The Telegraph reports that Ed Miliband is going to tell energy companies that they should cut their prices to reflect the fall in the oil price. The reasons why prices are not set to fall in line with the oil price are widely understood. In particular, there are going to... Read more...
Today, the Telegraph reported on an issue that the TPA has covered frequently, government fat cats that make entirely too much money. Figures show that high level executives for the various NHS Trusts saw spending on their collective salaries go up about 38% in the past year. Some individuals saw... Read more...
Here's the monthly campaign update from Peter Webb, the organiser of the Surrey TaxPayers' Alliance group: October 2008 The attempt to meet all borough leaders having failed (excepting Waverley BC see September diary) the invitation was withdrawn for the time being (it would in any case be impractical... Read more...
This week has been an open display of bureaucratic failures. The most outrageous issue with this particular set of failures is the victims: children. Innocent children. Reports on the Baby P tragedy and the dismal report by HM Inspectorate of Education of Aberdeen City’s child services highlight a serious lack... Read more...
The TaxPayers' Alliance report Funding Hate Education set out one example of how aid money can be not just wasteful but counterproductive. There are many more. Proper scrutiny is the only way to make sure that our money isn't wasted. Read more...
The Express & Star reported today that Wolverhampton City Council has finally made a decision on the £60million 10-year Axon contract to ‘shake-up’ the local authority, and has resolved to call the deal off at an estimated cost of £8million. Although this money represents another significant blow to the... Read more...
Finally the local papers have picked up the news reported earlier this week that Thurrock chief executive Angie Ridgwell was leaving the council. Her statement, however, proves our point that the bureaucracy in local government – and even the wider public sector perhaps – is out of control and growing... Read more...
Den Dover MEP has been thrown out of the Tory Party after having been forced to pay back £500,000 of EU parliamentary expenses. An EU parliamentary investigation found he had claimed this money for ‘unaccountable expenditure’ and the case has been referred to Europe’s anti-fraud office. Since 1999 Mr... Read more...
A scheme by Birmingham City Council was exposed in today’s Birmingham Post by former Minister for the West Midlands MP Liam Byrne as a complete waste of money. The 22-week clean streets campaign cost the council £20,000 to organise despite only issuing a few penalties, each at a cost... Read more...
Tough times demand radical action. Unprecedented bank bail outs, extraordinary financial stimulus andhistoric electoral change have defined these past few months, as countries across the world scramble to deal with the fall out from the financial crisis. Now it is the EU's turn to be bold. In a radical... Read more...
Unemployment up today, 5,000+ jobs lost yesterday and yet 698 jobs within government advertised today. Today’s non-job comes from Cheshire East Council: “Head of Policy and Performance£81,000 Can you take us to the next level? This is an opportunity for you to have a significant impact -... Read more...
On Tuesday ConservativeHome reported that Douglas Carswell is pushing, in parliament, for elected 'justice commissioners' (you can call them sheriffs for short). This is a great idea. It can be tempting to look at this sort of proposal and think "I don't want a vote, I want the police... Read more...
Iain Dale has got it bang on over on his blog regarding the newly proposed Regional Select Committees. The idea, which is to have a Select Committee to oversee each Regional Development Agency, would certainly mean the quangos were slightly more accountable, but frankly the most democratic option would be... Read more...
Defence Secretary John Hutton took part in an interview on the Today Programme this morning that I personally found pretty outrageous, particularly given that like many members of my generation I have a decent number of friends either in, recently in or about to go to Afghanistan or Iraq. ... Read more...
While the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) welcomes any plan to reduce the burden on British businesses or ordinary taxpayers, the plans announced by the Conservatives today are disappointing. The TPA today publishes a response to the plans that details why they are too timid, too complex and poorly targeted and suggests... Read more...
Yesterday we were contacted by Mike Casey of Your Thurrock – a superb grassroots new media current affairs website – with the surprise that yet another chief executive has left Thurrock council. What repercussions will this have for Thurrock’s taxpayers? It doesn’t look good considering the soaring salaries chief executives... Read more...
After last week’s Food Policy Officer non-job of the week, here’s another food related story that’ll do more harm to your health than a fry-up. Council health chiefs in Guildford have forced through a policy compelling burger vans and cafés to provide ‘healthy alternatives’. Yes, that’s right, because everyone goes... Read more...
The one-day Advantage West Midlands conference cost taxpayers £118,000 last year, so this year the TPA were in attendance to see exactly how our Regional Development Agency spent this sort of cash, and whether any of it really represents value for money. We actually arrived to find that AWM... Read more...
This is rather ridiculous: "Gary Rostron, 34, a care worker, claims the bin was knocked over after he left it out for collection in March. Officials at Blackburn with Darwen Council disagreed. They issued him with a £60 fixed penalty notice for "incorrectly placing rubbish bags beside a collecting... Read more...
I'm pleased to report the TPA had an excellent action day on Saturday in Tynemouth, North Tyneside. Thanks to an eager band of supporters who gave up a couple of hours of their time, we blitzed Tynemouth Market to great effect. Until we were thrown out by an overzealous (and... Read more...
We must wait to see the details to discover exactly how good the different parties' tax cut proposals are. There are a number of ways in which the plans can vary: 1) Targeting. Are we talking about tax cuts across the board, or cuts aimed at particular activities or... Read more...
Whilst the financial crisis and recession are worrying news for all of us, there are a few rays of light. One of them is that all parties are now signed up to cutting taxes – we look forward to seeing the details. This political shift may have come partly from... Read more...
Last Friday I was invited to a Question Time panel at Nottingham University, much similar to the recent event held at the University of East Anglia two weeks ago. This time we were joined by Roger Helmer MEP, a strong supporter of lower taxes and small government. Again it was... Read more...
In the 21st century police, the best way to deal with having too much management claptrap is to boldly sweep it away and replace it with even more management claptrap, dressed up as accountability. Roger Baker, the Chief Constable of Essex Police, this week won plaudits from some quarters... Read more...