Not Free. Taxpayer Funded: Stop Calling It Free When We Paid For It

Labour politicians love the word "free".

Free childcare. Free school meals. Free prescriptions. Free transport. Free courses. Free this. Free that.

There is one rather important problem.

They are not free.

Someone pays. And very often, that someone is you.

The Government has just made our argument for us.

On 9 August 2026 the Prime Minister announced plans to stop retailers advertising misleading discounts — fake "was" prices, invented savings, made-up recommended retail prices. A consultation this autumn will consider adding those practices to the list of tactics banned outright under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, put the principle in a single sentence: "If something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price."

We agree. Completely. Consumers deserve honesty about prices.

So here is our question. If something is advertised as free, should it actually be free?

A shop that inflates a price and then slashes it is misleading you about what you are paying. A government that hands you something you have already paid for through your taxes, and calls it "free", is doing something uncomfortably similar.

One standard for the high street. Another for Whitehall.

If a supermarket, a shop or any other business is expected to be transparent about the true cost of what it sells, then ministers should be transparent about the true cost of what they promise. A principle cannot be right for a corner shop and wrong for a government department.

That is why the Great British PAC is launching the NOT FREE. TAXPAYER FUNDED. campaign.

Our demand is simple: a Taxpayer Transparency Rule.

When central government, local government or any other taxpayer-funded public body advertises a service, benefit or programme as "free", it should state clearly, on the same material, that it is funded by taxpayers.

No complicated disclaimers. No political spin. No footnote in six-point type. Just one honest line.

If taxpayers paid for it, tell them.

Why this matters.

There is nothing wrong with a government choosing to fund public services. There is nothing wrong with politicians arguing that taxpayers should fund a particular programme. Make the case. Win the argument. That is what politics is for.

But government has no money of its own. Every pound it spends is raised through taxation, through borrowing that tomorrow's taxpayers will service, or through other public revenue. Describing a taxpayer-funded programme simply as "free" hides that basic reality — and a public that is never told what things cost cannot judge whether they were worth it.

This is not an argument about whether to spend. It is an argument about telling the truth while you do it.

And it is a rule for whoever holds power. Governments change. The standard should not. We would ask exactly the same of any party sitting in Downing Street.

The petition.

We, the undersigned, call on the Government to introduce a Taxpayer Transparency Rule, requiring government departments and taxpayer-funded public bodies to make clear when services, benefits and programmes advertised as "free" are funded by taxpayers.

If businesses are expected to be honest about prices, government should be held to the same standard.

Nobody has paid for this campaign. This petition has received no funding from any company, party, lobby group or third party — not a penny. It is an entirely independent initiative of the Great British PAC. We ask for honesty about who pays because we are straight about it ourselves.

Sign now. Help us send a simple message to Westminster.

STOP CALLING IT FREE. WE PAID FOR IT.

Sign the petition and share it with your friends and family. Because taxpayers don't just deserve value for money. They deserve the truth about where the money came from.

Stand up and be counted for your country. Thank you.