Tory Waste - Where’s The TPA?

Those familiar with the agenda-driven content of right-leaning papers, which in the UK means most of them, will also be familiar with the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance, which claims to be a non-partisan grassroots organisation and hot on any kind of wasteful public spending, while in reality being a deeply conservative Astroturf lobby group.

But they are unequivocally in favour of lower taxes, so after the test and trace débâcle, all the contracts awarded, totalling billions of pounds, apparently without any competitive tendering taking place, and all those appointments to well-paid jobs, one might expect the TPA to have at least said something. Brian Moore certainly thought so.

Hence his musing “Despite widespread press reports and legal action over improperly awarded Govt contracts; the fact that we've wasted billions of pounds on systems that don't work - no criticism from that beacon of parsimony The Tax Payers Alliance. Wonder why?” Good point. So let’s have a look at the TPA website.

Here we can see an article on BBC salaries, about which anyone who wants to know already knows, a campaign to end the Licence Fee, the remuneration paid to senior Trades Unionists, which is nothing to do with them, how much board members of Quangos are paid, the pay packages of local Government CEOs. And that’s about it.

Nothing about pals of alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his chief polecat Dominic Cummings being gifted jobs and contracts. Nothing about test and trace. Nothing about that aborted app that didn’t work. Not a sausage. Bugger all.

Why might that be? For those not yet aware of the connections, here’s a few key ones to get started. Rob Oxley, who infamously blocked a reporter from ITV Good Morning Britain and swore at him when that reporter attempted to question Bozo, was the TPA’s campaign manager. He was one of those who travelled all the way from London to Ashton-under-Lyne to try and persuade locals to join the group’s union-bashing campaign. He failed.

Before the likes of Oxley, there was Susie Squire, who told LBC host Nick Ferrari back in 2008, in response to claims she was a conservative, “we’re totally independent, we talk to everyone ... We talk to everyone who wants to talk to us ... We don’t have a party preference”. She later went through the revolving door to become a SpAd to Iain Duncan Cough. After that, she moved into Downing Street, to work for Young Dave.

Or how about Chloe Westley, former TPA campaign manager (again) and head of Social Media for the Vote Leave campaign? She is now a SpAd at 10 Downing Street. And then there is Matthew Elliott himself, co-founder of the TPA, CEO of Vote Leave, best buddies with the Polecat, and confirmed party to breaking electoral law. Those four examples are why the TPA is not saying boo while the Tories spray billions up the wall.

Why ignore £12 billions of waste but kick a few BBC presenters? That is why.

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