Today marks the start of ThinkTent - a joint venture between the Institute of Economic Affairs and the TaxPayers’ Alliance. It has become a staple of the fringe scene at Conservative Party Conference. We regularly had to turn people away last year due to events being oversubscribed.
However, this year the virtual world makes it possible for anyone and everyone to join in the discussion! We will be hosting politicians, journalists, academics, and business leaders to discuss the key issues facing the country.
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You will have the opportunity to put your questions to our panellists. All the events will be live streamed on the ThinkTent YouTube channel. The first event starts at 12.30 today, I do hope you can join us!
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Naturally, our campaign to abolish the BBC licence fee will be part of ThinkTent. The public are losing faith in our state broadcasters. Now, with streaming services booming and multiple BBC bungles, public broadcasters are fighting for their lives. Can and should the BBC and Channel 4 survive in 21st century Britain, and what changes do they need to make?
Join our expert panel for an in-depth analysis of this hot topic.Click here to watch the full event from 9am on Tuesday 6th October.
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Speakers:
- Martin Durkin (Chair) - CEO of Wag Entertainment
- Prof. Philip Booth - Senior Academic Fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs
- Andrea Jenkyns MP - Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood
- Duncan Simpson - Research Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance
- Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP - Minister of State for Media and Data in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Click here for more details about the speakers. This is a great opportunity to engage with the debate and put your questions to the panel.
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While you're watching proceedings don't forget to answer our short survey on the BBC. We need your help to 'Axe the Tax' - let us know exactly what you think of the Beeb. You'll be entered into a draw to win a year's premium Netflix subscription.
Don't delay, the survey closes on Thursday October 22nd at 5pm.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Bercow's golden goodbye
It's fair to say former Commons Speaker, John Bercow, enjoyed numerous taxpayer-funded perks during his time in the role. Despite this, the Daily Mail reported that he also pocketed £19,000 in severance when he stepped down last year.
Mr Bercow's golden goodbye was even bigger than that of former prime minister Theresa May. Adding further insult to injury he also benefits from a pension pot valued at one million pounds .
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Our chief executive John O'Connell held nothing back in his criticism of the pay out, telling MailOnline political editor James Tapfield, "Taxpayers will be ticked off at being bounced into a bumper payout for Bercow. This is yet another cost for a Speaker whose time culminated in wasteful expenditure and constant controversy."
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Boris determined to politically rebalance quangos
Quangos are very much a thorn in the side of taxpayers and we've railed against them since our inception. Citing TPA research The Sunday Telegraph reported that the PM wants to rebalance Britain’s quangos "after it emerged Labour supporters make up almost half of all politically-affiliated leaders of the organisations."
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Back in January we revealed that public appointees continue to be remarkably unrepresentative, with Labour and other left-of-centre parties’ supporters dwarfing the number of Conservatives, and southerners significantly outnumbering northerners.
Our research is having significant impact at the highest levels of government. Unaccountable quangos continue to splurge taxpayers cash whilst doing little to represent their interests. We are ramping up the pressure on Boris to back up his words with actions.
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Money for nothing
The Sun recently revealed that workers for the government's test and trace system had received big bonuses despite many dubbing the scheme as disastrous. One employee said the payments were a “complete joke... I’m really doing nothing all day. I’m getting paid and now given a bonus for doing nothing."
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We all want to beat covid but this clearly isn't the best use of public funds as I told Sun journalist Isaac Crowson, "With the tax burden at a 50-year high and the public finances in turmoil, the government can’t afford to waste money. Bonuses should only be awarded to those who deserve them. Taxpayers don’t want to see their hard-earned cash rewarding poor performance.”
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A four day working week? Leave it to the boss
Last year, the think tank Autonomy suggested that a 32 hour working week could actually improve productivity by giving workforces extra time for their personal wellbeing at home without the need to reduce wages. Alarmingly, it is encouraging the government to use the public sector as a guinea-pig for a four day working week, with no loss of pay - which would cost the taxpayer a cool £9 billion.
According to the report, civil servants are overworked and burnt out, making them ‘suitable’ for a reduction in the working week. Although we sympathise with anyone struggling with a stressful work life, readers familiar with our research will note that public sector employees already have it easier than most.
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As grassroots assistant Kieran Neild argues it’s unacceptable in the current climate to let the public sector sit back and relax whilst the rest of the country works five days a week. The cost of such a scheme is hard to swallow when the nation is in such economic turmoil. If anything, this is the time when public servants should be pulling out all the stops to help the nation recover from the crisis.
While interesting in theory, this is not the time for a four day week in the public sector. We need fiscal prudence to steer us out of this economic mess, not more goodies for those already on the government gravy-train. Click here to read the full story.
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Secret China meetings funded by taxpayers
Belfast City Council has come under mounting pressure to explain why it spent £40,000 over the past four years on trips to communist China. The Northern Ireland authority has refused to disclose why officials travelled to the country at the expense of over-burdened ratepayers.
Taxpayer-funded jollies to foreign countries is unfortunately an all too common and costly occurrence. But what makes this story more scandalous is the council's failure to explain why these meetings occurred in the first place.
In the age of inexpensive video conferencing councils should think twice before spending thousands on trips - especially when many of their residents are struggling to make ends meet. The TaxPayers' Alliance will continue to put the pressure on council bosses and subject them to proper scrutiny.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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