If there is one overarching lesson for MPs in today's expenses revelations (other than "Stop claiming money that you don't deserve") it is that there is no point blindly trying to keep these claims secret. It would have been better for all involved to have released the full expenses details... Read more...
Illegal immigration is a controversial issue for all developed countries. Political parties and campaign groups have argued all sides of the debate: potential tax revenues versus the cost to taxpayers; whether it will harm or help local economies; the political benefits of stricter immigration policy versus a more liberal approach. ... Read more...
This week’s non-job, one of the 490 on offer this week, is another cheeky revenue raiser in local government. From Ealing Council, the non-job of the week will infuriate every motorist and taxpayer in the West London borough: “CCTV Enforcement Manager£35,982 - £37,725 pa inclusive You'll be responsible... Read more...
It was reported yesterday that the controversial ID cards scheme will be piloting in Manchester in the autumn. This, in spite of the fact that the scheme is estimated to cost billions per year, and is entirely unnecessary. Both main opposition parties have vowed to scrap the scheme, seeing it... Read more...
Councillors at disaster-prone Stoke-On-Trent City Council are the latest in the West Midlands to be enjoying a mid-recession pay rise, as the total bill for their allowances is set to hit almost £1million by 2011 (The Sentinel). The 31% increase over the next two years will see elected members... Read more...
After widespread outrage last week regarding the treatment of Ghurkha veterans (on which we blogged here), the Government felt humiliating defeat last Wednesday, Gordon Brown’s first since taking office. In what appears to be a rare victory for the democratic process, 27 Labour MPs voted against the Government (with a... Read more...
Yesterday some of our Worcester activists met to discuss issues in their local area, and to do some leafleting in the city centre. We’re now looking to have a TPA supporter responsible for each Worcestershire council, and though Wychavon is taken, the rest are still free so please do get... Read more...
To add to the Government’s current troubles, the National Audit Office yesterday released figures on the overpayments made by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) last year. Overall the DWP overpaid benefits by £588 million - out of a total of £106 billion – and although the DWP recovered... Read more...
An article in the Daily Mail today details the new primary school curriculum proposed by Education ministers. The curriculum would ensure that IT skills such as using internet search engines and emailing are given greater significance than in the past. Also, there will be ‘theme’ based lessons that will focus... Read more...
A week into feeling a lot poorer – thanks Darling – we see a rise in the number of local government jobs on offer compared to last week. With borrowing and debt reaching eye watering levels over the next few years, with our politicians talking of an age of austerity... Read more...
If ridiculous scaremongering reaction were a measure for the strength of a new idea, the Tories ought to be well pleased with their new plans for primary schools. Beverly Hughes, the Government Children's Minister, has described them as "highly dangerous", and Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, claimed the plans would... Read more...
Value for money seems to be ‘en vogue’ right now. But yet another official publication has demonstrated evidence of a lack thereof. A report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published yesterday, looking into the Government’s £12billion spent on service contracts in 2007/08, and the further £240million spent on managing... Read more...
Yesterday saw the release of the Government’s new Equalities Bill. Under the new structures, all businesses and government bodies with more than 250 employees will be forced to reduce ‘workplace’ inequality by stating the average pay for their male and female employees (by 2013). Equalities Minister Harriet Harman stated that... Read more...
Never out of the press for long The Public has made yet another appearance in the Express & Star today as it turns out that over £25,000 of taxpayers’ money has been paid to musicians performing at the venue. Not including those who performed at events staged by Public... Read more...
In an excellent column by Iain Martin in today's Telegraph, Sir Michael Caine is quoted denouncing the new 50% top rate of tax. Sir Michael goes on to say that he, undoubtedly like so many other wealthy and successful Britons, will be leaving the country if the tax burden continues... Read more...
It was the Tories' Spring Forum in Cheltenham over the weekend, and the keynote speech from David Cameron featured some encouraging proposals. Indeed, some of them were so encouraging that the Guardian reported that it seemed like "the TaxPayers' Alliance is now writing Conservative party policy". So what were the... Read more...
Dudley councillors are already hoping for a 20% rise in their allowances and now it’s looking as though they’ll be further draining the public purse as 72 of them are in line to receive expensive Blackberry phones at a cost of £18,000 (Express & Star). The council claim that equipping elected representatives... Read more...
Since the Budget announcement last week, most of Alistair Darling’s predictions have been found to be well wide of the mark. His contention that the UK economy will have contracted by 1.6% in the first quarter of this year was undermined almost immediately by the ONS; his borrowing projections were... Read more...
On Friday the Government released new immigration rules for Ghurkha’s who served in the British Army prior to 1997. Previous regulations had been deemed unlawful by the High Court, but the new rules have proven equally controversial. Ghurkha veterans who retired before 1997 - more than 30,000 – will... Read more...
These days you don't even get a nice certificate to keep A question we've been hearing a lot over the last few days is how on earth is the government ever going to repay all this debt it's taking on?The short answer is that it's not going to.Consider the history of HM Goverment debt.On... Read more...
It seems that Dudley councillors will soon be laughing all the way to the bank as the Express & Star reveals that they’re in line for a 20% raise in their allowances despite the fact that many of their electorate will be facing redundancy or pay cuts in the current... Read more...
Gordon Brown has a funny understanding of the way charities and volunteering work. He has been talking again today about his enthusiasm for involving young people in such activities. That's all well and good, but he seems to have missed the point of voluntary work. That point, of course,... Read more...
Kings Fund Chief Executive Niall Dickson commented yesterday that the 2009 Budget must be a ‘wake up call for the NHS’, forcing it to improve efficiency before spending cuts of £2.3 billion are introduced in 2011. But as a consequence of Darling’s announcement yesterday, NHS Hospital Trusts are expected to... Read more...
In one of the more mean-minded moves in his Budget, Alistair Darling has decided to claw back tax relief on pension contributions for higher-earners (those with an income over £150,000 pa) from 2011. But the measure really comes into force from Budget Day, because the Government plans to implement regulations... Read more...