Dear TPA Supporter,
2009 has been a remarkable year for the TaxPayers’ Alliance. In the context of the financial and fiscal crisis, which will have huge implications for taxpayers for decades to come, we now enjoy unparalleled influence in Westminster over issues like transparency, accountability and better value for money for taxpayers. Achieving an average of 600 high quality media hits per month, we have campaigned hard on key issues such as MPs’ expenses, public sector pay, quango accountability and the European Union.
The big story of the year has undoubtedly been MPs’ expenses, and as a group that has been campaigning on this issue since our inception five years ago, we were able to step up to the plate when the Daily Telegraph started breaking the scandalous details of how our politicians had been living a five star lifestyle at our expense. Our spokespeople took to the airwaves to condemn the actions of greedy and fraudulent MPs, and call for urgent reform of the system that had led to taxpayers being so badly ripped off. When the inquiry came, we submitted evidence to Sir Christopher Kelly, and are delighted that many of our recommendations were adopted wholesale. We are now sitting on the board of IPSA, which is tasked with implementing these recommendations and will work to ensure that real action is taken to stop abuses of taxpayers’ money. And if the Crown Prosecution Service doesn’t act soon on the MPs who possibly committed fraud, we are still ready to embark on a prosecution on your behalf.
Another area where we have seen policy victories is on the issue of public sector pay. As you may know, we have published our Town Hall and Public Sector Rich Lists over the past four years in order to expose how many public sector fat cats were cashing in on an opaque and unaccountable system. We are delighted to say that all three main political parties have pledged to crack down on sky-high remuneration and even Gordon Brown (who was 324th on this year’s list) has now come round to our way of thinking and uses numbers from our Rich Lists in his speeches.
We have also trained our guns on the rampant waste in Brussels, publishing two books The Great European Rip-Off and Ten Years On. Our European campaign has also produced research papers on everything from MEPs’ expenses fraud to the Common Fisheries Policy. Look out for more of these to come over the festive season!
The year ahead promises to be even more exciting and action packed. We will continue to campaign on the key issues, and will be scrutinising all the parties’ pledges in the run up to Spring’s General Election. We plan to hold all MPs to their promises to clean up parliament and take some of the public sector fat cats’ cream, and we hope to be the ones lighting the match under a long awaited quango bonfire. We plan to build on our research into the financial and fiscal crisis, including keeping a close eye on taxpayers’ liabilities on the banks and how our punitive tax system affects entrepreneurship and job creation as Britain begins to emerge from the economic crisis.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your encouragement, kindness and hard work over the last year. Much has been achieved, but there is much still to do and we will need you more than ever in the coming year to help us tackle the issues that matter to taxpayers across Britain. You have shown unparalleled commitment and loyalty, and it is these great qualities that have enabled us to become Britain’s most high profile campaign group. This is your fight, about your issues, and we remain your TPA. On behalf of the entire team here, and our Board of Directors, may I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Matthew Elliott
Chief Executive
Posts
