Councillors' allowances in Nottinghamshire Last week we visited Ashfield and Mansfield to expose the high cost of councillors' allowances in both districts. Our campaigning was so successful that our research was featured in the local newspaper as well as receiving the support of local MP, Ben Bradley:
Commenting on our campaign for the Mansfield and Ashfield Chat I said, "These councils' costs are far higher than many other councils in Nottinghamshire and we want to know why that is. Despite having a similar population, it seems ridiculous that their costs are soaring, while others are noticeably lower." Andy Abrahams, the mayor of Mansfield defended the council's high costs and said measures have been put in place to ensure money is spent "in the best interest of the district". Clearly there is still more work for the mayor to do. Burdens on business tour - Basildon On Thursday my colleague Kieran Neild and I visited the Basildon Business Expo to promote the work of the TaxPayers' Alliance. Specifically we were there to highlight The Bumper Book of Burdens on Business which exposes just a handful of taxes and regulations that hinder British entrepreneurs.
I am pleased to say the response we received from business owners and their employees was overwhelmingly supportive. Many had stories to share on everything from the incompetence of HMRC to the struggles they have deciphering the vastly complex tax code. In November we will be visiting Newcastle and Exeter as part of the tour: North East Expo South West Business Expo
From Basildon I made the long journey north to speak to students at Durham University about our Stand Against Socialism campaign. At the Durham Union Society I was joined by writer Dr Ben Irvine and lecturer Dr Nikos Sotirakopoulos to discuss why socialism is becoming popular again and what we as free market advocates can do in response.
I am pleased to report that the audience was full of well informed, freedom loving free-marketeers! Many thanks to all the students who braved the teeming rain to take part in a most illuminating discussion and to Jack Tovey for organising the event.
Taxpayers' pay £65m for empty building This week, the Scottish Daily Mail reported that "Taxpayers have shelled out millions of pounds for a maternity unit built under a private finance initiative – even though it has been shut for the past 18 months." The building opened in 2002 but was re-purposed to provide ophthalmology services in 2017 and has been empty ever since. Our chief executive John O'Connell expressed his dismay at the news, "It beggars belief that politicians signed up for this deal only to see hospital services shifted elsewhere. Paying for buildings to lie empty defeats the point."
Let me know your thoughts on PFI contracts. Ofcom's annual report on the BBC A report published by communications regulator Ofcom called on the BBC to do "much more" to attract younger audiences to its services. Ofcom says that the BBC is losing younger audiences and must do more to compete with social media. TalkRadio presenter Dan Wootton invited our research director Duncan Simpson onto his drivetime radio show to discuss if the BBC is still fit for purpose. Duncan argued that the licence fee model is not sustainable and should be replaced with a subscription based charge that people are free to opt out of. Furthermore, increased competition in the streaming market has seen the BBC lagging far behind competitors such as Netflix and Amazon. Click here to listen to a clip from the interview.
Do you think the BBC is fit for purpose?
Freedom to the students With students recently starting their university terms, TPA volunteer Stephanie Rudenko examines how students have benefited from free market goods and services in recent years. For example the rise in mobile applications has been a huge boon to students as Stephanie writes: "With the creation of these apps, more freedom of choice has been given to students. Compared to the days of badly cooked student meals and expensive minicab, Uber, Deliveroo and apps like them have been almost perfectly designed to provide students freedom from traditional restraints and allows them to make decisions that benefit them, their quality of life and their studies."
As we point out in our Freedom Factbook, free markets have not just made everyone more prosperous but they have created labour saving devices that free up more leisure time. This is why it is vital that we stand up for free market capitalism and all the benefits it brings. Let me know if you'd like to write a guest blog.
Council officials took out secret loan Last week we learned that officials at Southend Council took out a loan of £10 million without informing the then council leader. Local newspaper The Echo reports: "Conservative Councillor Tony Cox’s time as leader of the council came to an end in June due to a no-confidence vote but it has been revealed that just days before that crucial vote a council officer borrowed £10 million for the council’s finances without informing elected members. Mr Cox only found out when a quarterly financial report was published last week, and the council claimed the purpose of the borrowing was to "improve cashflow". Commenting on the news I expressed my concern about the loan, "The worrying lack of oversight by council officials and executives is alarming to put it mildly. Many local authorities across the country borrow money but usually always for good reason and with a particular project in mind. The council must explain to local taxpayers why it has borrowed such a large sum." Do you think the council's reason for the loan is satisfactory?
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