On Tuesday we published landmark national polling data that shows working class voters back bold tax cuts, both on household income and for British businesses. The Sun newspaper, feared by all politicians the most, ran an exclusive op-ed by our chief executive John O'Connell. In this holy grail of political media he revealed to 1.5 million readers that around 6 in 10 voters on lower incomes strongly favour cutting the basic rate of income tax down to 15p in the pound. John also penned an article for the ConservativeHome website and highlighted that many voters "want to see action on areas where politicians have not dared to tread, like the BBC licence fee and council tax." Regular readers will know the huge efforts the TaxPayers' Alliance has put in to trying to keep council tax low and this polling confirms that we are right to be fighting this battle. 83 percent of working class voters polled are fed up of oppressively high bills and want to see a cap imposed.
In his analysis, political blogger Guido Fawkes pointed out that hard-working people "resent over-generous welfare benefits more than those on higher incomes". 50 per cent of those polled believed there should be a National Insurance rebate every five years for people who haven't claimed Jobseekers' Allowance. This shows we have been right all along to condemn waste in benefit spending. The good press continued as Daily Telegraph columnist Sherelle Jacobs cited our polling in an article examining how the Conservative party shouldn't hang its election strategy on the Workington man caricature. It is pleasing to see the media are finally acknowledging that voters want tax cuts, despite what politicians may say. As general election campaigning ramps up, politicians should keep things simple and offer to leave more money in the pockets of those who earned it, and trust them to make better lives for themselves, their families and communities. Let me know your thoughts on the polling.
Burdens on business tour To promote The Bumper Book of Burdens on Business my colleague Kieran Neild and I will be attending further business exhibitions across the country. Tickets are free and you can find more details below. Come along and say hello to us in Newcastle next week!
North East
Expo South West Business Expo
Tax cuts on talkRadio Following our landmark polling our chief executive John O'Connell took to the airwaves to discuss the findings with talkRadio's Julia Hartley-Brewer. John acknowledged that many people want more money spent on the police and health but they also want to keep more of their own money. Additionally they place a large emphasis on aspiration and creating jobs by reducing taxes on corporations. Click here to listen to a clip.
Hospital car parking charges On Monday morning I spoke to radio presenter Elliott Webb of BBC Hereford and Worcester about hospital car parking charges. The BBC discovered that a local NHS trust charged patients £3.75 per hour to park cars at hospitals. I argued that these charges are effectively a tax on the sick and hit patients when they are most vulnerable; it's a form of double taxation as taxpayers have already paid for the maintenance of hospitals and their car parks. Click here to listen to a clip.
Should all hospital car parking be free as is the case in Wales? Public funding for air ambulances? It is not widely known that air ambulances are in fact charities and almost entirely funded by private donations. The government recently awarded £10 million to 9 of these charities to invest in new equipment and upgrade facilities. A petition has called for air ambulances to be funded solely by government (taxpayers' money). As our research director Duncan Simpson told Sadie Nine of BBC Radio Essex this may not be the best course of action. Indeed many of the charities are quite happy with the current arrangement and resist public funding. Click here to listen to a clip.
What do you think is the best way to fund air ambulances?
Socialism, future or failure? At the recent Conservative Party Conference the TPA hosted a debate about socialism which included panellists such as Dan Hannan MEP, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Guardian columnist Dawn Foster and our very own researcher Scott Simmonds.
Writing for our blog this week, Scott analyses the key talking points from the debate and tries to explain why there is a resurgence in socialism's popularity. He writes: "Perhaps one thing that pro-freedom advocates could learn from this debate is that the housing crisis remains an enduring example of overregulation, while at the same time becoming a major reason why so many young people are turning to socialism." Watch the debate in full here.
Victory for taxpayers! NHS boss ordered to repay his £200k redundancy pay Last week we learned that NHS boss Ian Stidston pocketed £200,000 as part of a golden handshake from Southend Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). He caused outrage in the national press when he was subsequently employed by nearby Thurrock CCG which is set to merge with his former employer. In a dramatic turn of events, Ian Stidston has been ordered to give back his generous remuneration after government intervention. Local reporter Sean Davies writes that the refunded salary will be spent on patient care. Commenting on the news I said, "I wholeheartedly welcome the news that this taxpayer-funded golden handshake has been reclaimed. Every penny of our taxes should be spent to ensure the best possible health services, not on bumper payouts for NHS bureaucrats. The commissioning group must get its priorities straight." It’s good to see that common sense has finally prevailed! If you know of any examples of victories
against wasteful spending do let me
know.
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Left to right: Dawn Foster, Dan
Hannan MEP, Julia Hartley-Brewer