Dan Mitchell, in a video for the Centre for Freedom and Prosperity, makes a powerful case that big government breeds corruption. The same thing is going on here, the sort of dodgy lobbying that Dispatches discussed this weekend is the result of Government decisions becoming so economically important, in terms of the... Read more...
Just as new red route proposals are threatening to damage trade throughout the West Midlands, Sandwell Council will also be introducing new car parking charges to the town of Wednesbury where business owners are already struggling due to the recession. Sandwell MBC may have hit upon a new way... Read more...
Last year's SATs fiasco has been discussed at some length on this page before, both in terms of why it arose, as well identifying those who should take responsibility. Read more...
Last week an observant TPA supporter noted that while the West Midlands Fire Service are busy fitting out a new £23million base for their control centre staff, literally just across the road the ill-fated i54 technology park - a 220 acre regeneration project run by Wolverhampton City Council - lies vacant... Read more...
It has been reported this week that the Government is considering a new proposal to reduce or withdraw benefits from alcoholics who will not go into rehab. A similar scheme has been rolled out for heroin and crack users, and appears to be producing concrete improvements in treatment rates. It would... Read more...
Since the release of the Town Hall Rich List 2009 last week, several councils have responded with information that does not appear in the report. Some of these councils are responding for the first time, and some responded following appeals for further information. As this information was not published in... Read more...
Today the TPA and our supporters were at the Haywards Heath magistrates’ court – along with some members of Isitfair – to support Terry Reilly who was protesting his above inflation council tax bill today.Below you can read Terry's powerful statement that sums up the iniquity, incoherence and injustice associated... Read more...
You may recall that a few weeks ago I was invited to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to witness their decision to become the first transparent council in Britain by publishing details of all theri spending ove £500. I'm pleased to report that the bug appears to be... Read more...
Yesterday the Express & Star broke the news that as many as 80 new red routes could be initiated on West Midlands roads by 2015, despite the furious objection of many traders who fear these ‘no-stopping zones’ could devastate their business. Some 260miles of red routes would cost taxpayers... Read more...
You can apply for any number of the 426 jobs on offer in government this week. You can see a breakdown of sector and salary bands in the table on the right taken from the Guardian jobs website. Our non-job of the week comes from Surrey County Council: ... Read more...
It's been a tumultuous weekend for Derek Draper (and his self-declared "mate" Damian McBride). McBride has rightly resigned for using taxpayer time and resources to make up obscene and untrue smears for Draper's latest blog project, "Red Rag", to spread. It's good news that McBride will be leaving office not only in disgrace but... Read more...
7.4 million people have failed to gain access to an NHS dentist in the last 2 years. A worrying trend has grown with people resorting to DIY surgery in an attempt to avoid costly private dentistry, including pulling teeth using pliers. Currently 35% of adults are struggling to get the... Read more...
Yesterday I went down to Swanage in Dorset to do a bit of campaigning with our South West supporters. Mike Hobson, our local spokesman, had gathered together half a dozen TPA supporters to help us campaign along the sea-front and the nearby marketplace. ... Read more...
Today, the TaxPayers' Alliance presents their new, online Green Tax Calculator which allows users to calculate, using their personal travel habits, household bills, and even specific make of car, the amount they are paying for green taxes and regulations. In particular, the calculator sheds light on the hidden price... Read more...
"It's so unFAIR!" There's an interesting blog which I've only just come across written by the new Head of Media at the EU Commission's office in London. It gives a revealing insight into the frankly arrogant view of the media often taken by the EU institutions. It turns... Read more...
Michael Gove, Shadow Secretary for Children, School and Families, writes a spirited piece in the Telegraph today, laying out why Ed Balls must take responsibility for the Government's numerous educational blunders: Ed Balls is to blame for the sixth form funding shambles Shielding himself from accountability behind a web of... Read more...
Regular readers will have noticed our campaign with the West London Residents Association and Guide Dogs for the Blind against the dangerous and expensive shared surface schemes in Kensington and Chelsea. You can read about the issue here and here. Our worst fears about the shared surface scheme very... Read more...
It strikes me that the rumours doing the rounds that someone, somewhere has somehow got their hands on a full copy of every MP's expenses claims and is touting it around the market for £300,000 are a perfect opportunity to teach our politicians about the principles of supply and demand.... Read more...
Thick gloves required We've blogged public sector pay many times, including the issue of those portly moggies snuggled up in Town Halls and quangos throughout the land. This week the TaxPayers' Alliance published the latest Town Hall Rich List. Despite our slumping economy, the number of council officials earning more than... Read more...
A few weeks ago a WMTPA supporter found their eyes drawn by two jobs advertised in the 'Birmingham Post' by an organisation called 'Social Enterprise West' Midlands, and needless to say that trusty AWM logo was lurking in the corner confirming this to be yet another taxpayer-funded quango that had... Read more...
This week on the Guardian website, we’ve found 515 jobs in local government on offer. You can see on the right the pay grades they offer, with only 2 over £100,000. It shows, week after week for you to see, that the pay and perks in the public sector have... Read more...
Yesterday, the TaxPayers' Alliance released the Town Hall Rich List 2009 and findings including the some 1,000 people earn at least £100,000 per year. In response to this report, the Chief Executive of the Local Government, John Ransford, defended high public sector salaries by saying that they are the way to attract the brightest and the... Read more...
Some of you may remember that back in March we held the pan-European launch of our Hate Education since Annapolis report, which we published in conjunction with 6 other think tanks and taxpayer groups across Europe. Our partner organisations have been doing a great job of pushing this issue... Read more...
From our Town Hall Rich List you’ll find a number of councils who didn’t comply fully with the Freedom of Information requests we sent them. You’ll see from the report here that on pages 135-137 we’ve listed the councils who obstructed our requests or just flatly refused to give the... Read more...