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Who'd have guessed?
Back in May 2023, as regular readers may recall, we got wind of some strange goings on in South Cambridgeshire ([link removed]) where the council was in the middle of a four day week trial - meaning 80 per cent of hours for 100 per cent pay - for staff . After speaking to local councillors and residents we were horrified to learn this was being done without a vote or consultation. Naturally, as well as fearing what this would mean for local taxpayers, we warned the country that what started in South Cambridgeshire would end up infecting the whole public sector.
When thousands of you backed our campaign, picking up on the widespread anger, the last government put massive pressure on the administration in South Cambridgeshire to put a stop to the bonkers experiment.
Unfortunately, this new government seems to care even less about delivering value for money than the last lot. In disturbing news ([link removed]) , the new local government secretary Angela Rayner has removed the ‘best value notice’ issued to the council late last year, an effective green light.
We were shocked but hardly surprised. As our head of campaigns Elliot Keck told local media, this is a “reckless experiment” now continuing with “no oversight.” Elliot also posted a useful thread on X summarising the trial so far ([link removed]) .
There’s no doubt this will get worse, indeed some Scottish civil servants have already begun their own trial ([link removed]) , while staff at Rayner’s own department are demanding a four-day week.
But we’re not giving up. When South Cambridgeshire finally holds a consultation on the scheme in the new year, we’ll be hitting the streets, and making sure residents are given the chance to voice their concerns in full. Watch this space.
It wasn’t all bad news this week, or at least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. There’s been a lot of talk recently that the council tax referendum cap of 5 per cent might be scrapped but we were pleased to hear it’ll be kept for another year. This will be a huge relief to local taxpayers, particularly those that followed our campaign in Pembrokeshire earlier this year ([link removed]) where the local council planned a scandalous 16.31 per cent rise, ultimately reduced following our efforts and the support of hundreds of local residents. Wales has no limits on council tax rises.
But let’s not dress it up. Five per cent is way above the current rate of inflation and is going to mean average increases of £110 to band D bills if councils use the maximum increase available to them.
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Our researcher Shimeon Lee was right onto the airwaves, slamming the government for “yet another broken promise” after it pledged to freeze council tax at the local elections last year. Speaking to Ian Collins on Talk ([link removed]) Shimeon told viewers “this will be the third year in a row that council tax will rise by five per cent, and that will hit households hard.”
We’ve undoubtedly got another huge fight on our hands. A five per cent rise will put massive pressure on taxpayers already facing rising costs due to Reeves’ reckless budget. But you can rest assured, we’ll never stop fighting for hard-working households right across the country.
It’s never been more important to get our message out and you play a keep role in spreading the word. Can you encourage others to sign up by clicking the links below?
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a nation of taxpayers
The latest episode of a nation of taxpayers landed on Thursday and this week, our host Duncan Barkes was joined by Elliot, and Ellen Pasternack of Civitas.
The latest episode is truly jam packed, covering everything from the US election and the driving test backlog to student loans and Gary Lineker. You don’t want to miss out. If you want to support Ellen's campaign to end the driving backlog use our handy write to your MP tool ([link removed]) and demand politicians find a fix.
Click on the links below to listen now
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
Lessons from America: Why the UK needs a Department of Government Efficiency
Following Donald Trump’s election win last week, he’s been busy putting his cabinet together and making appointments across government. Two appointments in particular really caught our eye, those of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswarmy to head up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Though the new Labour government has set up their own Office for Value for Money (OVfM), the differences couldn’t be starker ([link removed]) .
In a major op-ed ([link removed]) for the Sun, John highlights that, whilst DOGE will be headed by two billionaires with a record of cutting red tape and keeping costs down, OVfM consist of 20 civil servants and is led by the man who is currently a non-executive director of the extraordinarily wasteful HS2.
With this in mind, we’re not exactly sold ([link removed]) on OVfM just yet and, as John writes: “Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that instead of changing the mindset of the public sector towards value for money and respect for taxpayers, Labour is choosing to outsource this responsibility to yet another quango. Call me sceptical, but this approach doesn’t sound anywhere near as dynamic as that about to be unleashed across the Atlantic.”
They think it’s all over, it is now
Well it’s finally happened, Gary Lineker has left the building, or almost anyway. A relief for licence fee payers across the country, this week saw the news that the BBC’s best paid employee, the equivalent of 7,965 TV licences ([link removed]) , will be leaving Match of the Day at the end of the season, before finally departing the beeb after the next world cup. With his penchant for political controversy, there’ll be many breathing a sigh of relief when we can finally say ‘goodbye Gary’.
Writing in the Daily Express, Joanna Marchong, our investigations campaign manager, was bang on target ([link removed]) : “Lineker may be missed by some, at least initially. But for many licence fee payers, which now include the over-75s of course, this is a decision long overdue. Lineker was never worth the cost, neither to taxpayers nor the BBC whose reputation for impartiality he has done so much to damage.” Well said!
Bureaucrat bonuses
When Elliot dug through the latest annual report from the Ministry of Justice ([link removed]) (MoJ), you can only imagine his shock to find mega bonuses being doled out to senior civil servants in the department. Up to £15,000 was handed to the head mandarin at the MoJ whilst the head of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service pocketed up to £20,000!
Following Elliot’s findings, John gave the revelations both barrels ([link removed]) when he spoke to the Daily Mail: “The Ministry of Justice's annual report is a sorry tale of squandered cash, golden goodbyes and completely unjustified bonuses for top brass.” Hear, hear!
Blog of the week
Worrying signs for the economy before Labour’s budget measures take effect?
With growth for July to September coming in at a meagre 0.1 per cent, our head of research, Darwin Friend, took a dive into the numbers and explains why the picture is so bleak in this week’s blog ([link removed]) .
As Darwin notes, the latest numbers represent a profound slow down even before the effects of the chancellor’s tax-hiking budget take effect. Darwin writes: “No doubt those in the treasury will be biting their nails ahead of the next GDP release, as it will show the economic reaction to what the chancellor announced at the budget. If Labour are serious about wanting to deliver for working families and build a prosperous future for everyone in this country, then these GDP figures must serve as a wake-up call for the government to focus on growth. Reversing their damaging national insurance hike would be a good place to start.”
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War on Waste
Investigations guru and war on waste champion, Joanna returns this week with her latest findings. This time, she exposes the shocking amounts being dished out for temp teachers ([link removed]) . Have a watch 👇
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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