TAP Welcomes Opportunity for New Leadership & Calls for a Bold Progressive Agenda for Britain

London, 22 June 2026 – Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) has welcomed the prospect of a new Prime Minister, saying it represents an opportunity to reset the national conversation and deliver the bold leadership, clear vision and practical policies needed to tackle Britain's affordability crisis.

TAP believes that the new leader must move beyond short-term political management and present a connected programme of reform that directly improves the lives of ordinary people.

For too long, Britain has experienced slow growth, rising inequality, increasing financial hardship and declining confidence in politics. Millions of people are working hard yet still struggle with housing costs, taxation, stagnant living standards and the rising cost of everyday life.

Tom Burgess, CEO of Taxpayers Against Poverty, said:

"This is more than a leadership contest. It is an opportunity to redefine Britain's future.

The next Prime Minister must offer more than a collection of policies. They need a compelling vision, a coherent plan and the courage to deliver it.

People want to know that life can become more affordable, that hard work will once again be rewarded, and that their children will enjoy greater opportunities than they have today.

Britain can absolutely achieve this, but it requires bold leadership, honest conversations and the willingness to modernise outdated systems that no longer serve the public."

TAP believes that a bold progressive agenda should include practical reforms capable of delivering immediate improvements to living standards while laying the foundations for long-term prosperity.

These include:

Reducing the Cost of Living

·       Immediate abolition of Council Tax for renters.

·       Long-term replacement of Council Tax with a modern land value-based property tax paid by landowners rather than occupiers.

·       Reform of Business Rates through the introduction of land value taxation, reducing costs for independent retailers, small businesses and high streets.

·       Raising the Income Tax threshold to reduce taxation on low and middle earners.

Fairer Tax Reform

·       Alignment of Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax.

·       Introduction of a carefully designed tax on significant personal wealth above a defined threshold.

·       Lower taxes on work and productive enterprise, funded through fairer taxation of accumulated wealth and land values.

·       Closing tax loopholes that distort competition and undermine confidence in the tax system.

Building a Stronger Economy

·       Major investment in transport infrastructure, including rail, funded through capturing a proportion of the increase in surrounding land values.

·       A national programme of housing development around transport hubs to improve affordability while supporting sustainable economic growth.

·       Policies that encourage manufacturing, innovation and productive investment across every region of the UK.

Devolution and Local Growth

·       Greater fiscal devolution, enabling cities and regions to retain land value tax revenues and invest directly in local transport, housing, regeneration and public services.

·       Stronger local leadership with greater responsibility and accountability for economic development.

Modernising British Democracy

·       Electoral reform to ensure Parliament more accurately reflects how people vote.

·       Modernisation of Parliament, including replacing outdated procedures that belong to a two-party political era.

·       Reform of the House of Lords to create a more democratic, accountable and representative second chamber.

Measuring Success Differently

·       Introducing national Wellbeing Indicators alongside GDP so that government measures success by improvements in people's lives, health, security and opportunity—not simply economic output.

Mr Burgess added:

"Preventing poverty is not simply a moral responsibility—it is one of the smartest economic investments a country can make.

Poverty costs Britain tens of billions of pounds every year through poor health, lower productivity, increased demand on public services and lost economic potential. Preventing it benefits everyone.

Britain needs a government prepared to think beyond the next news cycle. It needs leadership capable of bringing people together around a shared national mission: creating a country that is more prosperous, more compassionate and more confident about its future."

Taxpayers Against Poverty's Prioritise Poverty Prevention campaign has already brought together MPs from across political parties, policy experts, charities and businesses behind practical proposals to reduce poverty, inequality and financial hardship.

The organisation said it stands ready to work constructively with the next Prime Minister and ministers from all parties who are prepared to embrace bold, evidence-based reforms that improve the lives of the majority of people across the United Kingdom.

ENDS

For media enquiries, interviews, or comment: Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against PovertyEmail: media@taxpayersagainstpovery.org  Website: www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk

About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers against Poverty is a UK-based independent advocacy group dedicated to tackling poverty, inequality, and economic injustice TAP seeks to influence national and local policy by promoting practical economic proposals that have a positive effect on reducing poverty and unnecessary financial hardship using a direct approach to decision makers and other influencers.

TAP was founded by the late Rev Paul Nicolson and is led by Tom Burgess, author of From Here to Prosperity, a new political agenda for a sustainable economy and greater social justice, which proposes taxing wealth more and income less. TAP is part of Real Agenda Ltd, a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing together campaigns, research, media and public engagement to tackle poverty, inequality and the barriers preventing people from thriving, this includes Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more honesty, respect and compassion into political life as well as The Progressive Policy Unit (PPU) which develops practical, evidence-based proposals on poverty prevention, economic fairness, taxation, public services and social wellbeing.