The latest leg of the Town Hall Rich List Roadshow saw the TaxPayers' Alliance team in the West Midlands. More specifically we paid a visit to Sandwell Borough Council.
Pitching our stall right in front of their headquarters we invited passers-by to take part in a game of "Play Your Council Cards Right!".
|
|
|
With local residents facing Band D bills of £1,831 after an increase of 5.2 per cent this year, many were apoplectic that the remuneration for the executive directors of neighbourhoods or resources topped £301,623 and £269,235 respectively.
|
|
Even Environmental Protection Officers employed by the council joined in on the action. They were there to monitor a mass protest by local taxi drivers at the excessive cost of private hire licenses. I think it's fair to say that Sandwell residents are less than happy with their council.
We were also treated to a visit from the director of public health at Sandwell council. Despite our best efforts, she was not impressed with our campaign but I'm sure taxpayer-funded remuneration of over £127,000 in 2020-21 didn't dampen her spirits too much!
|
|
Taxpayers are sick and tired of paying through the nose for senior council bosses and not getting value for money. As vox pops with residents from our recent visit to Cardiff make abundantly clear.
The THRL Roadshow rolls on with visits to Glasgow and Croydon lined up - we'll continue to hold councils to account. If you'd like to come and join us please get in touch!
|
|
|
TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
|
|
|
TPA calls out doctors' demands for 30 per cent pay rise
Once again we've been leading the charge against excessive public sector pay demands. In the wake of last week's rail union strikes, the British Medical Association called for a 30 per cent pay rise over the next five years. And they're threatening industrial action if their demands aren't met!
It wasn't long before the TPA was heard loud and clear across the airwaves to challenge this extraordinary ultimatum by the BMA union.
|
|
Appearing on GBNews, our investigations campaign manager Elliot Keck told viewers pressures for such a large pay rise are "not a serious proposal" given that nobody in the public or private sector is seeing increases anywhere near 30 per cent.
He also adeptly pointed out that threats of strikes fly in face of millions of taxpayers struggling to get a GP appointment at the moment.
|
|
Earlier in the day our digital campaign manager spoke to LBC's Nick Ferrari and branded calls for such a huge pay boost as "laughable". Adding that there may be room for improvements over wages but a sensible discussion needs to be had.
At a time when the tax burden and inflation are at 70 and 40-year highs respectively, the TaxPayers' Alliance is leading the calls to reign in the public sector and give Brits some much need financial wiggle room.
|
|
Public sector sluggishness
Ofgem, the government's energy regulator, has come under fire after allowing the majority of its staff to work from home. Like we've seen at the DVLA, concerns have rightly been raised that it is leading to a decrease in productivity.
|
|
|
Giving his comments to the Daily Telegraph, Joe Ventre urged ministers to act, "With work from home orders now a thing of the past, there are bound to be concerns that widespread remote working is contributing to public sector sluggishness. Ministers must ensure that quangocrats are delivering on their duties and that any unnecessary office space is sold to make room for savings."
|
|
Britain's bloated bureaucracy
Research undertaken by the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals that quangos have splurged more than £31 million of public funds on social media advertising since 2019. Some of the worst offenders included NHS England (£4.6 million), the NHS Blood and Transplant Service (£3.2 million) plus Visit Scotland (£2.6 million).
|
|
Published in the Express Elliot Keck told readers, "Taxpayers will wonder why quangos are spending vast sums on social media platforms they've never heard of. Far too many arms-length bodies are riddled with horrendously wasteful excesses and a serious lack of accountability."
We're telling ministers to trim back the endlessly increasing size of government, starting by streamlining the quango state. It's time for the government to restart the bonfire!
|
|
Postmodern piffle
The Sun reports that a student "is getting £60,000 of taxpayers’ cash - to research racist puppets for three years." The project is described as analysing "race puppetry and performance in the 21st century" and entitled "Grotesque acts of ventriloquism". Unsurprisingly it's a quango, the Arts and Humanities Research Council that allocated the funding.
|
|
|
Weighing in on this quite frankly ridiculous use of money, our political director James Roberts blasted the spending, “Taxpayers are fed up with their money being wasted on woke research. Cash should be focused on urgent priorities like tax cuts or public services, not this postmodern piffle.” Hear! Hear!
|
|
The public sector pay premium
Taxpayers are feeling the pressure and most people are being forced to make changes to their lifestyles. But while no one is immune, some are more protected than others.
As Elliot Keck writes this week, Brits are staring down the barrel of a summer of strikes in the public sector, threatening enormous disruption. Yet it is those public sector workers who are the most shielded from economic pain.
|
|
Across the public sector we’re seeing unrealistic demands spurred on by militant unions. The government is by no means blameless either. By spending money as if inflation doesn’t exist, and hiking taxes as if taxpayers’ pockets are bottomless, they have contributed to this cost of living crisis.
The way to solve it? Implementing tax cuts and letting Brits keep more of their hard-earned cash. Far better to do that, than to give in to the demands of selfish unions and see taxpayers lumbered with the bill. Click here to read more.
|
|
Coventry council wastes money again!
Unfortunately, there's yet more wasteful spending from Coventry council after the local paper revealed the authority spent £17,000 on its Annual Meeting and Mayor-making ceremony. £8,000 alone was spent on food and drink. Yet again it shows that the council has not got its priorities straight and they even admitted that this year's event was "a little more unusual than most others".
Asked for comment by the Coventry Telegraph I took a stand for hard-working local residents, "Taxpayers are fed up with footing the bill for lavish local authority events. After facing yet another rate rise this year, local households want to see their hard-earned money spent on frontline services, not mayoral pomp. Coventry council must crack down on waste like this to keep costs down for residents."
|
|
Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
|
|
|
|
|
