Taxpayers' Alliance

From Powerbase
Revision as of 01:52, 24 January 2011 by Steven Harkins (talk | contribs) (Personnel)
Jump to: navigation, search

The Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) is a right-wing single-issue think tank and lobbying group advocating "lower taxes and reformed public services". On 19 September 2007, the Hayek Society, a LSE right-wing group, circulated a job description to its members for a internships at TPA.

In a March 2009 presentation TPA Chief Executive Matthew Elliott and Tim Montgomerie described IEA as part of the infrastructure of the conservative movement in Britain.[1]

Susie Squire formerly of the Stockholm Network acted as the TPA campaign manager until 2010 when she left to work as an advisor to Iain Duncan Smith.[2]

History

The Taxpayers' Alliance was set up in 2003 by Matthew Elliott, a 25-year-old political researcher for Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope. According to the Guardian Elliott had been impressed by Republican grassroots campaigns to cut tax and spending he had seen in America – particularly the work of Grover Norquist who campaigned against Hillary Clinton's healthcare plans during Bill Clinton's presidency. He argued:

'Up until that point Britain didn't need a taxpayers' group because we had the Conservatives, but then they stopped talking about it and so I saw a niche,'.

Elliott decided to affect public opinion through press campaigns, he was joined in setting up the alliance by his wife Florence Heath and Andrew Allum. The Guardian notes that Heath's father, Alexander, was also appointed despite living in France and not paying any British tax.[3]

Funding

An investigation by the Guardian in 2009 found that the TPA is funded by 'wealthy donors, many of whom are prominent supporters of the Conservative party'. The investigation found that:

'Sixty per cent of donations come from individuals or groups giving more than £5,000. The Midlands Industrial Council, which has donated £1.5m to the Conservatives since 2003, said it has given around £80,000 on behalf of 32 owners of private companies. Tony Gallagher, owner of Gallagher UK, a property company that gave the Conservatives £250,000 in 2007, is a member of the MIC, as is Christopher Kelly who owns the international haulage firm Keltruck, and Robert Edmiston who owns IM Group, a large car importer'.

TPA Funding rose from £64,457 in 2005 to more than £1 milllion in 2009[4]

Speakers at TPA Events

Eric Pickles | Liam Fox | David Davis

Independence

In December 2008 Susie Squire from the TPA was asked by Nick Ferrari on his LBC Breakfast Radio Show if the Taxpayers Alliance was 'secretly Conservative?', she responded by saying:

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I can’t have that – that’s outrageous! That’s just absolutely outrageous!' adding 'we’re totally independent, we talk to everyone. I mean, God, I was in Wales at the end of last week, giving evidence on MPs’ expenses to a cross-party independent panel in the Welsh Assembly. We talk to everyone who wants to talk to us. We produce research that goes out to many MPs, cross-party, that goes out to journalists. We don’t have a party preference. Yes of course we have advisors and we have a board – any think tank worth its salt does. We’ll talk to anyone.'[5]

Squire left the Taxpayers Alliance in May 2010 to work as an advisor to the Conservative Party's Iain Duncan Smith.[6]

Criticism

Conservative councillor for Ealing and Northfield Phil Taylor described his relationship with the TPA in February 2009:

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the TaxPayers’ Alliance. I was involved with them in their very early days. I helped them with their initial fund raising and organising but I got disillusioned because their first publication, The Bumper Book of Government Waste, mixed up capital and revenue and different years and wasn’t really a serious analysis of waste – at least not one that was any use to anyone.[7]

Publications

People

Donors

The Midlands Industrial Council | Tony Gallagher | Christopher Kelly | Robert Edmiston | Anthony Bamford | Malcolm McAlpine | David Alberto | Stuart Wheeler | Rocco Forte | John Craven

Founders

Staff

Academic Advisory Council

Volunteers

Source[8]

Affiliations

External Resources

References, Resources and Contact

Contact

The TaxPayers' Alliance
55 Tufton Street
London, SW1P 3QL

Website: tpa.typepad.com

References

  1. Tim Montgomerie, The growth of Britain's conservative movement, ConservativeHome, 14 March 2009.
  2. Guido Fawkes, Susie Squire Slips in to Spinning at the DWP for IDS, Guido Fawkes, 27-May-2010, Accessed 25-June-2010
  3. Robert Booth, Who is behind the Taxpayers Alliance, The Guardian, 9-October-2009, Accessed 24-January-2011
  4. Robert Booth, Who is behind the Taxpayers Alliance, The Guardian, 9-October-2009, Accessed 24-January-2011
  5. Newswire, Tax Payers Alliance challenged, Liberal Conspiracy, 17-December-2008, Accessed 25-June-2010
  6. Guido Fawkes, Susie Squire Slips in to Spinning at the DWP for IDS, Guido Fawkes, 27-May-2010, Accessed 25-June-2010
  7. Phil Taylor, All Those Fat Cat Teachers, Philtaylor.org.uk, 2-February-2009, Accessed 24-January-2011
  8. Taxpayers' Alliance Who we are, accessed 20 September 2007