Period politics and policy change: the taxation of menstrual products in the United Kingdom, 1996–2021

Figures & data

Table 1. A historical account of the politics of policy change: Taxation of menstrual products in the UK, 1996–2021.

Phase	Epithet	Evolution	Government Response
1996–2001	‘Issue Emergence & Policy Response’	Narrow: Single-Issue	‘Hands are Tied’ but we can reduce VAT from 17.5% to 5% from January 2001.
2001–2014	‘Abeyance & Off-Stage Activity’	Narrow: Single-Issue	‘Hands are Tied’ remains the Government’s position.
2014–2016	‘Re-Emergence & Europeanisation’	Broadens: Into Brexit debate	‘Hands are Tied’ but we can use VAT receipts for a ‘Tampon Tax Fund’ from 2015.
2016–2021	‘Issue Expansion & Brexit’	Broadens: Into ‘Period Poverty’	‘Hands are Untied’ due to Withdrawal Agreement and VAT removed from Jan 2021

Table 2. Party manifesto commitments to reducing the tampon tax and/or extending free access of menstrual products to schools, colleges, universities.

	Conservative	Labour	Liberal Democrats	Green Party	UKIP	SNP
1997	X	X	X	N/A	N/A	N/A
2001	X	X	X	X	N/A	N/A
2005	X	X	X	X	N/A	X
2010	X	X	X	X	X	X
2015	X	X	✓	✓	✓	✓
2017	X	X	✓	✓	✓	✓
2019	✓	X	✓	✓	N/A	✓

N/A denotes no manifesto.

Table 3. Key word search in Hansard for ‘VAT + sanitary products’ (01/01/1996 to 24/11/2020).