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Who governs Britain?
The question of who governs Britain is one we’ve been asking for sometime. Since we launched Britain’s Quangos Uncovered ([link removed]) earlier this year, we’ve been exposing the taxpayer funded bodies making rules and regulations with next to no democratic oversight. From the quango rich list ([link removed]) to big spending projects gone wrong ([link removed]) , we’ve only scratched the surface so far.

The problem of unaccountable British quangos is only half of the problem. Longtime readers will recall our previous campaign, Global Quangos Uncovered ([link removed]) , which shone a light on the WHO, the UN’s ECOSOC and IOM, the OECD, the IMF; the full alphabet soup of global quangos. But there’s one international body that has been frustrating ministers for years, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) via the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR was signed with the noblest of intentions. In the wake of the second world war and with a communist threat in the east, the idea was to cement basic human rights and prevent the abuses so regularly seen across the continent. But now, the European court has become politicised and frequently used to undermine commonsense measures of national governments. In particular, efforts to remove those who have come to the UK illegally or migrants who have committed crimes will take their cases to the ECtHR or cite the ECHR to avoid deportation - remember the Albanian criminal who couldn’t be removed as his son might not like the chicken nuggets ([link removed]) over there?

With Kemi Badenoch using a speech earlier this week to raise the prospect of leaving the ECHR, we were delighted to see politicians finally paying attention to the role of international bodies and their efforts to frustrate elected governments. Speaking to journalists ([link removed]) , Elliot Keck explained: “Taxpayers will find it encouraging that leading politicians are waking up to the way in which the quangocracy at home and abroad is acting as a barrier to democratic decision making. Vast bureaucratic overreach has neutered the power of elected politicians, a point that the leader of the opposition clearly grasps.” It wasn’t long before our media phone was ringing and Elliot quickly found himself in the GB News studio. Check out his interview here. ([link removed])
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This isn’t the only international court that goes about meddling in our national affairs. Just look at the sorry mess of the Chagos deal / sellout / give away (I’m really not sure what the right term is for paying someone to take your stuff). We’re going to hand out £30 billion to give away British territory on the basis of a non-binding judgement from the International Court of Justice. Don’t get me wrong, having a prime minister that was only too willing to capitulate on this issue didn’t help, but you get the point. And we shouldn’t forget that ministers are still to rule out taking this money from the defence budget.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step to resolving it. It’s great that opposition politicians are finally realising the harm that unaccountable bodies, both international and domestic, are doing. Here’s hoping the message reaches ministers before things get any worse.
Gabrielle O'Donovan - My hell at the hands of HMRC
This week’s episode of a nation of taxpayers is a real life story about one woman's nightmare experience with HMRC and a case of mistaken identity.
Gabrielle O'Donovan is the author of 'Gino's Contraband: Guilty Until Proven Innocent ([link removed]) '. She joins podcast host Duncan Barkes and John O'Connell, our chief executive, to share her story.

Check out this must listen episode of a nation of taxpayers on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , and YouTube ([link removed]) .
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Reeves, Rayner, or Miliband: Who's doing more damage?
When we look at this current government, it’s often hard to pick one individual who’s doing the most harm to the UK economy ([link removed]) . Whether it’s Rachel Reeves’ tax rises, Angela Rayner’s job-destroying employment rights bill, or Ed Miliband’s net zero agenda, we really are spoilt for choice.
Taking on the role of ‘special prosecutor’, I wrote in the Daily Express about why I thought the chancellor deserved to claim the crown for having caused the most damage to the UK ([link removed]) since coming to office: “Rachel Reeves began by taking winter fuel payments away from millions of pensioners and doling out inflation-busting pay rises to public sector workers… she’s trapped by a mindset that sees every economic problem as a reason to spend more, tax more and blame others. That’s not leadership, it’s economic vandalism.” The result was close but you can find out who was ‘convicted’ here ([link removed]) . Let me know who you think should have taken home the title (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Reeves%2C%20Rayner%2C%20or%20Miliband)
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Britain held back
It probably won’t be much of a surprise to anyone reading this that we at the TPA aren’t particularly fond of ministers meddling in the lives of hardworking Brits. From sugar taxes and alcohol duties to draconian tobacco regulations and endless lectures on ‘living better’, the expansion of the nanny state has been a hallmark of consecutive governments.

According to the latest edition of the Nanny State Index ([link removed]) from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the UK now has the seventh largest nanny state in Europe. In a guest written blog ([link removed]) , Ted Newson explains the UK’s deteriorating position and why it’s so damaging for taxpayers.
As Ted writes: “The persistent tendency of the British state is to infantilise its taxpayers, assuming they cannot make sensible choices without coercive financial prodding. If, instead of imposing ever-higher prices to dictate behaviour, governments simply offered guidance and trusted adult judgment, individuals could freely determine their own consumption habits… The government should stop concerning itself with what its citizens are eating for breakfast and drinking after work and instead look to a model less aligned to a ‘nanny’ government and more akin to ‘government by consent’."

Click to read more ([link removed])
BBC wants to raid your pockets
As if people didn’t have it hard enough already, the director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, has come out calling for “universal funding” and “proper investment” in aunty. To clarify, by “universal funding” and “proper investment” he means hiking the licence fee ([link removed]) , the archaic TV tax that sees anyone wishing to watch live television pay for the beeb regardless as to whether they watch BBC programing or not.
With the BBC demanding more cash while lurching from crisis to crisis, at the start of this year we launched BBC Watch ([link removed]) , a monthly roundup on all of the latest chaos coming out of Broadcasting House. Penned by our very own podcast host and former BBC presenter, Duncan Barkes, BBC Watch brings you everything you need to know about what’s going on at our state broadcaster. Sign up to get the next edition of BBC Watch here. ([link removed])
How QE landed taxpayers with yet another huge bill
Former treasury economist and ex-chairman of the TPA, Mike Denham, returns with another blockbuster blog ([link removed]) , this week taking aim at the enormous bill left for taxpayers through the Bank of England’s quantitative easing (QE) program.
With the current bill for the bank’s money printing exercise now running to £150 billion (£5,000 for every household), it’s no small sum we’re talking about here. Drawing on his decades of experience, Mike walks us through how we got here and what it all means for taxpayers: “The bottom line is that the Bank’s QE programme has lumbered taxpayers with an expensive headache and no pain-free cure. And it’s done so seemingly without considering the cost implications for taxpayers, and without much scrutiny from our elected representatives.” Check out Mike’s expert analysis here. ([link removed])
War on Waste
It’s a classic of the genre this week.

In what has been dubbed the “Great Wall of Clydach”, Monmouthshire county council spent £40,000 putting up a 200m long, 6ft high steel fence through the Brecon Beacons national park ([link removed]) and, following push back from locals who were given no say about its construction, will now spend another £20,000 ripping it out. You couldn’t make it up.

A perfect illustration of detached local bureaucracies cost taxpayers dear.

Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager

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