Birmingham Post: Figureheads back group calling for lower taxes

Prominent Midland business figures are backing a new pressure group campaigning for lower taxes and against wasteful spending by public bodies.

Multi-millionaire car importer Bob Edmiston, chairman of the IM Group and said to be worth £520 million, is the best-known face among a list of recruits to the West Midlands Taxpayers' Alliance - a regional off-shoot of the national TPA.

The new group, which has a full-time organiser and offices in Hagley Road, Birmingham, says it already has 1,000 supporters in the West Midlands.

Supporters attended a launch ceremony yesterday outside The Public arts centre in West Bromwich, where construction work was halted after costs spiralled to £55 million.

The regeneration scheme - financed by Advantage West Midlands, the Arts Council of England and Sandwell Council - was placed into administration and is, according to the Taxpayers' Alliance, a perfect example of reckless spending by public authorities.

Other examples highlighted by the Alliance include Birmingham City Council's proposal to spend £1 million on a metal tank to provide a 50-metre swimming pool for the Chinese Olympic Games squad, and the £1 million a year West Midlands councils pay to run a European office in Brussels.

Leading members of the West Midlands TPA council include: Chris Kelly, chairman of West Bromwich-based Keltruck; Keith Bradshaw, chairman of Listers of Coventry; Richard Smith, managing director, HR Smith Group; Edward Carter, regional chairman of Freshwater UK in Birmingham.

The group also has the backing of Peter Roberts, the Telford businessman whose anti-congestion charging petition on the Downing Street website attracted more than a million signatures.

Taxpayers' Alliance spokesman Blair Gibbs said: "The cause is backed by some of Britain's most respected academics and business people. We are not linked to any political party and accept no public money."

The WMTPA intends to campaign to cut taxes on business, to reduce income tax and to lower council tax. The group is opposed to road pricing, green taxes and inheritance tax and wants all regional quangos abolished.

Mr Gibbs added: "This is a new voice for those who want a different future for the West Midlands.

"We will be holding meetings, investigating waste using the Freedom of Information Act, engaging with the media and organising direct mail efforts to spread our message. We will expose waste, attack reckless spending, and campaign against all those politicians who meddle in vital services."