a nation of taxpayers

A podcast from the Taxpayers' Alliance. Talking politics and highlighting waste in all forms of government and the public sector. Presented by Duncan Barkes with guests from the Taxpayers' Alliance and from across the world of politics. On X, follow the TaxPayers' Alliance @the_tpa More links and info here: https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/

Spring Statement: Is Reeves Reaping What She Sowed? 03/26/2025

Spring Statement: Is Reeves Reaping What She Sowed? Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Darwin Friend, Head of Research at the TPA and Fred De Fossard, Director of Strategy at the Prosperity Institute. Together they pick over the contents of the Spring Statement from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Show notes: /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35872820

Andrew RT Davies: Welsh politics & the rise of Reform UK 03/20/2025

Andrew RT Davies: Welsh politics & the rise of Reform UK Podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Elliot Keck are joined by Andrew RT Davies, the former leader of the Welsh Conservatives. Andrew explains why he resigned last year and outlines the current state of the political scene in Wales. He also gives his view on the threat of Reform UK in next year's Senedd election and whether or not he might join them. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35787835

Mike Graham talks journalism, Reform UK, Net Zero & more 03/13/2025

Mike Graham talks journalism, Reform UK, Net Zero & more One of our most opinionated episodes ever! Fleet Street legend and presenter of TALK's Morning Glory, Mike Graham, joins podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Elliot Keck. They talk about the state of today's political journalism, scrapping the BBC and the current spat raging within Reform UK. Mike also chats about his time in Fleet Street and about his ratings busting radio show. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35669170

Hyper mass immigration is destroying our country 03/06/2025

Hyper mass immigration is destroying our country Podcast host Duncan Barkes and William Yarwood from the TPA are joined by political commentator Patrick O'Flynn. Patrick is also a former UKIP and SDP MEP. They talk about his time in UKIP and the SDP, how the Conservative Party needs to stop being a 'broad church', whether or not the rise of Reform UK is a blip and how mass immigration is destroying Great Britain. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35557115

Reeves' Budget will close care homes and people will die 02/27/2025

Reeves' Budget will close care homes and people will die Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Elliot Keck. Their guest this week is Dr Robert Kilgour. Robert is a business leader, entrepreneur, investor, property developer and philanthropist. He is also Executive Chairman of Renaissance Care in Scotland. Robert talks about the negative impact the Chancellor's Budget will have on the care sector, along with his other thoughts on the current government. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35455095

Is the right too splintered to unite to beat Labour? 02/20/2025

Is the right too splintered to unite to beat Labour? Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Elliot Keck of the TPA and Ben Habib, Chair of Great British PAC. Ben talks about the creation of and its plans to unite the right. He also talks about his time as a Brexit Party MEP, why he quit Reform UK and how he views Nigel Farage*. Ben was a Deputy Leader of Reform UK as well as standing as a candidate for the party. *This episode was recorded before Nigel Farage announced he was handing control of Reform UK to its members and giving up his shares. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35362120

Why does the UK hate the rich so much? 02/13/2025

Why does the UK hate the rich so much? Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Daniel Lilley, Senior Researcher at Civitas and Max Marlow, Director of Research and Education at the Adam Smith Institute. They discuss the new Civitas research paper entitled 'Balancing taxes and benefits: Starting the public conversation on net recipience'. Max also talks about the ASI's Millionaire Tracker that reveals a growing number of millionaires are leaving the country. They also ponder why in the UK there appears to be a hatred of those who have become wealthy and successful. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35268750

Esther McVey MP - The Voice Of Common Sense 02/06/2025

Esther McVey MP - The Voice Of Common Sense Conservative MP Esther McVey joins podcast host Duncan Barkes and Elliot Keck of the TPA. Should there be an electoral pact between the Conservatives and Reform UK ahead of the next general election? What would it take for Esther to defect to Reform UK? Why did the Conservatives take such a drubbing at the last general election? Find out her answers to these questions and many more. There's also chat about EDI roles, the BBC and some solid common sense talking. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35173525

Defunding The BBC! 01/30/2025

Defunding The BBC! Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Darwin Friend, Head of Research at the TPA and Rebecca Ryan from . Rebecca talks about the campaign and explains how you can legally cancel your BBC licence. Darwin outlines the TPA's position on future funding of the BBC as it heads towards its charter review in 2027. There's also discussion on what the BBC should or should not provide in terms of content and the ever-present topic of journalistic bias. Plus, there's a bit of chat about the latest TPA polling on abolishing inheritance tax. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/35080120

A chat with Fred De Fossard from the Prosperity Institute 01/22/2025

A chat with Fred De Fossard from the Prosperity Institute Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by William Yarwood of the TPA and Fred de Fossard of the Prosperity Institute, formerly the Legatum Institute. Fred explains the thinking behind the recent name change of the Institute. Duncan, William and Fred also discuss the Southport stabbings, Donald Trump and the council that is giving away airfryers. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34957710

A chat with Giles Dilnot, Editor of Conservative Home 01/16/2025

A chat with Giles Dilnot, Editor of Conservative Home Podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Elliot Keck are joined by Giles Dilnot, the new editor of Conservative Home. They discuss his vision for Conservative Home; the future of the Conservative Party; Reform UK and the Labour government's current woes. Giles also gives his views on the BBC (as a former BBC reporter) and the future of the Chagos Islands, plus he talks about his time as a Special Adviser in the last government to Foreign Secretary James Cleverley. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34879125

A wide-ranging chat with Sir John Redwood 01/09/2025

A wide-ranging chat with Sir John Redwood Podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Will Yarwood are joined by Sir John Redwood. John was Conservative MP for Wokingham between 1987 and 2024. A former adviser to Lady Thatcher, John was also Secretary of State for Wales in John Major's government. John has been a lifelong campaigner for lower taxes and improved government efficiency. In this chat, he outlines his thoughts about getting the economy back on track and the current state of UK politics. He also talks fondly and candidly about his time advising Lady Thatcher. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34785005

Looking at 2025, skiving public sector workers and APD 01/03/2025

Looking at 2025, skiving public sector workers and APD It's the first episode of 2025! Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Elliot Keck, Joanna Marchong and Darwin Friend from the TPA. They talk about what the future holds for the coming year. Plus they cover some recent examples of public sector waste including the growing numbers of local council workers being allowed to work from overseas. They also chat about the rising stealth tax that is Air Passenger Duty. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34707510

Looking back at 2024 & a political quiz 12/19/2024

Looking back at 2024 & a political quiz The final episode of 2024 with a festive flavour. Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Elliot Keck and Callum McGoldrick from the TPA, along with Joe Dinnage from CapX and Reem Ibrahim from the Institute of Economic Affairs. They discuss the highlights and lowlights of 2024, plus there's a jolly political quiz. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34529195

Reform MP Rupert Lowe on politics, HMRC & football 12/12/2024

Reform MP Rupert Lowe on politics, HMRC & football Podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Elliot Keck chat with Rupert Lowe, Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth. They talk about his political journey, life in Parliament, the future of Reform UK, the fate of the Labour government, the challenges facing the Conservative Party, HMRC and football governance. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34410050

UK/US relationship, Musk, Reform UK & 3 day a week MPs 12/04/2024

UK/US relationship, Musk, Reform UK & 3 day a week MPs Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Elliot Keck and special guest Ted Bromund. Ted is a former Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. They talk about what a future UK/US relationship should look like, Elon Musk and his role in US and potentially UK politics, Reform UK and some Labour MPs wanting a 3 day week. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34284370

Charlotte Gill, trusting Rachel Reeves & a lobster 11/28/2024

Charlotte Gill, trusting Rachel Reeves & a lobster Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Will Yarwood and campaigner Charlotte Gill. They talk about Charlotte's Woke Waste work, whether we can trust Chancellor Rachel Reeves when she promises no more tax rises over the next 4 years and getting 2.8million people out of work due to long-term sickness into jobs. There's also an analogy involving a lobster. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34191475

Recorded live at the protest by British farmers on 19 November 2024 11/20/2024

Recorded live at the protest by British farmers on 19 November 2024 Podcast host Duncan Barkes and Elliot Keck from the Taxpayers' Alliance join thousands of farmers in Whitehall to protest against changes to inheritance tax for farmers which were announced in the Budget. They chat to Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, along with farmers from across the country - from Cornwall to Scotland. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/34032666

Driving test backlog, student loans, 4-day week & Lineker 11/14/2024

Driving test backlog, student loans, 4-day week & Lineker Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Elliot Keck and Ellen Pasternack from the Civitas think tank. Ellen talks about her campaign to end the drving test backlog. There's also chat about student loans, the 4-day week in the public sector, Gary Lineker and the US election result. Useful links: /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33926152

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith talks about UK business, making Conservatism sexy and Land Rovers 11/07/2024

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith talks about UK business, making Conservatism sexy and Land Rovers Andrew Griffith, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade and MP for Arundel and South Downs, joins podcast host Duncan Barkes and the TPA's Elliot Keck for a wide-ranging chat. They talk about the burdens placed on business, how to make Conservatism sexy again and Land Rovers. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33827107

Budget Special - Decimating British Business 10/30/2024

Budget Special - Decimating British Business Podcast host Duncan Barkes gets reaction to the Budget from John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance and Max Marlow, Director of Research and Education at the Adam Smith Institute. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33686987

The Whitehall Project’s Henry Newman, Employment Rights Bill & Paddington Bear 10/24/2024

The Whitehall Project’s Henry Newman, Employment Rights Bill & Paddington Bear Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Media Campaign Manager Will Yarwood and special guest Henry Newman from The Whitehall Project. Henry talks about his project and about life as a Special Adviser to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. There's also chat about the cost to business of the Employment Rights Bill and Paddington Bear receiving a taxpayer-funded passport. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33596737

The TPA at 20, a hike on employer’s NI contributions and a £39 herb chopper 10/17/2024

The TPA at 20, a hike on employer’s NI contributions and a £39 herb chopper Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's Chief Executive John O'Connell and Head of Campaigns Elliot Keck. They chew over the possible increase in employer's National Insurance contributions, recent comments from the Transport Secretary about P&O Ferries, the excessive spending by some university Vice-Chancellors and the pros/cons of televising a Tory leadership debate. They also look back at the last twenty years of the TPA. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33496447

an audio bookmark... 10/11/2024

an audio bookmark... Hit the 'follow' button on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you are automatically updated when the latest podcast appears. 'a nation of taxpayers' is the brand new podcast from the Taxpayers' Alliance that will feature political chat and guests as well as highlighting wasteful spending in national and local government and elsewhere. Please help us spread the word about the new podcast from the Taxpayers' Alliance. /episode/index/show/9864e3c1-9946-4d80-ad28-f460414cc97b/id/33417502

a nation of taxpayers

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