Details of 387 public sector employees earning over £150,000 194 public sector employees earn more than the Prime Minister 4 people on the public payroll earned more than £1m last year Senior executives enjoyed an average remuneration increase of 10.9% from 2006-07 to 2007-08 Now in its third edition, the... Read more...
As the economic crisis tightens its grip on the budgets of individuals, families and national governments, the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) publishes the first comprehensive analysis of the inept regulation and poor policies that sowed the seeds for the current recession and made Britain particularly vulnerable to its effects. The report's... Read more...
Thanks to the digging of Conservative MP Grant Shapps, we can all rest assured that the government is completely failing to improve its ability to safeguard our personal information. It has been reported that over the past year, a total of 53 laptop computers as well as disk drives, memory... Read more...
The Financial Times reported, earlier this week, on the news that the Ministry of Defence is set to cut down on long term procurement projects, in favour of getting equipment needed right now to the troops on the front line. Such a shift has, in itself, some logic to it.... Read more...
The Telegraph report that Cancer Research UK have compared survival rates in the UK and other European countries and found that 6,500 lives could if levels in Britain matched the European average, 11,000 if rates here matched the best on the Continent. There is no such thing as an uncontroversial... Read more...
An interesting report by the think tank Reform, published today, presents a compelling argument about where the British economy is today, what the Government should not do, and the longer term reforms that are needed for sustained growth in the future. Now, the report argues, is the ideal time to... Read more...
Browsing through the Guardian’s job pages this week, I came across this advert. The job itself didn’t merit the title of ‘non-job of the week’, I mean, if it’s a choice between equality officers and lawyers, the decision is tough but lawyers have a use after all. But take... Read more...
Anyone would think that our local councils were trying to off-load as much cash as possible at the moment, and two stories in the regional press today serve to demonstrate exactly why the WMTPA has such a strong presence in the area. The Birmingham Post has reported that Birmingham... Read more...
Yesterday, supporters from the Staffordshire Moorlands congregated in a rather drizzly Leek for another TPA Action Day spent collecting signatures for a petition to cut local council tax and speaking to market goers about the benefits of tax cuts. Leek might only be a small town, but in just one... Read more...
The tragic case of Baby P presents us with a rare glimpse into the structures which are supposed to protect our children. In fact the case tells us something fundamental about today's government in general. Yesterday, beginning a series of new child welfare initiatives, Ed Balls (Secretary of State... Read more...
More jobs lost in the private sector this week and the government keeps on recruiting with 686 for you to choose from. If you’re still guessing where Gordon’s borrowing has gone, look no further than our non-job of the week: “Equality Officer£26,835 - £28,919 Can you help us... Read more...
Great news for taxpayers. The Conservatives have dropped their commitment to match Labour's spending plans. This is a good idea for a huge range of reasons but here are a few of the key ones: Over the last ten years British taxpayers have been ripped off. We wrote about... Read more...
Well done to TPA supporter Roger Baker! He’s scored a double hit on over-spending Suffolk county council. When we went all out to highlight and expose the £220,000 salary Andrea Hill picked up as the new chief executive of the council, the lackeys retorted that it was essential to get... Read more...
Given the Government's appalling record of data loss, leaks and IT incompetence, it is understandable that large numbers of people are suspicious of the NHS database. The latest news on the project is hardly reassuring, either. It turns out we won't have to rely on incompetence or human error to... Read more...
The Telegraph reports that Ed Miliband is going to tell energy companies that they should cut their prices to reflect the fall in the oil price. The reasons why prices are not set to fall in line with the oil price are widely understood. In particular, there are going to... Read more...
Today, the Telegraph reported on an issue that the TPA has covered frequently, government fat cats that make entirely too much money. Figures show that high level executives for the various NHS Trusts saw spending on their collective salaries go up about 38% in the past year. Some individuals saw... Read more...
Here's the monthly campaign update from Peter Webb, the organiser of the Surrey TaxPayers' Alliance group: October 2008 The attempt to meet all borough leaders having failed (excepting Waverley BC see September diary) the invitation was withdrawn for the time being (it would in any case be impractical... Read more...
This week has been an open display of bureaucratic failures. The most outrageous issue with this particular set of failures is the victims: children. Innocent children. Reports on the Baby P tragedy and the dismal report by HM Inspectorate of Education of Aberdeen City’s child services highlight a serious lack... Read more...
The TaxPayers' Alliance report Funding Hate Education set out one example of how aid money can be not just wasteful but counterproductive. There are many more. Proper scrutiny is the only way to make sure that our money isn't wasted. Read more...
The Express & Star reported today that Wolverhampton City Council has finally made a decision on the £60million 10-year Axon contract to ‘shake-up’ the local authority, and has resolved to call the deal off at an estimated cost of £8million. Although this money represents another significant blow to the... Read more...
Finally the local papers have picked up the news reported earlier this week that Thurrock chief executive Angie Ridgwell was leaving the council. Her statement, however, proves our point that the bureaucracy in local government – and even the wider public sector perhaps – is out of control and growing... Read more...
Den Dover MEP has been thrown out of the Tory Party after having been forced to pay back £500,000 of EU parliamentary expenses. An EU parliamentary investigation found he had claimed this money for ‘unaccountable expenditure’ and the case has been referred to Europe’s anti-fraud office. Since 1999 Mr... Read more...
A scheme by Birmingham City Council was exposed in today’s Birmingham Post by former Minister for the West Midlands MP Liam Byrne as a complete waste of money. The 22-week clean streets campaign cost the council £20,000 to organise despite only issuing a few penalties, each at a cost... Read more...
Tough times demand radical action. Unprecedented bank bail outs, extraordinary financial stimulus andhistoric electoral change have defined these past few months, as countries across the world scramble to deal with the fall out from the financial crisis. Now it is the EU's turn to be bold. In a radical... Read more...