Wobbly Stoke-on-Trent City Council have warned that inflation-busting council tax hikes in hand with service cuts will be needed to prevent the local authority decending £17m into the red. According to today’s The Sentinel, councillors were called to a special briefing where they were told that there’s already a... Read more...
Adam Lent has written a frankly ridiculous blog for the TUC: "I’ve just done a Sky News debate with Matthew Elliott of the Taxpayers’ Alliance. He suggested a new way of cutting public spending which breaches a whole new frontier in economic illiteracy (even for the TPA). His brilliant... Read more...
The front page of today’s Birmingham Post might suggest that it’s déjà-vu at Business Link West Midlands, as Alison White, a chief executive who has been in place just a year walks away prompting AWM intervention. Of course, the huge irony is that these are the very people who... Read more...
By Corin Taylor, Mike Denham and Matthew Sinclair We have had many positive responses to our report (PDF) on how to save £50 billion in spending, and the Chief Economist at the IPPR on the Today programme and Jackie Ashley in the Guardian today have both said that, while they... Read more...
Now that the gallery has finally opened the WMTPA will be keeping an eye on the progress of this £67m project. So no prizes for guessing which newly opened arts centre this unnamed employee works for: “The powers that be have made a big fuss of announcing the building... Read more...
That’s £50,000 for every man, woman and child in the UK In their new book Fleeced! Matthew Elliott, CEO of the TaxPayers’ Alliance and David Craig, author and management consultant, expose the financial, fiscal and political crisis resulting from a decade spent under the stewardship of Gordon Brown. The... Read more...
After two and a half wonderful years at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, this is my final blog on my last day here as your grassroots coordinator. To those of you I’ve met, corresponded with and campaigned with, thank you. Getting to know so many of you so well has made... Read more...
Yesterday we were at the Norwich Magistrates Court to support Barbara Lockwood (in the purple) as she was hauled back, yet again, for refusing to pay council tax increases. This time, however, instead of the usual council solicitor marching in, standing up, reading a prepared statement and the magistrates nodding it... Read more...
Joint study lays out detailed proposals to save £50 billion a year of public spending 32 specific measures offer savings of £42.5 billion from 2010-11, and a further 2 measures would save £7.5 billion from 2011-12 A groundbreaking new report jointly produced by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) and the... Read more...
Well the long-awaited and massively over budget Birmingham City Council website was launched this week and went down like an absolute lead balloon with local experts who believe that, once again, taxpayers have been fiddled out of £2.8million for a completely substandard facility. Back at the beginning of August... Read more...
This morning, the Local Government Chronicle published an article titled "Tower Hamlets counters anti-terror cash claim". It is important to make it clear that the council don't appear to have contested any of the claims in our report. Here is their statement: "A council spokeswoman said the foundation had... Read more...
With over 500 government jobs this week it means that the government roster just keeps on growing. Feel like you’re getting value from that? Well, let’s discuss it with the job that gains the prestigious title of ‘non-job of the week’. This week’s winner comes from Newham, one of the... Read more...
There have been a number of interesting responses to our report on the Prevent strategy, released yesterday. This is exactly the kind of debate that we were hoping to start by revealing how Prevent money has been spent - hopefully experts will continue to look into the groups and we can build up... Read more...
The Treasury have proudly announced that they are giving out the first round of payments under the Child Trust Fund, £250 for each seven-year old: "From this month onwards, children who turn seven will get a £250 birthday boost to their Child trust Fund account. The extra money will... Read more...
The Town Hall Rich List has always generated a lot of media attention. Boomerang bosses and scandalous rewards for failure are often the headline, but the principal purpose has always been to allow people to find out - if they want to - just how much their council executives really... Read more...
Over the past year Essex Police force has put 238 more officers out on the beat. Funding hasn’t increased, and there have been no cuts to services or front-line duties, so how have they done it? Quite simply through better management, a genuine focus on cutting waste and bringing... Read more...
Today members of Warwickshire County Council will vote on whether cabinet members should receive a 13.87% or 15% special responsibility allowance rise, based on savings made at the council. Despite the fact the Independent Remuneration Panel in Warwickshire seems to have previously recommended that the number of people with... Read more...
It is reported in the Daily Mail today that the new speaker John Bercow is hiring a new PR guy on approximately £100,000 per year. Mr. Bercow's office have claimed that this pricey spin doctor is needed to handle the press fallout after the Kelly Commission delivers its findings... Read more...
In politics, pensions are a minefield into which no-one wishes to tread. Any talk of reforming public sector schemes provokes angry accusations at best, full-on strikes at worst. Discussions of what to do with the state pension takes the whole thing to an even crazier level. Immense complexity, vested interest,... Read more...
The Prevent Strategy is part of the Government’s response to the threat of terrorism from Islamist extremists. Aimed at stopping people from becoming terrorists, the Government has given Local Authorities money to fund projects administered by community groups, as well as giving out grants themselves directly. However, there have been... Read more...
Still a bit thin and droopy Yesterday George Osborne was interviewed by Andrew Marr (watch again here), and although most of the interview all too predictably got stuck on bankers' bonuses, Osborne did give us a quick flash of his pencil, and how he's been wielding it to pencil in a list of... Read more...
The International Policy Network have released an excellent new report which looks at how DFID use taxpayers' money to support political causes here in Britain. Some of the facts they've found are real shockers: "£1.2 million given to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) since 2003 for activities including: lobbying, hiring... Read more...
EU foreign service now costs £3.4 billion a year The property portfolio of EU embassies is worth £55 million EU ambassadors earn up to £244,000 a year Former ambassador to Washington DC expresses concern at report's findings A new study by the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals the huge size, scope and... Read more...
Thank you Mr McKinsey... and what do I cut next? According to today's leaked McKinsey report, "NHS hospitals in England are rife with waste and inefficiency". Among other things, McKinsey found: low staff productivity - "doctors and nurses in the worst 10 per cent of hospital trusts deal with less... Read more...