Don't you just love the TaxPayers' Alliance? Its members are fearless in their pursuit of the faceless bureaucrats who waste our money on daft projects, and can always be relied upon to add their expert voice to any call for common sense in public spending.

They are quoted more and more each day in the news media across the country. And for that, we owe them thanks – lobby groups like the TPA are a valuable resource in the job of holding to account local and central government. But just what kind of selfless heroes are prepared to give up so much of their time campaigning for our cash? I've been looking, just in case you don't have time. On their web pages is a snapshot of the kind of people involved. See if you can spot a pattern.

James Barlow, convenor for the Bristol branch, is also Constituency Chairman for the Conservative Party. Dr Lee Rotheram, a policy analyst, is a former "chief of staff" to Tory MP for Wells, David Heathcoat-Amory. National chairman Andrew Allum was a Conservative councillor but "left the party in 2003, having lost faith that it represented his brand of free market, individualist and compassionate politics". Florence Heath, co-founder, "led the student Conservative association at Imperial College for two years as well as the Europe-wide European Young Conservatives, and served on the committee of the local Conservative associations, Conservative friends of Gibraltar." Matthew Sinclair, research director, writes something that was nominated for "the Conservative Home Best Young Conservative Blogger award"." Maria Fort, policy analyst, has "a passion for Conservative politics". There is more, but it's all on the same theme.

The TPA has nothing to hide – this stuff is all there on its websites – and it's not a crime to be a Conservative. No problem there, then. And it does not matter that these champions are so consistently to be found at one end of the political spectrum, as long as they do what they claim to do. No problem there, either.

But I've asked around, among busy people out there living their lives who don't have time to look behind the headlines, and there is a problem. People think that, because the TPA is independent, it is probably also a random cross-section of people with nothing in common except their mission to save our money. That's not the case, really.

Next time I hear about them, I'll know who they are. And, in this age of openness, that can only be a good thing for them and the rest of us.