TPA Talks - The TaxPayers' Alliance Podcast

Simon Clark, director of smokers' rights group Forest, joins us for this episode of TPA Talks. Reflecting on the upcoming smoking ban after decades of creeping regulation, Simon explains how the war on smokers and the rise of the nanny state have worrying implications for us all - smokers or not.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, joins us for this episode of TPA Talks. Ahead of the changes to alcohol duty in August 2023, we discuss the challenges faced by British pubs and breweries in a post-pandemic world. Emma sets her sights on beer duty, business rates, regulation, and the role of pubs in revitalising high streets and city centres. Sign the BBPA's Long Live The Local petition here: https://www.longlivethelocal.pub

In this special episode of TPA Talks, Christopher Snowden, Head of Lifestyle Economics for the IEA, discusses the Nanny State Index, which ranks European countries based on excessive regulation of food, drinks, vaping, tobacco, and alcohol. Discover why the UK has climbed to the unenviable position of being the second-worst country for food and soft drink regulation, the role of e-cigarettes in harm reduction, tobacco taxes, and more. Visit nannystateindex.org to see the full league table and learn more!

London Assembly member and former mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey AM joins us for this episode of TPA Talks. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss Shaun's political roots, the recent Budget, reforming the Metropolitan Police, the ULEZ expansion, Sadiq Khan's legacy, his future plans, and more!

In this special episode of TPA Talks, we speak to Emma Webb, UK director of the Common Sense Society, and Kevin O'Sullivan, hard-hitting TalkTV presenter, about the rise of "woke" waste in the public sector. We cover everything from arts funding to six-figure salaried diversity managers, and explain how these right-on practices are costing taxpayers a fortune. If you want to see diversity, equality and inclusion roles in the public sector scrapped, sign the petition! 👇  https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/ditch_the_diversity_demagogues

We spoke to Theodore Dalrymple - author, cultural critic, and former prison physician and psychiatrist - in this latest instalment of TPA Talks. Drawing on his colourful career that took him across the globe and to the depths of British society, Dalrymple offers his thoughts on state bureaucracy, taxpayer-funded cultural projects, architecture, the state of university education, the NHS, the BBC and more.

In this episode of TPA Talks, we speak to Alex Phillips; journalist, broadcaster and former member of the European parliament. Alex offers her thoughts on everything from her journey into politics, the exorbitance of the European parliament, whether Brexit has delivered the results she had hoped for, the future of broadcast media and the whether the TV licence is still fit for purpose.

President and co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute, Madsen Pirie, joins us for this episode of TPA Talks. From think-tank pioneer to children's author, Madsen's remarkable career takes centre stage for this conversation; in which we discuss the formation of the ASI, his influence on the Thatcher era, the similarities between the 1970s and the 2020s, and how free marketeers can tell better stories in an age of interventionism.

With war breaking out in Europe once again, how should British defence policy adapt to meet current geopolitical challenges? Writer and broadcaster Charlie Peters joins us to discuss MoD waste, personnel cuts, the efficacy of NATO, the need to prepare for future conflicts, and more.

Politician turned television personality Ann Widdecombe joins us for the final edition of TPA Talks for 2021. Drawing upon her unique journey from the House of Commons to the small screen to the European Parliament, Ann pulls no punches on everything from the BBC, the government, social media, parliamentary sleaze, the House of Lords, and the NHS - and tells us what it means to be a conviction politician!