Green light for HS2
There was very disappointing news for taxpayers this week as the government gave the go-ahead to the ill-fated High Speed 2 (HS2) project. It's a massive blow to taxpayers who will be left picking up the bill for many decades to come.

On the eve of the announcement our campaigns team stayed up late into the night preparing media reaction and speaking to government and politicians, including our HS2 Review Group of MPs. Our comments were picked up by hundreds of local and national press outlets.

The TaxPayers' Alliance has led from the front to scrap HS2. The Great British Transport Competition was instrumental in forcing the government's hand to hold a review into the project. Indeed, a number of projects from the competition have been announced by the prime minister as part of a package to improve regional transport.
The business case for HS2 was flawed from the start, offering little benefit to anyone outside the big cities, and nobody can comfortably say what the final bill will be. The initial and official cost estimates have been consistently wrong. Eventual costs could be closer to £150 billion.

That said the government has taken positive steps to try and rein costs in. They have correctly identified that bosses at HS2 Ltd have consistently underperformed. A new minister will be appointed as part of efforts to stop the budget spiralling further out of control. 

We will be reaching out to meet the HS2 minister and discuss keeping costs under control.
Grassroots news
On Friday our media campaign manager Sam Packer made the long journey to the South West to take part in a debate at the Exeter University Debating Society. Taking on the proposition "This house believes capitalism has the solutions to climate change". 

Sam partnered the brilliant Exeter economics professor John Maloney, as they took on former Green party leader Baroness Bennett and Exeter academic Dr Travis Coan.
A fiery debate focused on the benefits capitalism has brought the world, what economic system can best serve humanity in the future and what the nature of any alternative would be. 

Pleasingly, some students are very happy to be convinced by the evidence in favour of capitalism. There was a large swing to the free-market side at the end of the debate despite a narrow overall lead for the opposition.

Our pocket Freedom Factbook, noting the overarching benefits of liberty was well received. Afterwards, Sam spoke with members of the university’s Freedom Society who are very supportive of the TPA's work..
 
TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
Mansion tax and raid on pensions

There was worrying news for taxpayers last week as suggestions emerged in the Sunday papers that the government is planning to raid private pensions and introduce a mansion tax.

Our chief executive John O'Connell was ahead of the curve and outlined in The Sunday Telegraph why these terrible ideas deserve short shrift. He writes:

"Voters across the country broadly want the same thing: a prosperous, thriving economy where jobs are plentiful, homes affordable and the cost of living low. You get that by cutting taxes, not inventing new ones - especially not on pension investments by people doing the right thing and saving for their families and their futures."
As well as in print, our research and media teams have already been on numerous radio stations outlining why these ideas are bad for Britain.

In light of recent events we hope that these plans are just rumours. However if the reports are true we will be urging the new chancellor that he should drop these plans 
 
What a waste!

The TaxPayers' Alliance was heard loud and clear across the airwaves this week as both myself and my colleague Duncan Simpson were guests on Mike Graham's talkRadio show.

Speaking to Mike on Thursday Duncan discussed the soaring costs of repairs to Big Ben and blamed "very poor project management that we see across whole swathes of the public sector and central government" for the overruns. Click here to listen to a clip.
I spoke to Mike on Friday about the myriad of ways that councils are wasting taxpayers' money. Mike was particularly outraged that Wolverhampton council had spent nearly £18,000 sending staff on "jollies" to the south of France.

I explained that despite many councils claiming their coffers are empty they still manage to find money for these ridiculous perks. As we hear from all over the country, ratepayers are fed up of ever higher council tax bills and receiving less than satisfactory service. Click here to listen to a clip.

The TPA will continue to expose wasteful spending and hold profligate councils to account.
 
Blog of the week
Scots suffer SNP's fiscal failings

Last week, the Scottish government announced its budget for 2020-21. The minister for public finance and digital economy revealed a tourist tax alongside more spending pledges. Writing for the blog this week our researcher Darwin Friend makes the case that these short-term fiscal solutions won’t solve the economic or public service problems which Scots suffer. He writes:

“…Scotland spends £1,661 more per head than the UK as a whole. This is far from going exclusively on frontline services - for example, the Scottish government’s spend on advertising has trebled, with £6.5 million wasted on advertising since 2017. Little surprise, therefore, that they are running a budget deficit of 7 per cent, more than six times greater than the UK government’s, which stands at 1.1 per cent.”
To improve Scotland’s economic position, the SNP need to start focusing on outcomes for Scots rather than making fiscal policy a competition of who can spend the most.
 
War on waste
Bumpy ride for taxpayers

Cash-strapped Shropshire Council has hired a pothole "expert" to the tune of £130,000 (for a mere six-month contract) to assess crumbling and derelict roads in the county. Currently, the local area has a backlog of 3,500 potholes in need of repair.
Many have rightly questioned if this is good value for money. According to Highways England, the cost to repair a pothole is £40. Shropshire Council could fill 3,250 potholes instead of a bumper salary for this so-called "expert". 

This "non-job" is a complete affront to common sense and will leave taxpayers enraged; this is not how they expect their hard-earned taxes to be spent.

Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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