Councils waste half a million on 'status'1

Tim Aker Campaign

TPA Activist Barbara Lockwood, who also runs her local campaign ‘Folk Against Council Tax’, has sent us a story about Norwich City and Norfolk County Council’s waste of half a million pounds over a battle to change Norwich City council to unitary status.

A breakdown of Norfolk County Council’s costs reveals just how wasteful the council has been:
• £105,313 on market research, publications and “external support”.
• £204,356 of office time, £153,022 of which is time office staff should have spent on official county council work and not responding to Norwich City Council’s bid for unitary status.

Compare this with Norwich City Council’s costs:
• £130,657 on “consultants”
• £59,048 for a “full time project manager” (in itself a non-job)
• £54,700 on research including consultations, surveys and focus groups
• £9,332 on “expenses” including “travel, consultation meetings and refreshments” (and I doubt they picked a can of coke and sandwich buffet option)

That’s over half a million pounds of taxpayers’ money wasted on bureaucratic restructuring so politicians can squabble over which has more power, the city councillors or county councillors. Does it matter which one ultimately has the power of the purse – they both seem quite talented at wasting our money.

It’s up to us to stand with Norfolk’s taxpayers. Barbara Lockwood has written into the Norwich Evening News, she writes in a lot and should be commended for a long and sustained campaign for tax fairness. We should do the same! So here are the contact details for the Norfolk Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press. Write into them and shame Norwich City and Norfolk COunty Council for wasting much taxpayer’s money:

Letters Editor
Norwich Evening News
Prospect House,
Rouen Road,
Norwich,
NR1 1RE,
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]

And

Letters Editor
Eastern Daily Press
Prospect House,
Rouen Road,
Norwich,
NR1 1RE,
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]

Do specify these are letters for the respective local papers. We’ve had our activists get letters in papers before from these ‘rapid reaction’ campaigns, so give it a try. The more we make waste an issue, the more people will listen and join our campaign.

Tim Aker

Follow @

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/G2287 ATFlynn

Well there’s a thing. Only yesterdayI was talking to both Barbara Lockwood and Tim Aker, on the telephone I must add. And then last evening I attended our Local Parish council meeting.
In our talk, Barbra and I have both concluded that the time for talking about Taxation and Spending Policy, is over. Westminster and Whitehall have run out of time. Democracy has been corrupted out of all recognition. We must start again.
Westminster now only has the Power to enact the Directives, Procedures and Instructions as ordered by Brussels.
We are no longer a “Free Self-Governing Independent Country”. Enough I say.
TIME NOW FOR SOME ACTION.
To that end, Last night I suggested that, at the next Parish Council Meeting, on Tuesday 9th October from 7.30pm., I submit a draft proposal with regard to Local Taxation and Waste. I did supply a copy of the Draft to Ms. Isla Fay, Parish Council Clerk. It has been decided that the Motion will be included in the Adgenda for October.
As it stands, the proposed motion reads -:
Tivetshall St. Mary council believes counciltax rates are too high and proposes that:
i)
South Norfolk ditrict council not
increase council tax for the coming year
ii)
South Norfolk district council cut down
waste and unnecessary spending.
iii)
South Norfolk district council seek to
freeze council tax this year and lower
it over the coming year to ensure that
taxpayers pay fair rates for the
service they receive.
**********************************
A rider will need to be added to afford the
higher levels of Authority, District, County, Regional and Westminster Government, the means to understand the alternative. Ignore the TaxPayers at your Peril.
It is intended that advantage be taken to remove Employers and Employees, off-shore with the intention of avoiding Central Government Taxation.
It would then be possible to introduce a system of Taxation that provide the basic necessities and no more. As the law stands, if you take advantage of this manoeuvre, your only obligation is to inform your local HMRC, office nearest the location of you residence. Like so many very rich people, your money will be beyond the reach of the TaxMan.
Just imagine, you can elect your MP, and you can tell him exactly what you are prepared to pay him. If he doesn’t like it, well do you really need an MP? And when it comes to MPs Pensions, tell them to go private. And see how they like it.
Think of the fun, you can have getting your own back. Laugh, it’s better than a Carry On Flim.
The next step is to recruit as many followers as we can and get after these wasters. It isn’t any good going to the CBI, IOD, FPB, or any of the others. They are not much use when the Treasury or any other Department of State says no. They just grovel to Westminster.
And remember, we don’t want to run the Country, we just want to control Taxation.
Politicians can spend the money but only the money the TaxPayers let them have. Why do Politicians always,or nearly always, turn out to be wanton and licentious like women in a Red Light zone?
Regards, ATFlynn.