The TaxPayers' Alliance - Home

Friday February 29

Council Spending Uncovered 3: Pension Contributions

Download the full report (PDF).

Andrew Allum, Chairman of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“It’s unacceptable that ordinary families and pensioners who struggle to pay inflated council tax bills see so much of their money spent on gold-plated council pensions that have all but disappeared in the wider economy.  With pension costs jumping 13 per cent in one year, the problem is clearly getting worse and requires urgent attention.  Councils should start correcting their own behaviour immediately, and the Government must face down union pressure and reform the outdated local government pensions scheme as soon as possible.”

Blogs

4.30pm, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
The Cost of National Pay Scales

Taxpayers in London and the South East are almost certainly getting worse public services than those elsewhere in the country. Their schools and hospitals will be staffed by less experienced and lower quality personnel... - Read More

10.50am, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
London losing its edge

A huge share of Britain's GDP, tax revenues and exports are dependent upon financial services and the continuing ability of London to attract investment in this vital industry... - Read More

10.00am, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Priorities in Government

It's like Northern Rock's Chief Executive choosing to spend his time scrutinising orders for paperclips... - Read More

Media Coverage

- £4.6bn council tax for staff pensions

"Pensions for council staff are costing the equivalent of a fifth of all council tax revenues, according to a report by the Taxpayers' Alliance [TPA]. Out of a total £22.2 billion paid in council tax by households last year, £4.6 billion, or 21 per cent, went to the Local Government Pension Scheme, the report claims.

Andrew Allum, the chairman of the TPA, said: "It's unacceptable that ordinary families and pensioners who struggle to pay inflated council tax bills see so much of their money spent on gold-plated council pensions that have all but disappeared in the wider economy.''" - Full Article

- Pensions 'taking up' council tax

"Rises in council tax are being taken up by the rising bill for workers' pensions, a campaign group says.  A report by the Taxpayers' Alliance says spending on local government pensions rose 13% last year to £4.6bn.  For every £5 in revenue raised by local authorities, more than £1 now goes to fund staff retirement, it says." - Full Article

- A fifth of your council tax is paying for 'gold plated' pensions at the town hall

"The report by the TaxPayers' Alliance will anger millions of council tax payers whose bills have nearly doubled since Labour came to power.

In 1997, the average Band D bill was £688. Today, a family in the same size house would pay £1,321.

Andrew Allum, of the campaign group, said: "It is unacceptable that ordinary families and pensioners who struggle to pay inflated council tax bills see so much of their money spent on gold-plated council pensions that have all but disappeared in the wider economy." - Full Article

- Council tax increase 'pays for pensions'

"Overall, spending on local government pensions rose 13% last year to hit £4.6bn, according to figures obtained by campaigning group the TaxPayers' Alliance." - Full Article

Thursday February 28

Blogs

4.00pm, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
Hong Kong's tax cuts

This combination of swelling reserves and surpluses and hefty tax cuts is possible thanks to the dynamic returns to Hong Kong's already low taxes and the returns of broader economic liberalism... - Read More

3.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
A third of pupils failing in core subjects

Politicians have had nearly 130 years to get the education system right.  How many more young people are we going to allow to be let down by the politicians who think they can run schools from Whitehall? - Read More

9.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Commissars Gave Away The Farm

From a taxpayers' perspective, this is an unmitigated disaster. And it once again underlines just why Whitehall cannot be trusted to get value for all the money they take from us... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Hospital spends £4 million on temporary staff

"Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “This kind of spending on costly agency staff is simply unsustainable and is a drain on sorely needed resources.

“Laying off staff just to rehire them from an agency is appallingly bad management. A lot of trusts are cutting down massively on agency spending, so this is an increasingly outdated practice. The trust should break its dependency on agency staff and start making better use of taxpayers' money.”" - Full Article

- Make public finance an open book

"The fact that expenses, allowances, pay and bonuses are so opaque has implications for good management. Without transparency, accountability is impossible, writes Matthew Elliott" - Full Article

Wednesday February 27

Blogs

5.00pm, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
A few familiar names vie for the AWM chair

If such quangos did not exist this layer of unelected and unaccountable governance couldn’t either, and as it currently stands, nepotism prevails. The new Chairman of Advantage West Midlands will no doubt count himself lucky to have landed such a well-paid doddle... - Read More

4.35pm, Burning Our Money
Tim Aker:
Non-job of the week

Devon County Council thinks it right to spend £27k of your money on reducing its own carbon footprint.  Perhaps they could have thought of a car share scheme or even ask their employees to take the bus instead of shelling out well over £30k on a bureaucrat, office space and other expenses to devise schemes, on the taxpayers buck, to cut carbon emissions... - Read More

4.25pm, Economics 101
Mike Denham:
Forsyth On Funding Tax Cuts

When Lord Forsyth's Tax Commission reported 18 months ago, it called for tax cuts amounting to £21bn. Ed Balls and the BBC immediately savaged it: "same old Tories - same old destroying the NHS - same old killing babies and pensioners in the street" etc etc etc (eg see this blog). George Osborne hastily caved in, distancing himself from the Report. Yesterday Forsyth himself came back with an excellent speech at the IEA... - Read More

3.10pm, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Vacancy on Camden Council Standards Committee

Two vacancies have emerged on Camden Council’s Standards Committee for independent residents or members of the public who work in Camden. This is an ideal opportunity for TPA activists to hold Camden Councillors to account and see that they abide by the council’s code of conduct... - Read More

3pm, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
A hint of victory in Edinburgh

When we published the second Council Spending Uncovered paper on councils' massive publicity spending, Edinburgh City Council came in for quite a bit of criticism when it was revealed they were the biggest spender on spin in Scotland - splashing out £3.4m a year. So I was delighted to read this article in last night's Edinburgh Evening News... - Read More

9.45am, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
Lord Forsyth calls for lower spending growth

We have to hope that the major parties are listening and Lord Forsyth's excellent advice will be heeded... - Read More

9.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Wagging Off School

The chart highlights that while most children will accept primary schooling, once they get into their teens at secondary school they can kick against the whole idea of compulsory schooling. And the older they get, the more likely they are to behave accordingly.  Which is why so many teachers are so concerned about the government's plan to raise the leaving age to 18... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Spending revelation leads to city spin doctor review

"AN independent review of the city council's public relations department is to be launched to ensure it is run efficiently.

The measure, which could lead to cutbacks, comes after it was discovered the local authority spends more on publicity and spin doctors than any other council in Scotland.

Figures published by The Taxpayers Alliance showed the council spent GBP 3.37 million on public relations in 2006/7 - up 118.4 per cent on 1996/7. " - Full Article

- Benefits bill soars as Brown fails to eject asylum cheats

"Last night Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The benefits system is overstretched as it is and it was never intended to provide financial support for people who haven’t paid into it in the first place.”" - Full Article

Tuesday February 26

Blogs

11.30am, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
More Middle Management at Wolverhampton City Council

And it seems that Cllr Wynne isn’t the only person questioning the efficacy of this particular post. Wolverhampton City Council could do a lot worse than note the reaction of their residents to stories like these and alter their attitudes appropriately... - Read More

9.15am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Public Employees Going Private

The only known path to improvement is choice and competition, just like in the private sector. Public employees who go private must accept their special responsibility to bring that about... - Read More

9.00am, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
More on the Laffer Curve from Dan Mitchell

Dan Mitchell, from the Centre for Freedom and Prosperity at the Cato Institute, provides evidence for the importance of dynamic effects on tax returns... - Read More

Media Coverage

- PM backs Speaker amid perks row

"The Taxpayers’ Alliance said it has written to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, urging him to investigate Mrs Martin’s taxi trips." - Full Article

- Hospitals rake in £100 million from car parks

"But critics said NHS patients should not have to pay twice for their care.

Matthew Sinclair, the policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Already each taxpayer is forced to pay thousands of pounds for NHS care that doesn't match up to the standards seen in other European countries.'" - Full Article

- Commons Speaker faces new storm over his expenses

"The TaxPayers' Alliance yesterday wrote to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards John Lyon, urging him to investigate Mrs Martin's taxi trips amid doubts that they were used for official business related to the Speaker's office." - Full Article

Monday 25 February

£1 Million NHS Pensions

Read the full report (PDF).

Corin Taylor, Research Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

"Unfunded public sector pension liabilities are reaching completely unsustainable levels. Every household will have to pay up to £40,000 over the next few decades to fund gold-plated retirement benefits for public sector employees, including £1 million pension pots for the NHS elite. Urgent change is needed to reduce the bill to taxpayers – for a start, the pension age for existing public sector employees should be raised to the state pension age as soon as possible.”

Blogs

6.20pm, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
Taxpayers' Alliance demands an investigation into the Speaker

Click here (PDF) for the full text of the letter sent by the TaxPayers' Alliance to Mr John Lyon, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, requesting an investigation into Michael Martin MP, Speaker of the House of Commons... - Read More

5.30pm, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Activist Guide Part 5 - Lobbying Councillors

Being an activist in the TPA means you’re not just joining a political pressure group, you’re a guerrilla in our taxpayers’ army.  We want to equip you with all you need to be able to hold your politicians to account as well as securing victories for the taxpayer... - Read More

12.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Amateurish politicians and unintended consequences

Be very careful of assuming that if someone's heart is in the right place they'll tend to get things right.  They need to know what they're doing... - Read More

11.50am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Bugged About Biodiversity

We have no confidence in the commissars' ability to manage our biodiversity. None whatsoever. After all, they spend most of their time trying to stamp out diversity, and according to the following chart, biodiversity managed pretty well for hundreds of millions of years before anyone even thought of commissars... - Read More

10.00am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
A spit in the face to hardworking taxpayers

Already the Bournemouth Echo story reporting the massive pay hike has 94 comments from apoplectic taxpayers demanding action over such snout-in-the-trough greed.  Feel free to add your disgust at this prime example of gravy-train politics... - Read More

Media Coverage

Mark Wallace, TaxPayers' Alliance campaign director, attacks the House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin's extravagant expenses spending.  Click here to see the interview (Mark appears around 45 seconds in).

- Brown defends 'very, very good' Speaker

"John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, was last night asked by the Taxpayers' Alliance to investigate whether Martin had abused parliamentary expenses and allowances in the light of a series of new revelations." - Full Article

   - £1 trillion cost of public sector pensions

"Corin Taylor, the research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, which uncovered the figures using the Freedom of Information Act, said: "Unfunded public sector pension liabilities are reaching unsustainable levels. Every household will have to pay up to £40,000 over the next few decades to fund gold-plated retirement benefits for public sector employees.

"Urgent change is needed to reduce the bill to taxpayers - for a start, the pension age for existing public sector employees should be raised to the state pension age.'" - Full Article

- Spokesman claims he was misled on Martin's expenses

"The Taxpayers' Alliance yesterday wrote to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, urging him to investigate Mrs Martin's taxi trips amid doubts that they were used for official business relating to the Speaker's office." - Full Article

Friday February 22

Blogs

12.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Leaving the country

Yesterday's emigration numbers should be a wake-up call for a nation whose government is attempting to do too much and doing a very poor job of it.  If things don't change Britain will continue to lose far too many of its best and brightest... - Read More

9.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
That 50% University Target

Unsurpisingly, the economic return to higher education is falling as supply increases. And for many of the new degree subjects at the new universities it is close to zero, or even negative... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Single-payer systems kill

"NEW YORK -- Before American voters embrace either Hillary Clinton’s universal-health scheme or Barack Obama’s somewhat less dirigiste single-payer proposal, they should consider the avoidable deaths that plague the mother of all state-run medical programs: Great Britain’s big-government National Health Service. Low-quality, taxpayer-funded health care killed more than 17,000 Britons in 2004, according to the TaxPayers’ Alliance in London.

“Anyone looking to reform the American healthcare system should learn lessons from the European experience,” says Matthew Sinclair, the TPA policy analyst who authored this study. “Britain’s NHS has produced dismally poor results. Thousands die every year, thanks to its poor performance and its failure to make good use of new resources. Other European healthcare systems deliver greater competition, decentralization, and independence from political meddling.”" - Full Article

- Police spend £2,700 every hour on translators

"Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Mass migration to the UK has landed taxpayers with a financial headache in many areas of the public sector.  Police forces haven't been given the resources to deal with this leap in translation costs, so they're having to divert funds from catching criminals and policing our streets.  This is completely unacceptable.

"The £15million announced this week raised from increasing the cost of visas for non-EU citizens would barely cover even half of these translation costs." - Full Article

Thursday February 21

Blogs

5.55pm, Better Government
Ben Farrugia:
£30 billion spent on private healthcare

A recent report from the Reform think thank suggests that UK households spend an average of £1,200 a year on private health care. This amounted to nearly £30 billion in 2007... - Read More

12.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
How to 'free the NHS from government interference'

If the BMA will sign up to those principles we'll support their call for NHS independence wholeheartedly... - Read More

11.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Half-baked Rock 2

...given the prospects for the housing market and NR's mounting problems with bad debts, a £10-20bn loss is by no means inconceivable... - Read More

Media Coverage

- MEPs in £100m expenses probe

"The audit, which covers late 2004 to early 2006, does not name any of the MEPs involved.  Matthew Elliott, director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: 'MEPs pilfering our money like this is completely unacceptable.'" - Full Article

- You pay £300 extra tax for Brown's folly

"Opponents of Labour’s high-tax policies now fear that millions of families will be hard pushed to make ends meet.

Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The Government is addicted to reckless spending and wastes billions every year on misguided and poorly run projects.”" - Full Article

- 'Close it' call over 'gravy train' office

"Mark Wallace of the Taxpayers Alliance said: "People pay their hard-earned money for bins to be emptied, criminals to be caught and libraries kept open - not for the county council to open an international embassy.

"The council should get its priorities right and not focus on enjoying the cuisine and cafe culture of Brussels." - Full Article

Wednesday February 20

Blogs

1.00pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
The Government's Northern Rock agenda

The Government are deliberately keeping the plans for what happens next with Northern Rock obscure.  However, their plan to make taxpayers play venture capitalist trying to revive a busted bank with a wrecked brand is becoming clear anyway.  It is a political... - Read More

11.50am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Non-job of the week

There you have it, not just taxpayers’ money, £37,000+, going to pay for someone to stop you falling over (a glorified banana peel collector?) but there’s someone in the Herefordshire PCT who has devised a ‘Falls Prevention Strategy’.  There are times like these where nothing else needs to be said except that if you’re riled, angry and frustrated that the government are routinely wasting your money – do something about it... - Read More

11.30am, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
Dudley MP has head in the clouds

If Mr. Pearson dreams of sending men into space, this should remain his own personal fantasy, and politicians like him should not be allowed to draw upon our hard-earned tax pounds to fund such dangerously expensive frivolities... - Read More

11.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Half-baked Rock

As we've said before, it's impossible to imagine the Crock surviving without its deposit guarantees. Quite how Darling expects the new management to achieve that is beyond us, and certainly beyond him.... - Read More

9.00am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Darling/Osborne Fiscal Policy Meets The Eighties

When George Osborne talks about his proposed 2.1% pa public spending growth being as tough or even tougher than Thatcher, he's totally disregarding this entire cyclical effect. Cyclically adjusted, Thatcher's first parliament held spending growth to well under 1% pa... - Read More

Media Coverage

- The finest dining... on the house

"Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'The House of Commons has the working practices of a 1970s nationalised company, with gold-plated pensions, relatives on the payroll and subsidised canteens and bars.

'MPs should drag themselves into the 21st century by ditching their cosy, clubbish ways. The message seems to be "Tuck in - it's on the taxpayer".'" - Full Article

- £20,000 benefits scam

"Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "The courts should deal with benefit cheats in the strongest possible manner because not only are they defrauding taxpayers but undermining public confidence in our welfare state. Many honest taxpayers go without luxuries to pay their tax bills so it is criminal that Caockmari Omoike cheated the system." - Full Article

- Deported Immigrants turned away

"Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Britain's chaotic asylum system is now costing taxpayers an unacceptable amount of money. The Government should not take lying down the refusal of countries to accept back failed asylum seekers." - Full Article

Tuesday February 19

Blogs

3.30pm, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Northern Rock Bills Now Coming In

So we've guaranteed large chunks of the Crock's liabilities (see here), but because we haven't had to pay out yet, it's been costless.  In which case, you might ask why insurance companies bother to go through all that tedious reserving stuff when they take on risk? Surely, unless and until they have to pay out, their business must be money for nothing... - Read More

10.20am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
How you can help taxpayers this Thursday!

Yet Bournemouth’s Cabinet think they can get away with rewarding failure.  Not on my watch!... - Read More

9.15am, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
What the opposition should say in the Northern Rock nationalisation debate

It is a betrayal of basic economic principle and the interests of every taxpayer for the Government to use Northern Rock as, perhaps, the most expensive job creation scheme in history... - Read More

9.00am, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
Northern Rock - the most expensive job creation scheme in history

There are 6,000 jobs at Northern Rock. The taxpayer liability per job is therefore a staggering £18.3 million. Should we really be risking so much for so few? - Read More

8.45am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Keep the pressure on Bournemouth Council

As you can see already, we’re getting some good coverage of this campaign.  There’s only three days left for us to capitalise and lobby to get Bournemouth Council to back down over this pay deal.  Please take only five minutes of your day to contact Bournemouth’s councillors and fight on behalf of Bournemouth’s taxpayers... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Taxman's £23m bonus for failure

Senior tax officials are being 'rewarded for failure' as they are handed record bonuses totalling more than £23million this year. The payouts – up nearly a quarter from last year – are being made to HM Revenue and Customs staff despite the department continuing to lose £1billion to fraud and error...Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'HMRC let down taxpayers – they should be looking at disciplinary measures, not bonuses.' - Full story

- £90,000 a month for Ron

NORTHERN Rock's new boss will pocket £90,000 a MONTH - making him Britain's highest paid public sector worker. Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers Alliance said: "The Government has not only saddled taxpayers with billions of risky debt, they have also taken on Rock's running costs. Ron Sandler's vast salary is a reminder that the meter is running and the costs of Rock's nationalisation are mounting swiftly." - Full story

- Led away shackled, a council tax rebel

HANDCUFFED and clearly distressed, a 76-year-old exserviceman is led away to begin a prison sentence. His crime? Non-payment of council tax...Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said he applauded Mr Fitzmaurice's 'brave stand'. - Full story

- Cosseted terror suspects

TERROR suspects placed under control orders have been given perks worth almost £300,000 in under three years - including free phone calls, gas and electricity. Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Control orders only exist because the Government is so tied up in human rights legislation that it can't deport terror suspects or lock them up. The idea that taxpayers have to give terror suspects even a penny is deplorable. Honest, law-abiding families are struggling to pay high taxes, increased charges and rising utility bills, so they shouldn't be expected to support people who we have serious reason to believe are a threat to our security." - Full story

- TaxPayers' Alliance on Wake Up To Money

Matthew Sinclair, policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance, appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live's 'Wake up to money' programme this morning discussing the Northern Rock nationalisation. - Listen to the programme here

Monday February 18

Blogs

6.20pm, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
When did bad become good?

There's been a lot of coverage given to the latest proposal from "public health expert" and Chairman of Health England Professor Julian Le Grand, namely that the smoking ban has not gone far enough and smokers should have to buy a licence to purchase tobacco in future. Even if we ignore the unparalleled idiocy questionable logic of calling one's philosophy "libertarian paternalism"... - Read More

5.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Talking to Friction TV about Northern Rock

Discussing the latest developments in the Northern Rock crisis with Friction TV.

3.15pm, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
Thousands spent on water is money down the drain at Dudley Council

Dudley Council has been exposed for spending £110,000 per-year on bottled water. The report in today’s Express and Star comes ahead of tonight’s BBC Panorama programme, naming them as one of the worst culprits... - Read More

10.20am, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
George Osborne wrong on historical public spending rises

In his speech to Policy Exchange on Friday, George Osborne made some claims about spending under the Thatcher government... - Read More

9.15am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Northern Rock- Three Questions From Taxpayers

Now that our dithering "government" has finally pulled the trigger on nationalising Northern Rock, taxpayers are formally and irrevocably on the hook for up to £110bn (we don't know how much because we haven't seen any proper accounts for months). For taxpayers, there are three key questions... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Bonuses for jail bosses who slash crime rates

PRISONS could receive cash bonuses for every inmate they release who does not re-offend. The idea comes from former chief inspector of jails Lord Ramsbotham whose report is being examined by the Tories, One in five crimes are committed by ex-prisoners and twothirds of all those locked up go back to crime within two years of their release... Lord Ramsbotham's report is for the TaxPayers' Alliance but the Conservatives say that they are studying his proposals "with great interest". - Full Story

- £100bn gamble with your cash

Labour's reputation for economic competence was severely dented yesterday when the Chancellor was forced to nationalise Northern Rock...Matthew Sinclair, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "This is a debt that no one in the private sector wanted, even when the Government offered it in a heads-you-win, tails-we-lose deal. The Government has left the taxpayer saddled with billions of risky debt that no one else would touch. Taxpayers could now end up paying a very high price for the Government's incompetence." - Full story

- Chorus of protest over sudden return to nationalisation 

Bankers, shareholders, taxpayer groups and opposition politicians last night criticised the government's sudden decision to nationalise Northern Rock bank after nearly five months' delay. Even the Liberal Democrats, who supported the decision, were critical of the timing...

Matthew Sinclair, policy analyst for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "The government has left the taxpayer saddled with billions of risky debt that no one else would touch. Taxpayers could now end up paying a very high price for the government's incompetence." - Full story

- Council tax 'barcode' for every home

HOME OWNERS face swingeing local tax rises after the Government introduced a modern "Domesday Book'' that has bar-coded every house in the country, it was claimed yesterday...His views were echoed by Mark Wallace, the campaigns director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. He said: "The taxpayer will pay twice for this process. Once for actually carrying out the revaluation and then in the inevitably higher taxes it will result in.'' - Full story

- Speaker Michael Martin in 'free' flights row

The man in charge of cracking down on MPs' expenses was condemned yesterday for giving free flights to his family. Speaker Michael Martin used Air Miles from his official business to pay for New Year return trips from Glasgow to London for his son and daughter and their families...Mark Wallace of Taxpayers' Alliance said: "It is really shoddy behaviour by someone meant to lead the way on standards." - Daily Mirror   

Friday February 15

Blogs

5.25pm, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
The click on the line...

...may well be HM Revenue and Customs, now that the Serious Crime Act has come into power, giving HMRC "across the board" powers to listen in on phone calls, intercept emails and letters and bug homes and cars. Powers that were previously only granted for investigating drug and firearms offences are going to be used against people suspected of not calculating their tax return properly.
There are a multitude of problems with this... - Read more

5.11pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Multi-tasking Government

Particularly when that organisation is highly centralised with the single leader (Brown) stepping in to deal with problems of specific briefs (for example, his recent interventions into health care policy).  Of course Government will neglect important priorities... - Read More

4pm, Economics 101
Cllr J P Floru:
Put Fat Government on a diet to make the cake grow

In this time of economic downturn we need tax cuts to make the pie grow again.  A substantial cut in corporation tax would do the trick.  This was, of course, what caused the steep rise in GDP growth in Ireland... - Read More

2pm, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
The Real National Debt

We've updated BOM's estimate of the Real National Debt. That's the total debt taxpayers are actually committed to paying, as opposed to the much smaller figure Brown admits to in the official statistics... - Read More

11am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Can you spare just 5 minutes of your day?

Yesterday we blogged this story here about Bournemouth Council’s cabinet approving a salary deal that would see their pay skyrocket by 32%! Bournemouth’s taxpayers need your help.  Please take five minutes out of your day to send an email or call a Bournemouth Councillor to ask them to challenge and reject the councillor remuneration package. Here are their contact details... - Read More

9.30am, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
Straight talking please, Mr Osborne

Sometimes it's a wonder anyone bothers to vote these days. Why can't politicians stand up for what they believe in, and give it to us straight? A classic example of this is today's FT report on George Osborne's speech later today on the principles of tax reform... - Read More

9.25am, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
Tougher pensions reporting standards for companies - but what about the public sector?

There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Accurate reporting is, like the rule of law, essential to a well-functioning capitalist economy. But what about the public sector pension schemes... - Read More

Thursday February 14

Blogs

3.30pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Two Newcastles

Another example of ludicrous managerial incompetence.  Why on Earth should we trust these people with children's education, our healthcare and our money? - Read More

3.10pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Yet another attack on middle class parents getting the best school places

This time it is the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics arguing that the middle class are securing all the best school places.  Is it just me or have there been a lot of these studies? There seems to be one almost every fortnight... - Read More

11.30am, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Bournemouth council pay increase - get involved!

Who reading this can say they’ve had a 34% pay increase this year, or could expect one next year?  If you’re the leader of Bournemouth Council, you can because you just voted for it... - Read More

10.05am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Relocated Newcastle

By any normal standards it beggars belief: following the classic schoolboy geography howler the hopeless Department for Communities and Local Government has given a £2.7m grant intended for Newcastle on Tyne to Newcastle-under-Lyne instead. The two being a mere 186 miles apart... - Read More

9.10am, West Midlands
Fiona McEvoy:
The trouble with 'Tyne' and 'Lyme' is that they rhyme...

The Sentinel has revealed a big central Government blunder that saw Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough Council receiving the grant meant for Newcastle-Upon-Tyne! - Read More

Media Coverage

- Brown's debts cost you £1,300 a year

HOUSEHOLDS are paying an average £1,300 a year in taxes just to meet interest charges on spiralling Government debt under Gordon Brown, figures revealed yesterday...

Critics expect the tax burden to fall mainly on middle-income families. Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Running up vast debts behind the scenes is a short-term way to hide the true damage done by lavish Government spending.” - Full story

- London 'dominates quango boards'

Quangos are responsible for nearly a quarter of all public spending, but new research seen by the BBC suggests that their membership is "grotesquely unrepresentative" of England as a whole, with vast swathes of the country not represented at all...

Matthew Elliot from the Taxpayers' Alliance pressure group said the research showed that "quangos are utterly unaccountable, and run by unrepresentative and over-privileged bureaucrats." - Full story

Wednesday February 13

Blogs

3.40pm, Burning Our Money
Tim Aker:
Non-job of the week

Today’s non-job of the week is a tale of two job adverts.  The first is our non-job of the week, yet another example of misused and misplaced scarce resources.  The next is a job within a charity which you will read about later... - Read More

3.20pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
The culture hour

Whether or not an hour of culture a week, as proposed by Andy Burnham and Ed Balls, is really a good idea for students is a question it will be hard to study empirically, even after £10 million is spent on pilots.  There may not be a single answer for all parts of the country, all schools or all students.  Politicians in Whitehall stand no chance at all... - Read More

11.05am, Campaign
Mark Wallace:
More innovation from Hammersmith and Fulham

Hammersmith and Fulham, who have recently announced yet another 3% cut in council tax, much to the relief of hard-pressed taxpayers, are leading the way on making savings on publicity. In just one year they achieved savings of 35%, an example which other councils would do well to follow. Their latest idea is using YouTube to publicise their activities... - Read More

10.20am, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
A thousand little Laffer Curves

Peter Franklin argues against the dynamic case for tax cuts, suggesting that if there is a Laffer Curve we are on the wrong side of it to get increased revenue when we cut taxes. What needs to be remembered about the Laffer Curve is that it is an abstraction of a much more complex relationship between taxes and revenues... - Read More

10.15am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Dole Scroungers

At least they're upfront about it. Dole Scroungers is based in sunny Brighton. It campaigns for better welfare entitlements and gives advice on how to extract more cash from taxpayers... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Revealed: the £1.2m spent by select committees on travels around the globe

MPs spent £1.2m on foreign fact-finding trips during the last parliamentary session. Details released by the House of Commons show visits by select committees to countries ranging from the US and Canada, to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China...

Mark Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "The wider public are being told they must tighten their belts, and parliamentarians must set a good example by ensuring taxpayers get good value for money." - Full story

Tuesday February 12

Blogs

2.35pm, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
Scrap fuel duty rises and Ken's attack on big cars

The Times reports that the accountancy firm Grant Thornton and a host of other organisations such as the AA, Chambers of Commerce and Freight Transport Association have called for a planned rise in fuel duty in the Budget to be scrapped.  We couldn't agree more... - Read More

2pm, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
Re-think on non-doms

Today's Times reports that Alistair Darling may re-think his plans to tax non-doms. If so, this climbdown is a sensible move. But what a way to make tax law... - Read More

9.40am, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
The £180 million overcharging bill

Failure to meet standards for care provision has proven expensive for the taxpayer.  It has also dealt a particularly telling blow to vulnerable people forced to sell their homes or make other sacrifices that they should not have had to make... - Read More

9.40am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Waste On Waste

News today that Brown's Gershon... ahem... efficiency programme has generated yet another additional cost. This time it's the £432m paid to 7,717 civil servants made redundant under the plan. We've blogged the useless Gershon programme so many times it hurts. But let's just remind ourselves of the key features... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Professional overkill: OK, the government wants workers to be better qualified, but does every job really require a degree?

But even if the professional associations decide they need or want a degree in their field, do these university courses really provide more than on-the-job training would? Not necessarily, says Matthew Sinclair, policy analyst of the TaxPayers' Alliance, a lobby group. "We need to be really careful about misleading prospective students who choose a degree that will either constitute academic overkill for jobs better suited to on-the-job training, or does not have the academic content normally expected of a degree," he says. - Full story

- Two civil servants share £1m pay-off (and then there's the pension)

TWO Treasury mandarins have shared a massive £1.1 million 'golden goodbye' in one of the biggest redundancy packages in civil service history...

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "These settlements are a serious drain on public money and will come as a shock to many ordinary taxpayers. People imagine their taxes are spent on schools, hospitals and policing, not on bumper payouts to civil service fat cats. "These excessive payments are an insult to the millions of families who work hard to pay their taxes so that we can have good services - not so public servants can feather their nests." - Full story

- Council paid for exorcism

Mark Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, described the move to use public cash as a "ridiculous waste of money". He added: "People don't pay their council tax for it to be spent on psychic mumbo jumbo. What next, will the council be investing in magic beans next year?" - Full Story

- Anger after agency holds £118k event

Almost £118,000 was spent on a one-day conference organised by the Government body which controls how public money is spent developing the West Midlands...Fiona McEvoy, campaign agent for the West Midlands TaxPayers' Alliance blasted AWM for "squandering" public money. "I think most ordinary, hard-working members of the general public would be very unhappy to find their taxes going towards events like this rather than the services they expect," she said. - Full story

  - How much are MPs worth?

TPA campaign director Mark Wallace appeared in a lengthy discussion on 5 Live's Simon Mayo Show this afternoon, discussing MPs' pay and expenses with Philip Hollobone MP, Louise Ellman MP and Tom Steinberg of MySociety. - You can listen to the broadcast here (fast forward to 2 hrs 21 mins)

Monday February 11

Blogs

4pm, Economics 101
Matthew Sinclair:
Non-dom tax plans will lose money

Well, who on Earth didn't see this coming? If you place a new tax on a group with the financial means to live anywhere they choose, who often work in industries that are used to communicating globally, they'll move... - Read More

2.20pm, Campaign
Tim Aker:
Activist Guide: Part 3 - Leafleting

Over the past two weeks, you know how you can easily contribute to the TPA campaign from your home. You can research into news stories to find anything for us to campaign on relevant to our crusade for lower taxes and better government.  You can follow this up with letters to your local paper, to kick start debates and turn your local community into a TPA supporter-base. Now what if you want to do more…how can you actively recruit members to the TPA? - Read More

9.45am, Economics 101
Corin Taylor:
"Elegant retreat" very welcome

Today's Telegraph gives a very welcome report that the Conservatives may not match Labour's spending plans beyond 2010-11. Quite right. Matching Labour's spending plans was always economic lunacy. Taxpayers will be hoping that at least one party will be able to offer relief from the record tax burden at the next election... - Read More

Media Coverage

- Brown's spree 'cost £14bn'

If this is applied to the increases in state spending since 2000, the cumulative loss of output from Mr Brown's spending rises, according to lobby group the Taxpayers' Alliance, is equivalent to £13.7bn, given a current GDP of pounds 1.4 trillion. - Full Article

- 'Obscene' BBC bash

BBC boozers spent almost £250,000 of licence money on Christmas parties.

Crew and stars guzzled up to £50 each at 13 bashes in bars and restaurants.

Radio 1 blew £18,000 on 600 guests and EastEnders £10,575 on 500. HQ staff got through £120,000.

Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "This is an obscene amount to spend when the BBC is pleading poverty." - Full Article

Friday February 8

Blogs

3.15pm, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Hospital malnourishment

The Telegraph reports on an increasing number of people leaving hospital malnourished. This is just dismal.  Back in the nineteenth century keeping people well fed might have been a serious logistical challenge, in some developing countries it - sadly - still is.  Equally people in the UK might not choose to eat the right food and wind up malnourished.  There is no acceptable reason why people in a wealthy country like the United Kingdom in the 21st century, while their diet is provided to them by a hospital, are malnourished... -