The TaxPayers' Alliance - Home: Tuesday March 25

Blogs

10.00am, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Postcode lotteries

The answer here isn't yet more centralising targets. These don't only breed inefficiency and poor decision making but can even create as many regional imbalances as they fix. An example is centralised pay bargaining that increases mortality in richer areas as hospitals have to overuse agency staff (PDF, article from Kent on Sunday)... - Read

9.50am, Better Government
Matthew Sinclair:
Crumbling schools

If control were handed back to Civil Society the resulting distortion could be removed and those with a direct stake in the performance of the school - teachers, students and parents - could and would insist on properly maintained facilities... - Read

9.45am, Burning Our Money
Tim Aker:
More non-job madness

Instead of just getting the job done, building the Olympic park and ensuring there’s track to run on and such, the Olympic Delivery Authority sidestep all that in the name of ‘gender equality’.

On your buck, they’re attempting to ‘promote gender equality’ in the construction industry... - Read More

9.10am, Burning Our Money
Mike Denham:
Taxpayers Say No To The Bankers

It's the banks and their shareholders who have profited from getting into these new businesses. And taxpayers should not be made to bail them out when the going gets rough.

We reckon King is up for toughing it out. But Mssrs Brown and Darling? - Read More

Media Coverage

- £80k expert to help prisoners shop for treats

"Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said the "bizarre" move showed how ministers had the wrong priorities.

He said: "When the Government is struggling with the simple things, such as teaching our children to read and write and making sure hospitals are clean and hygienic, it seems bizarre that they're paying such a big salary to the top prison shop assistant.

"Employing someone to make sure inmates get their favourite Pot Noddles will make them even more likely to commit crime when their sentence comes to an end." - Full Article