This week was the Conservative party conference and the 9th appearance of our ThinkTent in Birmingham, which was a roaring success!Â
A stalwart of the ThinkTent, hosted alongside the Institute of Economic Affairs, is the interview with the chancellor of the exchequer. This year we were joined by Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, amidst a media storm around the u-turn on his tax plans. Â
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Our chief executive, John O’Connell, kicked things off with the question on everyone's minds: could he guarantee there would be no more flip flopping, particularly on the cut to the basic rate of income tax which the TaxPayers’ Alliance has fought for over many years. The chancellor doubled down, calling out the 70 year high tax burden and saying: “Clearly the road we were on where we were raising taxes and facing low growth was unsustainable, and we had to shift the dial on that.” Something we’ve long waited to hear from a Tory chancellor!Â
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John quizzed Kwasi Kwarteng on a range of topics including business rates, HM Treasury orthodoxy, investment zones and dynamic tax modelling. They even touched on previous TPA investigations into anti-growth organisations receiving taxpayers’ money, with the chancellor admitting: “I’ve got a whole host of your papers on this, so I can rummage through them and find out who the culprits are!”
The event was the talk of the town, being covered by BBC camera crews and featured across the next day’s newspapers. One journalist pointed out that the chancellor’s appearance at ThinkTent, taking questions from us and from the audience for a full hour, was more than twice the length of his main conference speech!Â
We were delighted to yet again give ordinary Conservative members the chance to put questions to one of the most powerful politicians in the land.Â
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Reacting to the big speeches
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When we weren’t quickly and seamlessly (or occasionally frantically) preparing ThinkTent panel events, the TaxPayers’ Alliance team were providing rapid responses to the speeches of both Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss.
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Writing after the former’s speech, John O’Connell hit the proverbial nail when he reminded the chancellor that “without a clear strategy to control spending, there can be no path to economic prosperity”.
And there can be no doubt that the TPA let up the pressure on spending, with John telling Truss after her speech that the prime minister “must now put words into action to tackle the cost of government crisis.”
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Away from the party political dramas of the conference main hall, good-spirited debate raged on in the ThinkTent - which has become a staple of the fringe scene. Covering everything from free speech to the cost of living, attendees heard from an incredible range of panellists; including politicians, journalists, academics, and business leaders.
You can see a highlight reel of five of the best contributions here:
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But the fun didn’t stop there! Aside from the discussions, the atmosphere in the tent this year was fantastic; with supporters stopping by for refreshments and to pick up some of our new, free merchandise - spreading the low tax message far and wide!
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Behind the conference curtain
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Making this all come together doesn't happen overnight. Our team put months of work into sorting the marquee, grabbing the best speakers, ensuring cameras are running and microphones working on the day.Â
All of it is worth it when we see the huge queues of eager attendees, like the one that snaked around the conference entrance area to see Lord Frost speak at ThinkTent.Â
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In fact, our reception on Sunday night was so oversubscribed that everyone from national newspaper editors to public intellectuals and government ministers waited patiently to get in! As one MP put it, it was “definitely *the* place to be at Tory conference!”Â
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This year’s ThinkTent was a resounding success, but don’t just take our word for it!
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“An outstanding event, shedding real light on some of the most important issues facing this country, and the strengths and weaknesses of our leaders.”
- Isabel Oakeshott, International Editor, Talk TV
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“I very much enjoyed speaking to a packed out crowd at ThinkTent. Coming together to discuss and debate free market ideas is the lifeblood of Conservative conference.”
- Lord Frost of Allenton, former Minister of State and Chief Negotiator for EU Exit
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“Thanks for inviting me onto the panel! It was a really interesting discussion."
- Miriam Cates MP
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“A very stimulating panel and I met a lot of great people. Nice work on this.”
- Eric Kaufman, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London
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Finally, I want to thank everyone that was involved in ThinkTent this year for making it such a success. And I want to thank you, our supporters. Whether you turned up in person or tuned in online, or donated to enable the whole thing to take place, you played a part. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible.
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Benjamin Elks
Fundraising, Operations, and Events assistant
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