A new era

Fifteen months ago, a nation of taxpayers was born. Bursting onto the podcast scene, the TPA’s flagship weekly interview series has gone from strength to strength. Rebelling against the ‘centrist dad’ mainstream drivel, we’ve sought to address the topics that matter most to taxpayers, take deep dives into contentious issues, and bring you the best analysis of the political landscape. Under the stewardship of veteran broadcaster, Duncan Barkes, and supported by the whole TPA team, we’re incredibly proud of what’s been achieved so far.

But we’re always striving to do better and offer you, our supporters, the people who make all of our work possible, the best possible experience. With that in mind, this week marks a major milestone for a nation of taxpayers.

In September, we asked for your help to rebuild and upgrade our podcast studio. With a shopping list covering everything from cables to light fittings to bookshelves, I admit they weren’t the most exciting of items, but the response was overwhelming. And this week we are excited to showcase the finished product.

We were delighted to be joined by Lord Matthew Elliott for the first videoed episode of a nation of taxpayers. As the TPA’s co-founder, former chief executive of Vote Leave, and president of the Jobs Foundation, there was no better guest to join Duncan and John O’Connell in launching this new era of a nation of taxpayers.

In a wide ranging conversation Lord Elliott discusses setting up the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the changing nature of campaigning, Brexit, and why we need to remake the case that business is a force for good.

Nothing we do is possible without your support. Thank you for helping us make this happen. We hope you enjoy it!

Listen to the latest episode of a nation of taxpayers on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube now.

Déjà vu

Ballooning spending, tax rises, and vague promises of savings in the future. Sound familiar? No, I'm not talking about Rachel Reeves’ disastrous budget in November but rather Shona Robison’s offering in Holyrood.

From new council tax bands to more overseas aid spending, it was exactly the sort of budget that could have been dreamt up in the treasury. Clearly a different way of thinking isn’t part of the SNPs plan for independence…

Calling out the smoke and mirrors north of the border, John didn’t mince his words: “Ministers in Holyrood have taken a leaf out of Westminster’s playbook by making vague promises of savings tomorrow while hammering Scots with new taxes to pay for giveaways today. Changes to income tax thresholds are welcome, but this is the same government that introduced new, higher rates in the first place. The Scottish government needs to get serious about tackling their spending addiction and focus on delivering the efficient public services hard-working families deserve.”

No votes, no tax rises

While Westminster spent a good chunk of the week obsessing over the latest political drama, in news that actually matters and affects people, we learnt that four million people will be denied the chance to vote in elections that ought to be taking place in May, with the government expected to cancel elections for at least 27 councils.

Most if not all of these councils will have raised council tax over the last few years and likely will again in the next few months. Which is why Darwin Friend was so scathing when he spoke to the Daily Telegraph: “Cancelling local elections is a disgraceful attack on democracy that leaves millions of voters trapped with failing services and ever-rising council tax without any way to hold their councillors to account.” Whatever the merits of local government reorganisation, it is simply unacceptable for local authorities who refuse to face the judgement of their electorates to hike council tax!

Fraudster back on benefits

This one really beggars belief. A Bulgarian benefits fraudster who was jailed for her part in a £53 million scam is back on benefits. Despite being given a three year sentence (which she described as a vacation), she’s back living off handouts funded by British taxpayers. Perhaps unsurprisingly we were more than happy to call out this absurd situation with Anne Strickland stepping up to the plate.

Joining Petrie Hosken on Talk, Anne didn’t hold back: “This is a woman who has been part of a massive organised crime scandal. It’s one of the largest cases of benefit fraud not just in this country but across Europe… Enough is enough. You can’t keep giving these people the generosity of the British state and exploiting the hard work of British taxpayers.” Have a watch of Anne’s full interview here.

Stop funding the pull factor

In this week’s blog, Callum McGoldrick takes a look at why we’re having such trouble getting to grips with the migrant crisis, looking at some of the pull factors feeding it, and how taxpayers are being left with the bill.

Callum hits the nail on the head, writing: “The Home Office is simultaneously funding an app that allows illegal immigrants to find work even more easily while still funneling money to those who get removed. If we continue to market Britain as a land of taxpayer-funded perks for those who bypass our laws, we should not be surprised when the boats keep coming.” Have a read of his latest blog here.

War on Waste

Every now and then, governments come up with reasonable ideas but, almost inevitably, they end up being poorly implemented, costing the earth, or both. This government’s plan for simplifying bin collections looks to be no exception.

Looking to standardise collections across the country and keep down the number of bins each household has to sort their rubbish into (see our previous work on this here) is no bad idea. Spending millions to do so is.

As I explained to the Daily Mail: “Local taxpayers will be furious if their hard-earned cash is thrown away on costly new bins. Waste collections have been a mess for years and simplifying the system is welcome, but attaching a huge price tag is a rubbish idea.” Councils must do everything they can to keep these costs down, not dump yet another bill on taxpayers.