TPA supporter Peter Heaton writes today about how his Parish Council is increasing the parish precept tax as a means of increasing its political 'empire', seeking to do more at a greater cost to the taxpayer. Peter, however, points out that his Parish Council are charging him to so they... Read more...
Two-thirds of us think government taxes and spends too much At last a senior centre right politician has spoken up for lower taxes and smaller government: "Tax policy should help create more wealth not penalise, particularly when it comes to those on low or middle incomes... The government should give... Read more...
Last summer the TaxPayers' Alliance polled (PPT) a number of questions surrounding political management. We found that 63 per cent of the public agreed with the statement that "few, if any, senior politicians have the necessary experience, competence and knowledge to run public services"; just 12 per cent thought that... Read more...
David Cameron is to announce today that company directors should no longer be responsible for maximising shareholder value. Apparently, they should also have all manner of other responsibilities; for fat children, drunks and even recycling. There is even a threat of legislation if bonuses aren't based on these, diverse, objectives.... Read more...
Over the weekend, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury told the Sunday Telegraph: "If we get into office and we deliver the efficiencies and we put the money in the bank, we put it by and then we go back to the electorate and we say not, 'we would... Read more...
Fraser Nelson has an extended piece at the Spectator website discussing the expert political team Brown is building. Clearly, politicians are starting to realise they need experienced talent to run their own political campaigns - how long before they realise that the public services need the same? How long before... Read more...
Iain Dale, in the Telegraph, sums up beautifully how inexperience leads to incompetence among Government ministers and advisers: "Fewer than 10 out of 350 Labour MPs have ever run a business. Business Secretary John Hutton's qualification for the job is that he was a law lecturer at Newcastle Poly for... Read more...
Our friends at the West Midlands NO! Campaign have some unearthed new information about the forthcoming 'City Region'. A Freedom of Information response has revealed that the City Region will not be funded on a pro-rata basis, and instead costs will be carved up, essentially meaning that the 1m... Read more...
Politicians of all hues seem to assume we can go on increasing public spending by give-or-take 2% pa for ever. After all, the economy will deliver 2.5% pa growth, whatever, so what's the problem? The problem is highlighted in one of the annexes to Wednesday's Budget, punchily entitled the... Read more...
It is hard to imagine how Populus could have made their poll, given prominent coverage by the Times, on the budget tax changes less reliable. They make just about every mistake in the book. Misleading questions Populus found support for tax increases on "large, so-called gas-guzzling" cars; the... Read more...
Ed Balls has come in for criticism from the official data watchdog, the Statistics Commission, for trying to bury bad news on the number of children getting into their preferred school. Our education system is failing and the Minister, tasked with doing the impossible and managing such a huge system... Read more...
Sandwell Council, no doubt keen to keep their noses clean after presiding over THE pUBLIC art gallery disaster, have been boasting lately about the fact they’re introducing the “lowest council tax rise in the Black Country”. The “lowest rise” certainly has an oxymoronic ring to it, and – let’s... Read more...
Somewhere out in the future everything's going to be fine For taxpayers the Budget's fiscal projections are worrisome. Read more...
…unless we can stop them! Sutton Council’s cabinet approved on Monday a plan to increase council tax and pay council fat cat officers £10,000 more – an increase of 11%, taking their pay to well above £100,000 a year. To put it in perspective, the cost of the salary... Read more...
People might be forgiven for thinking it is just the largest and most polluting cars that are going to face increased tax with the big boost to Vehicle Excise Duty today. This report, from the BBC News website, suggests that Darling has raised taxes on "high-polluting" cars: "In his first... Read more...
Anyone picking up the Daily Express today will find on the front page the embodiment of the political class smugly jabbing his finger at the British public. In David Cameron’s budget response yesterday, Mr Cameron listed the areas where Labour had failed, concluding that Britain now lives under record... Read more...
I thought the North East said “No” to the North East Regional Assembly? Aye, they said ‘no’ to an elected regional assembly, but it still exists, illegitimate, unwanted and unaccountable. If there’s any doubt that it exists, just take a look in the Guardian Society jobs pages today and... Read more...
I’ve just returned from Horley, Surrey, where I was leafleting and recruiting with our new East Surrey TPA organiser Clive Greig (pictured). Even though it rained non-stop (not as bad as yesterday, mind) we pressed on handing out leaflets and telling people about the TPA’s mission to lower taxes... Read more...
We’ve been informed that Advantage West Midlands have treated themselves to yet another conference yesterday in a handy Worcester location. Liam Byrne was wheeled out to discuss exactly which new taxes to slap on businesses to fund transport now that road pricing has been rejected by our local councils. ... Read more...
Sickening hypocrisy Essex County Council's £1.5m plan to make its Council Tax payers prop up 15 local post offices is merely the latest twist in a long and dismal saga of public sector buck-passing. The Essex post offices are among 2,500 unprofitable branches (from over 14,000) earmarked... Read more...
…If they can’t work to budget, if they can’t deliver frontline services and if they squander your money on pointless non-jobs, then should local councils really be running local Post Offices? Essex County Council appears to be leading the way in committing £1.5million to saving 15 Post Offices across... Read more...
As my colleague posted yesterday, Kent County Council Chief Executive Peter Gilroy, who last year was England's highest paid local government employee, has been fighting an increasingly desperate rearguard action to try to keep his salary secret from the taxpayers who foot the bill. His fairly weak excuse was... Read more...
Dippy diplomas- neither vocational fish nor academic fowl Schools Secretary Ed Balls has been out and about today trying to defend the government's new school Diploma scheme. And it certainly needs defending. As BOM readers will be well aware, the government has taken the worrisome... Read more...
With the budget round the corner the government is leaking the more unpopular aspects so as to mitigate the damage done on the day. First they leave Northern Rock off the balance sheet, then higher fuel taxes are mooted and now today in the Metro there’s speculation that prescription charges... Read more...