The Bumper Book of Government Waste 2008

** Buy your copy from the Politico's Bookshop **

It's back and, depressingly, the figure is even bigger than last time.

Welcome again to the world of waste. In this new edition of The Bumper Book, Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham have unearthed a staggering £101 billion of government misspending - all paid for by you, the taxpayer.

It's such an enormous figure it is difficult to get one's head around it. What could be done with £101 billion? Well, you could for example, paper the entire East Midlands and London with £5 notes, and still have a few billion left over to build one hell of a crane from which to admire your handiwork. Or even convert the £101 billion into one penny coins, pile them on top of each other, and reach the moon and back five times.

But perhaps more usefully, the government could cut the tax burden of every household by over £4,000 a year.

Mind blowing isn't it?

Here are just a few examples of where all of that money has gone:

• £280,000 on a conference addressed by Blair and Brown on value for money in the public services.
• £400 million on 'cost control' for the Olympic Games.
• £3 million by tax inspectors at HM Revenue and Customs on flights, including £2.1 million on flights to Scotland.
• Over £16 million on the creation and upkeep of VIP lounges in Heathrow and Gatwick despite the fact they are not government-owned.
• £100,000 on assessing whether £400,000 reportedly spent on modern art for seven hospitals was money well spent.

But then it's hardly a surprise that they don't have a tight grip on our finances when you see an official statistic from the government, claiming that an impressive 102% of all 3 year olds are in nursery school. With this level of numeracy, no wonder we're in trouble!

If you're a British taxpayer, you need to read this book - even though it will hurt.

** Buy your copy from the Politico's Bookshop **

Comments

[Neil Duffy]

Perhaps the TPA could purchase 650 copies of The Bumper book fo Government waste 2008 and give one to every MP as I'm sure they would be interested, and cannot afford £4.99 each.

If that causes government to reduce waste, when the pigs have landed they can send a copy to the leader of every council in the country.

[Neil Duffy]

Perhaps the TPA could purchase 650 copies of The Bumper book fo Government waste 2008 and give one to every MP as I'm sure they would be interested, and cannot afford £4.99 each.

If that causes government to reduce waste, when the pigs have landed they can send a copy to the leader of every council in the country.

[Phil Bell]

Your articlke is well thought out. Thanks for giving us this fresh point of view.

[John Hale]

The "Big Brother" society so many feel we are living in is in fact a consequence of that other Orwellian masterpiece, "Animal Farm", only in this context it is not Communism it describes, but the political classes epitomised by the champagne socialists who are currently in power. With their snouts in the trough, helping themselves to as much of the spoils they can greedily gulp down, it is no wonder they have no eye or care for the wastefulness being perpetrated around them, and they need greater control over the general population. Just as in the book, they, as being "more equal than others", must have their dobermans controlling the rest of the population so their positions are protected and their greed can be prolonged.

[Silvis Rivers]

I think John Hale (poster above) is spot on, and points beyond to the curious new slaver weave of state-dominion with the collusion of all sorts of interest groups that are hand fed through the back door by Govt impacting on the population . TPA are penetrating this and importantly forming the right language around this politically and socially mystified area.

What astonished me about Labour in Health policy for instance was the way they weavily favoured so much false re-engagement through favoured groups and new bureacracies whilst not seeing that a better GP-patient treatment choice and negotiation axis through a GP was actually possible provided private supply too (Choice) was financially enabled and helped and monitored at the GP level. That means de-bureacratisation and examining lost opportunities creates by bureacracies and putting money saved there at the GP axis - not with system delivery bureacrats who deal with patients as statistical abstractions and who create endless meeting cultures.. By ye Gods of patience (!) the Health Service is full of meetings meetings and meetings .

One serious problem of having no deeper and authentic patient choice GP-axis is the virtual "sovietisation" of supply - the lack of innovation and the creation of a culture of passive choice-uninformed state consumers ..There are brilliant clinicians out there in the State services equally there is a need to improve the most immediate health axis to patients i.e. GP surgeries and their ability to deliver better information , variety of supply, and more relationship with the patient - LOCAL AND FOCAL ! LOCAL AND FOCAL ! Hah now I am chanting !!!

[Peter Carruthers]

It occurs to me that a new edition of this book is overdue. That £101 Billion seems rather light in the context of last years splurge?

[Call me Dave]

Thinking too much about the way this Government splash our cash around has the unfortunate side effect of making me quite irked. I suspect this book would probably completely depress me - simply because it's factually correct.
Regardless of who is in power the vested interests in maintaining the status quo dictate our cash will continue to be squandered and the public sector will continue to benefit from "investment" in the good times (because we can "afford" it and it is politically advantageous) and "investment" in the bad times based on keynsian theory.
With such free access to an "unlimited" amount of "other peoples money" it is little wonder it is wasted / squandered / frittered away whilst ensuring copious amounts line ones own pockets both now and when one retires or indeed one loses one's seat in parliament.
What I would like to know is how is this ever going to change? Answers on a postcard please.