Weekly Bulletin

IPSA’s icy announcement delivers victory for taxpayers

Taxpayers were delivered an early Christmas present this Friday, with IPSA making the long-sought announcement of a freeze on MPs' pay - a huge win for both hard-hit households and common sense! With the private sector on its knees and salary caps being implemented across the public sector, the onus is now on parliamentarians to lead by example; demonstrating that the burden of this crisis will be shouldered equally.

Whilst this freeze is most certainly a welcome stocking-filler, the existing system means that pay-rises will inevitably end up back on the cards. Long-term reform to parliamentary pay is therefore required as the country gets back on its feet. As we have previously demanded - with the help of thousands of supporters and the mighty Guido Fawkes - IPSA ought to implement a system of performance-related pay for MPs, in which their salaries would be tied to the nation’s GDP per capita. This radical move would reward parliamentarians for prosperous policy-making, and most critically, allow them to lighten the load on taxpayers during times of hardship.

Now wouldn’t that be a Christmas miracle?

Bristol taxpayers - have your say on rate hikes

This year, even a covid crisis and a cold Christmas haven’t stopped us from taking our grassroots campaigns outside of the Westminster bubble. With Bristol City Council consulting on potential council tax rises next year, the TPA launched an online guide to help residents oppose any rise. Councils often use surveys loaded with jargon in the hope of justifying huge rises - but we won’t let them get away with it!

The council are proposing mega 5 per cent hikes. But our grassroots research found at least £5m of waste in recent years, including almost a million pounds on taxis and cars (including diesel, despite the council approving a ban on diesel cars entering parts of the city centre last year) and thousands on venue hire during the pandemic. And that doesn’t even include the millions of well-catalogued waste on the failed energy company and underused metrobus system!

We launched our campaign in the press and on local social media, alongside the online guide which takes people through the consultation, step by step. We’ve had a great response so far, with council tax payers jumping at the chance to have their say.

Bristol were banking on quietly moving ahead with these rises - they weren’t expecting TPA people power!

We’d really appreciate any help you can give us. If you live in the Bristol area, or know anyone who does, please share our online guide.

TaxPayers' Alliance in the news

Hundreds of thousands spent on removing pop-up cycle lanes

The war on waste hit the airwaves this week as ITV News Meridian uncovered how hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent installing and removing useless cycling lanes across the South. The report detailed how the lanes “caused congestion, and in places restricted the emergency services, which meant they lasted just weeks before the road was reverted back to its previous formation.”

Speaking to reporter James Dunham, our research director Duncan Simpson eloquently summed up the problem with the scheme: "it begs the questions why were they implemented in the first place, was it purely on the basis the money had to be spent or was it just a pet project?" Click here to watch Duncan's segment.

Scrap Northern Ireland’s ‘overly generous’ green energy subsidies

A Northern Ireland Audit Office report into the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) scheme detailed how owners of renewable technologies were being paid overly generous subsidies from household electricity bills, as reported in the Belfast Telegraph this week.

Responding to the story, TPA chief executive John O'Connell called on the Assembly to scrap the scheme: "If ministers are serious about easing the pressure on people's living standards, they need to take action and scrap lavish renewable energy subsidies." Hear, hear!

A new focus for furlough

Duncan also set his sights on the furlough scheme this week. A report by the Resolution Foundation has suggested an extension of the government furlough scheme to cover workers having to self-isolate.

Asked for a comment by CityAM, Duncan offered his support for this more refined approach, writing “it’s better for taxpayers to target furlough at those that definitely can’t work, rather than sticking to even more expensive blanket shutdown schemes.”

Blog of the week

Wales can lead the way on making council tax fairer

This week the TPA responded to an exciting new report from Wales assessing the feasibility of a local income tax as a new way to fund local authorities. A local income tax would be levied at the discretion of councils and fund services based on people's ability to pay as opposed to the value of one's property.

The report fears that if local councils can set their own rates, there will be disparity between tax rates causing fiscal flight to cheaper areas and a race to the bottom.

Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant, however welcomed a radical shake-up in council funding and argued: “by allowing authorities to set rates, councils will be cautious not to over charge residents, sticking to their budgets and culling waste to stay competitive with other authorities”. Read the full blog here.

War on waste

Coventry City Council has offered jewellery giant Ernest Jones an eye-watering £630k to vacate their branch in the city centre. The taxpayer-funded buyout is necessary for demolition works to begin; paving the way for a new development on the site.

The diamond-encrusted surrender premium offered secretly to the jeweller also includes writing off half of the retailers £60k rent arrears. Despite Ernest Jones laughing all the way to the bank, Cllr Jim O’Boyle said it was “the best we could have done”.

Furious taxpayers will demand to know why lucrative deals like this are allowed to be struck whilst the council intends to raise council tax by 5 per cent next year.

Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager

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