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The TaxPayersâ Alliance was taking on all comers this week, with a whole page broadside on the civil service blob in the Daily Mail.Â
In a blistering comment piece, research director Duncan Simpson lambasted the Whitehall groupthink that has been holding Britain back. Duncan called out the old image of the civil service as a Rolls Royce - saying it has instead become self-interested, insular, snobbish and under-skilled, with its mandarins addicted to working from home. He writes:Â
âIn almost every public institution, from the mightiest government department to the smallest quango, you will see the stultifying effects of groupthink.Â
âWhitehall fosters a kind of spineless officialdom that locks civil servants â however clever, honest, high-minded and dutiful they might be â into a system that positively resists change.âÂ
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And Duncan was clear about what that change should be. He reiterated our calls for a points-based system of public appointments, which he explains:Â
âWould see potential Whitehall recruits, at all levels, prioritised when they could bring new thinking, experience from the private sector or when they have science and technology backgrounds.Â
âThis would do much to shake up the groupthink that characterises so many of our public employees. The system needs to bring in, cultivate and, crucially, reward such pioneering outsiders â not stop them from even getting their foot through the front door.âÂ
The truth is that Whitehall has become too comfortable in itâs own self-reinforcing and unmanageable bubble. As Duncan recounts:Â
âTalk to any minister and they will regale you with stories about how civil servants simply refuse to follow up on instructions â and there is nothing the minister can do about it.â
But it may be even worse. As we reveal in todayâs Mail on Sunday, it seems officials have been actively helping campaigners seeking to overturn government policy!Â
Our freedom of information requests have revealed that radical groups like Migrants Organise, who work to promote 'abolishing borders', have been receiving funding from government departments. We found that grants have been given by the Home Office, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Greater London Authority, totalling almost ÂŁ90,000 since 2018.Â
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Our chief executive John OâConnell was absolutely scathing, telling journalists:Â
âTaxpayers should not be subsidising campaigners to preach and protest. Some officials seem determined to prop up pressure groups with taxpayersâ cash, despite them campaigning on extremely divisive issues and even blockading public buildings.â
Ministers must get a grip, face down Whitehall groupthink and stop paying out to these trendy pressure groups.Â
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Calling out the cap
Concerns rose again this week after another round of energy companies have collapsed amid the global gas supply crunch.
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Discussing the causes behind the current problems, Duncan told GB Newsâ Tom Harwood "the longer-term effects of the introduction of [the energy price cap] are now being unfortunately felt by millions of customers across the UK."
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Cowboy car parking operators
The Daily Mail revealed that some of Britainâs largest car parks have advised the Government to increase parking fines to ÂŁ120. To really rub salt into the wounds of motorists everywhere, they claimed these measures would âprotect the NHSâ and help reduce CO2 emissions.
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Speaking to TalkRadio Political Editor Peter Cardwell, our digital campaign manager Joe Ventre rightly warned "there is this worrying trend now where motorists are simply seen as cash cows."
The TaxPayersâ Alliance will continue to stand up for motorists.
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Toriesâ tall-tales of tax-cuts
After a disappointing budget and no substantial tax cuts to date, hard-pressed families and businesses are crying out for a break from the Conservatives. But clearly, the message isnât getting through. The Spectator uncovered an email from Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) claiming the party is supposedly 'cutting taxes for hardworking people'. Rubbish!
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Our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall hit back: âCCHQ must be living in a different world if that's what they call tax cuts. By the time of the next election, the sustained tax burden is set to be the highest it's been since the country was recovering from the Second World War.â
This is why the TaxPayersâ Alliance wonât let these political parties off the hook, and will continue fighting for taxpayers.
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Officers on overtime
In the Sunday Express, we revealed the extortionate cost of overtime in the police. We found that forces have paid out ÂŁ735 million of taxpayersâ cash in overtime payments in just two years.
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Our chief executive John OâConnell made it clear that âpaying staff to work overtime must be a last resort, not only because these payments cost taxpayers a fortune, but also so that authorities can plan ahead to make the best use of their resources.â
Police chiefs cannot afford to depend on these expensive emergency measures and need to look for savings!
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Time to simplify shopping?
With shoppers flocking to online stores to make their Black Friday purchases, Joe Ventre looked at one proposal for levelling the playing field and boosting the high street.Â
Joe looks at an idea from Kevin Hollinrake MP to abolish business rates and online sales taxes altogether, while reforming and raising VAT. As Joe writes:Â
âDespite some welcome cuts to business rates in the Autumn Budget and the pause during the covid pandemic, they remain a crushing burden on the high street. The business rates multiplier has increased by a staggering 10 per cent over the last ten years - even after a revaluation in 2017, which saw a rate reduction. The short term boost we could give bricks and mortar firms by abolishing them completely would be tremendous.â
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But Joe is much less convinced by some of the tax raising parts of the proposal, saying:Â
âInstead of seeking ways to make the measures revenue neutral, why not take the chance to cut the UKâs 73 year high tax burden and abolish business rates entirely with no shift in VAT.â Iâm sure many struggling high street shops would agree!
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What do you think about Kevin Hollinrakeâs proposals? Let me know.
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City of Edinburgh Council has recently come under fire after paying out over ÂŁ3 million to consultants for advice about a tram project.
Itâs not the first time the council has relied on costly consultants either, with EdinburghLive reporting that the authority spent nearly ÂŁ2.5 million on recommendations for various other transport projects.
Of course consultants can add value to projects, but they shouldnât be relied on when more cost-effective solutions are available. Edinburgh council must ensure itâs using every penny wisely and keeping costs down for council tax payers!
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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