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BBC News Online: MPs block bid to make unions repay millions
Taxpayers’ Alliance director Matthew Sinclair said: “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to fund staff to work for trade unions, providing them with a huge activist base to support strikes and freeing up resources for political campaigns.”
Earlier today, the Government announced that it is still planning to go ahead with a new high-speed rail line that will reach Birmingham by 2026, and then be connected to Manchester and Leeds. And it’s doing so in the face of widespread scepticism among the public and business leaders.
Northern Echo: Both sides of the tracks
ACCORDING to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the project is a “railway for the rich, but paid for by everyone”. It says it will cost every family household more than £1,000. It also says the final bill of the project could rise to £45.5bn as a result of a number of hidden costs and that the business case for it will mean fares rising by 27 per cent above inflation. Opponents argue that in these austere financial times, high-speed rail is just far too expensive.
Lancashire Evening Post: A public car perk
Robert Oxley, campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said there should be no need for parking fees to be scrapped as a “sweetener”.
“Lancashire County Council shouldn’t need to sweeten a move to pay the recommended rate for mileage. With budgets tight, councils can’t afford to pay over the odds in mileage allowance,” he said.
This is Nottingham: Hopes and fears as age of high-speed trains draws closer
The Taxpayers’ Alliance attacked the economic case for HS2, saying every British family would have to pay £1,000 for the scheme but few would benefit.
Director Matthew Sinclair argued the cost would end up being higher than predicted and would push other rail fares up.
This is Nottingham: Suffering the consequences of medical nightmare
Emma Boon, Campaign Director of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Some women affected are not cancer patients and will have paid for the implants privately for cosmetic reasons. Taxpayers will wonder whether spending on taking those implants out should be a priority for NHS budgets.
“Of course any patient in a critical state should be treated regardless of the cause, but people who choose to have cosmetic surgery shouldn’t expect hard-working families to pick up the tab.
“In cases where these implants are removed on the NHS every possible step should be taken to recover the cost from the company responsible.”
Mail Online: Not this again! 61% of our TV programmes are repeats, BBC chiefs admit
Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, said: ‘Viewers will feel cheated that they are getting endless repeats in return for their licence fee each year. Auntie should scrap BBC3 if there aren’t enough new programmes.
‘Bosses need to focus on delivering high quality and unique programming.’
