The British Tea Party

Politics in the USA has been shaken up by the growth of a right-wing populist movement. The Tea Party movement, as it is known, has no central leadership but is a loose affiliation of smaller local groups. The movement's primary concerns include cutting back the size of government; lowering taxes; reducing wasteful spending; reducing the national debt and federal budget deficit; and adhering to the United States Constitution.

With taxes and spending cuts both on the increase on this side of the Atlantic, Britain has all the conditions necessary for a popular anti-tax movement. The inaugural British Tea Party took place back in February in Brighton. This being England, there was even real tea on offer. The "Brighton Tea Party" was backed by the Freedom Association, a libertarian group that counts Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan as a member. The American Tea Party movement also helped to organise the event.


In addition to being anti-tax and a vocal Eurospectic, Hannan is also well known for his outspoken criticism of publicly funded health care. Last summer he appeared on Fox News to bash proposals to fix the US health care system as well as rail against Britain's health services. In an interview with EUObserver about the event, Hannan said he believes the Tea Party movement could have "enormous resonance across the EU."