With impeccable timing, on the same day that the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched his reelection campaign we released the latest edition of our City Hall Rich List. We do hope we didnât spoil his big day.
Much like our Town Hall Rich List (keep your eyes peeled for the 2024 edition), the latest research exposes how many city hall bosses received over ÂŁ100,000 in 2022-23.
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1,146 employees of city hall and its subsidiaries received the mega sums with Transport for London (TFL) accounting for over half with 772. On the mayoral team 15 received over ÂŁ100,000, costing a total of ÂŁ2,174,374. Khan himself received ÂŁ171,587, an increase of ÂŁ21,000, or 14 per cent, compared to 2018-19 when we last ran the numbers. The biggest earner was Jim Crawford, chief programme officer at Crossrail, who received ÂŁ499,447 in total remuneration.
Despite complaining about the financial difficulties he faces, Khanâs city hall has seen its staffing bill surge by 67 per cent, from ÂŁ50.4 million in 2016-17 to ÂŁ84.2 million in 2021-22. In order to pay for these huge salaries, in 2024-25 the mayoral council tax precept will have increased by 57 per cent since 2016-17 when Khan came to office.
Our Ă©xpose clearly caught the attention of the media with write ups in the Mail, Sun, Times, and Express. It was also featured on the front page of City A.M.Â
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In an op-ed for the Spectator, our head of campaigns, Elliot Keck, blasted: âUnder Khanâs watch, sky-high public sector salaries in London are spiralling out of control⊠Londoners might be paying a fortune to public sector workers, but when they look around the capital it can be hard to say that theyâre getting value for money.â
As with town halls across the country, Sadiq Khan should give taxpayers a break and keep a lid on these senior salaries, particularly when services are being so poorly managed.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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NHS diversity training costs
It emerged this week that NHS trusts are shelling out ÂŁ4,000 a pop sending senior staff on equality, diversity, and inclusion training courses. Weâve long called out this kind of absurd waste and TPA researcher, Callum McGoldrick, didnât hold back when he spoke to the Daily Mail.
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Slamming the spending, Callum told readers: âTaxpayers are tired of public services wasting time and money on woke non-jobs and training. The health service is being stretched in all directions and is rapidly approaching breaking point but precious hours are being devoted to unnecessary navel gazing.â Itâs time to put an end to these ridiculous time wasting exercises once and for all.
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A red card for the regulator
With ministers publishing the bill for the proposed football regulator this week, our researcher, Jonathan Eida, has taken a look at the plans in an op-ed for CapX. Itâs fair to say Jonathan doesnât hold out much hope that yet another quango will solve the problems of âthe beautiful gameâ
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As Jonathan explains: âThe immutable rule about quangos is that they never do as they say on the tin. Mission creep is a guarantee, and a regulator for football would be no exception⊠UK sport is an opportunity for economic growth that should be nurtured, not throttled by the grip of a regulator.â Have a read of Jonathanâs analysis here.
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Council tax misery
The vast majority of the country has now had confirmation that their council tax bills will be going up in April. Topping the table once again is Rutland council, where band D households will pay a staggering ÂŁ2,543.
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Local residents can hardly afford yet another raid on their budgets. As I explained to the Telegraph: âWith bright spots few and far between, the vast majority of taxpayers face a further increase to already sky-high bills. Councils should learn from the rare examples where rates were frozen to find out how they can achieve similar results next time round.â
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Twelve things the government shouldn't do: Part 3
For this weekâs blog, Callum brings us the concluding part of his series looking at 12 things the government shouldnât do (by no means an exhaustive list). In this edition, Callum has taken a look at funding for foreign nationals.
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From teacher relocation schemes to hotel accommodation for migrants, Callum makes clear: âWhile there are plenty of situations in which it is appropriate for the government to spend money on foreign nationals, the UK should not be a welfare system for the whole world and should prioritise British citizens where possible.âÂ
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Despite claiming to be under financial pressure and needing to hike their rates, Blackpool council have still found space in their budget for a new rainbow crossing which locals have dubbed an â eyesoreâ. A TPA investigation previously found that councils had blown ÂŁ200,000 on similar schemes
Poverty pleading council bosses wonât get much sympathy when theyâre wasting cash on these pointless pet projects.
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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