It’ll come as no surprise to most of you that we don’t often have much positive to say about local councils. We’ve all experienced the frustration of bins not being collected, potholes going unfilled, or sitting on hold just to have the most basic of questions answered. Many councils have racked up monstrous levels of debt and bankrupted themselves in the process - see Birmingham, Croydon, and Slough. To top it all off, like clockwork, a seemingly ever growing bill lands on your door mat every April for the privilege.Â
But there are some rays of light amidst the darkness. Harlow council have managed to freeze their council tax for three years in a row. Tonbridge and Malling get by debt free. Yet it looks like this prudence and responsibility is soon to be in the firing line of this Labour government.
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Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, communities, and local government, seems to have decided that town halls which have often made difficult choices to protect their residents and secure their finances should now be penalised for doing so.Â
Under proposals put forward by ministers, it would be wrong to “reward places that have been able to keep council tax levels low.” Wow. I’m pretty sure most of you reading this would agree that this is a total perversion of morality that will see the prudent punished and the reckless rewarded. But that is exactly the scheme that ministers and Westminster bureaucrats have cooked up.Â
Our chief executive, John O’Connell, was livid when he heard of the proposal. Speaking to the Telegraph, John raged: “This vicious Labour Government looks like it is actively planning to punish responsible councils, thereby hammering many households already barely keeping their heads above water, all to subsidise reckless town halls who fail to live within their means.”
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This new attitude is exactly why some town halls have felt emboldened to seek ministerial approval for frankly extraordinary rate rises that go beyond the 5 per cent cap in England and sidestep the local referendums. Bradford have announced plans to hike council tax by 15 per cent. In Windsor and Maidenhead, residents are staring down the barrel of a 25 per cent rise. Which is where the TPA comes in. We might be a small team but we pack a big punch and we’ll be hitting the ground in Windsor and Maidenhead this week to try and put a stop to this monstrous assault on household budgets.Â
Reckless councils that refuse to get their spending under control cannot be allowed to simply raid the pockets of their residents to bail themselves out. That’s why we’re drawing a line in the sand. We’re going to send a message to these irresponsible town halls that enough is enough. If you’re local to Windsor and Maidenhead and fancy helping out on our campaign, get in touch.
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In this week’s episode of a nation of taxpayers, podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by our head of campaigns, Elliot Keck, and Giles Dilnot, the new editor of Conservative Home.
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Together, they discuss his vision for Conservative Home, the future of the Conservative Party, Reform UK, and the Labour government's current woes. Giles also gives his views on the BBC (as a former BBC reporter) and the future of the Chagos Islands, plus he talks about his time as a special adviser in the last government to foreign secretary James Cleverley.
You can listen to the latest episode of a nation of taxpayers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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The mental health crisis in schools
In her latest investigation, our investigations guru, Joanna Marchong, revealed that over one million teaching days were lost last year as teachers took time off due to mental health. Year after year, the number of teachers calling in sick for mental health reasons has increased.
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Sharing her findings with the Daily Mail, Joanna told readers: “The millions of days lost create a greater strain on already overstretched resources, disrupting children’s education and piling costs onto taxpayers. Town hall bosses must ensure that teachers can deliver the high-quality education that children deserve.”
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The chancellor’s fiscal trap
Labour’s sums just don’t add up. Rachel Reeves has promised the world but refuses to admit the truth, spending cuts are the only way out of her fiscal mess. With inflation lingering and debt piling up, Labour’s big spending pledges are simply saddling taxpayers with a heavier burden.Â
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Our head of research, Darwin Friend, took this argument to the pages of City A.M. warning that the sooner Reeves “bites the bullet on spending, the sooner Britain can break free from this self-inflicted fiscal trap. Until then, the country remains stuck in a cycle of higher taxes, higher borrowing costs, and diminishing returns – a cycle that only bold leadership can end.”
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Scotland’s skiver’s charterÂ
Holyrood has been slammed for introducing a “skiver’s charter” after ruling that MSP attendance records will no longer be published. Data on office attendance will not be shared with the public as it might affect the mental health of politicians.Â
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John O’Connell rightly blasted the news in the Telegraph saying: “Scottish politicians are acting like children trying to hide a bad exam mark. Taxpayers elect and pay for MSPs to represent them in Parliament, yet these same elected officials are now throwing their toys out the pram. They should publish their attendance in full.”
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Tina is heading our way
In this week’s blog, our former chairman, Mike Denham, explains why Tina will soon be back with us thanks to the decisions taken at the budget, long term fiscal numbers that have never added up, and a sell-off in global bond markets.
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In this deep-dive blog, Mike uses his years of experience as an economist to take us step-by-step through why the present tax and spend approach and sky high public sector spending is quickly running out of road. Mike reminds us all: “We know Tina of old. She’s the one who drops by when profligate governments run out of fiscal road, and she’s the one who insists on politicians actually taking the tough decisions they generally only talk about. Her most spectacular visit to us was when the big spending Callaghan government was forced to implement crisis cuts in the 1970s (the sharpest year-on-year spending cuts in post-War history). But she’s visited again several times since then”. Have a read of Mike’s fascinating blog here.
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While the government has said a lot about reforming leaseholds, many Brits continue to struggle with high service charges and ground rents.Â
Of course, these ongoing costs don’t hit ministers who have expensed nearly £75,000 in leasehold costs, isolating themselves from the costs faced by hardworking taxpayers. |
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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