jerry Hayes, Darwin argued that we need a better system to decide MPs' remuneration. One such method would be to link their salaries to economic performance, such as GDP growth. This means that their pay would be directly tied to the implications of their actions.
Do you think MPs should get a pay rise? (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Should%20MPs%20get%20a%20pay%20rise%3F)
Blog of the week
Council commercial properties: will the bubble burst?

Prudence with taxpayers’ money should always be at the forefront of decision making by officials in local authorities. Yet this is often not the case. From six-figure pay packets for staff to millions lost on council-owned energy companies, the wastage of public money is endless. An investigation by the TaxPayers’ Alliance published in The Times makes clear this also extends to council commercial property. ([link removed])
Our investigation revealed that local authorities across the UK had commercial property empires worth £6.4 billion in 2020-21. This is more than the development costs of the UK's new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales which came in at £6.2 billion.

Councils, particularly in the South East, own enough for it to pose serious risks to their budgets if they went wrong. Before councils purchase commercial property they need to have a proper strategy, which does not result in local ratepayers having to cough up to pay for their mistakes. If this investment bubble were to burst, taxpayers could be left in dire straits. Click here to read more. ([link removed])
War on Waste
Refurbishment costs of parliament continue to soar

Our research director Duncan Simpson once again took to the airwaves of GBNews to call out wasteful public sector spending ([link removed]) . Speaking to presenter Michelle Dewberry he revealed that the costs of refurbishing parliament have shot up. The Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben has been delayed and costs have soared from £30 million to £80 million.
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As Duncan acknowledged the Palace of Westminster is a UNESCO world heritage site so the work has to be done. But when we're seeing examples of runaway costs then it doesn't bode well for this multi-year multi-billion pound project. We will keep piling the pressure on parliament to keep costs under control.
Please send me your examples of wasteful public sector spending. (mailto:[email protected]?subject=War%20on%20Waste)

Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager

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