Globalisation:Taxpayers' Alliance: History and Ideology
The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a British pressure group formed to tackle the lack of an adequate taxpayers’ organisation in the UK. Founded in 2004 by Andrew Allum, Matthew Elliott and Florence Heath, the Taypayers’ Alliance is Britain's independent, non-partisan campaign for low a tax society and better services (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).
Starting out as a volunteer operation, the TPA first came to the attention of the national media with the publication of the first “Bumper Book of Government Waste”. The reception of this research, alongside the strong support led to a rapid and sustained expansion (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).
With a full-time team of staff working out of its office in the heart of Westminster, the TPA has firmly established itself as the country's leading voice on transparency and accountability in government; with registered supporters increasing from 5,000 in its first year to a current figure of almost 60,000 supporters. The TPA has also been at the forefront of campaigns against MPs' expenses abuses, the need for public spending transparency, the growth of the quango state, the costs and wastefulness of the EU, and excessive executive public sector pay, among others (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).
Despite the alleged non-partisan nature of the TPA, it has been accused of being a Conservative Party "front”, with all three founders, and a number of TPA staff members being affiliated with the Conservative Party and have strong links with the Freedom Association. Alliance backers, such as Anthony Bamford, a director of Staffordshire-based JC Bamford, have also donated large sums of money to the Conservative Party (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/09/taxpayers-alliance-conservative-pressure-group). However, the group's leadership has denied such an affiliation with the Conservative party.
The TPA has also recently come under scrutiny from the Charity Commission following claims that the TPA was using a charitable branch of its organisation, the Politics and Economics Research trust, to fund politically motivated research (http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/archive/975375/Charity-Commission-opens-investigation-Taxpayers-Alliance/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH).
The TaxPayers' Alliance is Britain's independent grassroots campaign for lower taxes. After years of being ignored by politicians of all parties, the TPA is committed to forcing politicians to listen to ordinary taxpayers. The mission of the TPA is "to reverse the perception that big government is necessary and irreversible; to explain the benefits of a low tax economy; to give taxpayers a voice in the corridors of power; to oppose EU tax harmonisation.” (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/mission.html).
To this end, the TaxPayers' Alliance intends to: oppose all tax rises; oppose EU tax harmonisation; criticise all examples of wasteful and unnecessary spending; and champion opportunities for votes on tax and spending (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/mission.html).
