We often mention the Freedom of Information Act on this website. It is an important tool to any campaigner and campaign group, and getting information from public bodies is not only your legal right, it is also very easy to do. We have a template you can use. If you... Read more...
The determination of local councils to cut libraries, street lighting, rubbish removal, and public toilets—the quality of our civilisation and what we pay our taxes for—rather than tackle their own waste on bureaucracy is breathtaking. Two stories in the South-West illustrate how they can get it so wrong. Cornwall Council’s... Read more...
Last week it was revealed that Ron Dobson, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, retired to get his £133,000 annual pension allowance only to jump straight back into his old job. The Daily Mirror claims that he may have even received a £700,000 pay-off if, as entitled, he converted a... Read more...
The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) - according to its website - is the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue service. Reading that, you would think it was a professional organisation for senior fire officers, paid for by them. You would be wrong. This is an organisation paid... Read more...
The Transport Select Committee report on proposals for a new high speed rail line this morning is supportive of the case for the new line on balance but, as Benedict Brogan wrote this morning "its backing is so lukewarm it is almost as bad as a condemnation." Read more...
On Saturday, November 5th, Bath TPA supporters gathered to put a rocket under the position of B&NES’ Chief Executive. At a busy Farmers’ Market at Green Park Station, they collected a number of signatures calling for the next Bath council boss to take a pay cut of £50,000 from the... Read more...
Sir Torquil Norman, founder of The Roundhouse Trust, joins TPA Campaign Director Emma Boon to discuss 'Community National Service', his proposal to tackle the maladies of twenty-first century British society, particularly among young people, which places self-reliance rather than state-reliance as the guiding force. [iframe http://www.youtube.com/v/LHxKiXrglvM?version=3&hl=en_US 500 310] You can... Read more...
PIONEERING SMARTPHONE TAX APP AND REPORT SHOWS TRUE COST OF PURCHASESThe TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has launched a major tax transparency campaign, releasing a tax app and research showing the true cost of everyday items.Click here to read the researchClick here to read more about the appClick here for the complete... Read more...
This evening, Channel 4 News at 7pm will be screening a debate between me and the actor Bill Nighy on proposals for a Financial Transactions, or Robin Hood, Tax. UPDATE: You can watch the video after the break. Bill Nighy wrote for the Guardian recently arguing that the Financial Transactions... Read more...
Last Wednesday I wrote about our new campaign to end KCOM's monopoly in Hull. Last Saturday a group of us were out on the streets of Hull collecting signatures for our petition (you can sign the online petition here).We got a great response. There is no doubt that almost everyone... Read more...
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, has splurged £4,000 on a back-slapping dinner for a new member of staff, Lib Dem councillors have claimed. According to Cllr Paul Shannon, Sir Richard issued 270 invitations to wine and dine Manchester’s ‘cultural elite’, with 'supper amongst Ford Madox Brown's Great... Read more...
As the two-day London cyberspace conference draws to a close, TaxPayers' Alliance Head of Digital Policy Dominique Lazanski offered this reaction:"It's great to see a commitment to including many individuals and organisations in the process of discussing Internet and digital policy at the London Cyberspace Conference. It's also good to... Read more...
In the latest in our series uncovering spending on credit cards by Britain's wasteful quangos, we expose £185k of spending between April 2009 and March 2011 at the Sustainable Development Commission. This is further evidence that the decision to abolish this quango was the correct one, in the process saving... Read more...
Why is Eric Pickles doing favours for fat local councils and class-struggling LibDems? His announcement that local councils will be able to abolish the council tax discount for the 246,000 second homes in England makes no sense whatsoever. The measure will raise insufficient funds to cut the council tax in... Read more...
Good news potentially for council taxpayers as they look set to get back, finally, their money invested in Icelandic banks that collapsed in 2008. Last Friday’s decision by Iceland’s Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Glitnir bank’s winding up board against an earlier judgement by the Icelandic District Court in... Read more...
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has been in the news this past week. The RPA is an executive agency of Defra, and its job is to administer an EU subsidy for farmers for maintaining their land. It was introduced in 2005. It has faced much criticism over the years for delayed... Read more...
North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Councils have announced a deal to share housing and council tax administration. It is expected this will save taxpayers around £1.3 million. This is a very welcome move, and it again proves what we have been saying that when councils share back-office functions, significant... Read more...
Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday spoke out for the need for a dynamic London economy as a vital part of nationwide prosperity, including a thriving financial sector and the City. He wrote in the London Evening Standard about the importance of the sector to the whole... Read more...
Concerning news from Barry that £30,000 has been spent installing bespoke bollards. The 30 red and black steel poles cost £1,000 each, and were commissioned by the Barry Regeneration Area Programme. They come in a variety of designs themed on cogs and winches, which, apparently, are meant to represent the... Read more...
Today the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced the results of the second round of the Regional Growth Fund - which we last looked at when we uncovered that one of the directors is from an organisation that doesn't support growth. Nick Clegg told the BBC that the £950... Read more...
Grahame Maxwell, the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, will be leaving his post next year after the police authority decided it was not going to renew his fixed-term contract. He has been the chief for five years. The reason he is leaving is because earlier this year he was... Read more...
It’s as simple as that according to Rick Perry, a contender for the Republican Presidential nomination. He wrote in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week stating his plan for balancing the budget, growing the economy and creating jobs. He advocates a “simple, 20 per cent flat tax” under which... Read more...
In an article earlier this year, Lee Canning wrote how in Strabane there were only 1664 electors per councillor. It appears that it's not just in councils in Northern Ireland where there are a small number of voters per elected representative. The Northern Ireland Assembly is exactly the same. Let me start... Read more...
Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance announces for the second time its new monthly awards to celebrate those in power who have sought to save – and waste – taxpayers’ money. The man, woman or organisation to be congratulated for saving public money or acting in the interests of the hard-pressed taxpayer... Read more...