Windsor and Maidenhead cut Council Tax
Windsor and Maidenhead Council today announced a 2 per cent tax cut proposal for 2014-15. The cut will represent the fifth successive year of rate reductions, during which time the tax burden has...
View ArticleWe need to incentivise work
I run a small business in Wales. The company has grown from strength to strength in the past year, and since Christmas I have even been able to create a further five jobs. The positions created have...
View ArticleMore funding for GPs would ignore the need for fundamental reform
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that 800,000 patients were turning to A&E departments and walk-in centres because they are unable to get an appointment with a GP. Predictably, the chair of the...
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Is less government better government?
Last night I debated ‘Is a Smaller State a Better State‘ at the Bristol Festival of Ideas, with Labour peer Maurice Glasman and the Observer’s chief leader writer Yvonne Roberts, chaired by the...
View ArticleNick Clegg should remember whose money it is he’s talking about
Nick Clegg announced two new fiscal rules that Liberal Democrats would implement should they form a new coalition after the 2015 General Election. The Deputy Prime Minister told an audience at...
View ArticleA sign of progress, but much more to do
The Government’s Efficiency and Reform Group this week revealed progress in tackling wasteful spending, finding an additional £14.3bn in savings for the 2013/14 financial year. This builds on savings...
View ArticleManston Airport’s closure is sad, but we can’t subsidise it
Thanet District Council in Kent has come under pressure to issue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for local Manston Airport, which closed on 15th May, with the loss of 144 jobs. This marks a low point...
View ArticleRevealed: Local Authority liabilities hit £180bn
Shocking new research conducted by our team over recent months demonstrates that Britain’s local authorities have long-term liabilities of more than £180bn, saddling future generations with today’s...
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Bath toll road hero hit by Council charges
Mike Watts has hit national headlines for building the first toll road in England for 100 years – and he did it because Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council have been too slow to re-open...
View ArticlePlanning costs pile up for Mike Watts
Good news to see that B&NES council leader Paul Crossley is finally congratulating Mike Watts for building his Kelston Toll Road and helping thousands of local drivers overcome the disruption...
View Article“Unusual” decisions at Salford Council under the spotlight
This morning saw Salford Council’s Audit Committee meet to discuss the findings of an internal report into the exact circumstances of a £164,000 taxpayer-funded “bailout” paid to the local rugby league...
View Article“White Elephant” Scheme Comes Under Fire in Bristol
Bristol residents are angry at a £200m “white elephant” bus scheme that won narrow approval at a council meeting. Residents gathered from the north of the city to protest outside Bristol City Hall...
View ArticlePrivate rail proposal could save taxpayers £1 billion
The Government has recently set aside £500 million to build a rail link between Heathrow and The West and is likely to agree a similar figure for a line running south from Heathrow. But Windsor Link...
View ArticleCOMMENT: The Chancellor cannot cut the deficit without tackling state pensions
I wrote for City AM on the need for pensions reform if we’re going to tackle the deficit in the long term: IT HAS been six years since the financial crisis began, and the government’s books are still...
View ArticleAssessing MoD manpower
A report by the Public Accounts Committee released today has accused the Government of botching the restructuring of the Army. The “Army 2020” programme plans to integrate a regular Army of 82,500 with...
View ArticleSome good, and some bad, from UKIP’s Party Conference
UKIP today announced a number of new policies, the details of which can be found here. Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, responded by saying: “For every good policy announced...
View ArticleFix the public finances before promising to spend more taxpayers’ money
Norman Lamb MP – the Liberal Democrat Minister for Care and Older People – gave a very interesting speech at the party’s Conference in Glasgow earlier. Ostensibly a speech about the NHS, Lamb made a...
View ArticleCostly Consultants Causing Concern in Plymouth
Strange goings on in Plymouth with the City Council paying out £10,000 a day to costly temporary managers in order to pursue a project aimed at saving money. “It seems to me at this moment in time...
View ArticleHMRC’s latest blunder discussed on ITV News
It was revealed this week that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have – again – managed to get millions of tax bills wrong. It’s hardly a surprise that even the professionals can’t administer our...
View ArticleNew research reveals foreign aid failing to increase freedom in developing world
Extensive data study over the past ten years finds that foreign aid spending has no bearing on the freedom of ordinary people, the press or business in developing countries Ground-breaking report...
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