Saturday, 11 October 2008


TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 10th October 2008

Standing up for taxpayers in the financial crisis

With the Government offering £50 billion of taxpayers' money to shore up the banks this week, and the shocking news that up to £1 billion of taxpayers' money may have been lost by councils who unwisely invested in Icelandic banks, the TPA has been extremely busy giving taxpayers a voice in these crucial debates. With politicians scrambling for solutions and bankers demanding a bail out, there was a severe danger that taxpayers could be drowned out in all the chaos. With a key briefing paper on the crisis and a massive media presence, though, we have made your voice heard.
 
On Wednesday, within hours of the Government unveiling their bail out plans we published a concise briefing note, summarising the risks to taxpayers and the urgent need for other moves from the Government to limit the amount of taxpayers' money that banks would need. You can read our briefing here. As well as demanding cast-iron guarantees that our money will not be spent on Christmas bonuses in the City, we reminded the Government that taxpayers' money is not the only tool at their disposal, and recommended several key moves which could shore up banks without costing taxpayers:
 
- A drastic cut to interest rates
- A suspension of mark to market accounting regulations
- A radical improvement of the depositor guarantee scheme
 
The briefing made a big impact in the media, and gave us the opportunity to remind people that this money will come from taxpayers' pockets:
 
We also appeared on a large number of broadcast media, including Sky News; ITN; Channel 4 News; Channel 5 News; the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show; IRN; TF1; CTV; BBC Radio Newcastle and Metro Radio.  
 
Taxpayers' money up in smoke in Iceland
 
Yesterday, the news broke that councils had lost hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money in the collapse of Icelandic banks. Again, the TPA was at the front of the charge holding councils to account for stashing so much money in the first place, and then losing it in risky investments. Bit by bit, it has emerged that councils should have been alive to the risks of the Icelandic banking system - particularly considering the amount they spend on financial advice and consultants. It's notable that some councils, such as Brighton, took heed of the warning and withdrew from Iceland months ago, but many others ignored it and lost taxpayers' money.
 
It's important that we hold them to account for their failure - and urge them to make savings in their spending rather than use this as an excuse to push up council tax. You can find the contact details of the leaders of all the councils who had invested taxpayers' money in Icelandic banks, as well as information about how they could cut their wasteful spending, here.
 
We are keeping up the media pressure to hold the people responsible for this disastrous mistake to account:
 
Daily Telegraph, Councils were warned of cash risks
The Independent, Brown threatens Iceland over crisis 
BBC News Online, Councils' £139m in troubled banks 
CityWire, Icelandic banks? What were local councils thinking? 
North Wales Weekly News, Talks over Icelandic banks
Lakeland Echo, Council has money in Icelandic banks 
ITN.co.uk, Councils slammed in Iceland cash crisis
The London Paper, London councils' £200 million black hole
Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, Town hall cash fears 
Northern Echo, Councils under fire over Icelandic investments 
Buckinghamshire Advertiser, Talks over Icelandic bank deposits 
Walsall Observer, Talks over Icelandic bank deposits 
Liverpool Echo, Councils slammed over deposits risk
Garstang Courier, Spending watchdog hits out at local authorities
Blackpool Citizen, £24m of Lancashire taxpayers' cash in crisis-hit Icelandic bank
Denbighshire Visitor, Councils slammed over deposits risk
Kent Messenger, Councils' investment in Icelandic banks is 'a disgrace'
Daily Post, Welsh councils have money in Iceland banks
Belfast Telegraph, Storm as council funds risked in Iceland banks
Institute of Leadership and Management, LGA: Government must cover our assets
Western Mail, Councils fight for millions frozen in Iceland crash
 
As with the initial news of the bank bail-out, we appeared across the broadcast media on the issue, including GMTV; Channel 5 News; BBC News Channel; IRN; Channel 4 News; BBC Radio Five Live; Press TV and dozens of local and regional radio and television stations.
 
How the TPA saved you £20,000
 
It may seem a small victory given the billions of pounds being lost this week, but there was a ray of sunshine yesterday that shows the power of a targeted campaign in the media. We successfully used media pressure to stop Suffolk County Council's £220,000 a year Chief Executive adding yet more members of staff to her personal office team - saving £20,000 a year in one fell swoop. It just goes to show that if you turn the spotlight on wasteful spending, it can be stopped! Read the whole story here.
 
Stop London councils shirking savings
 
George Osborne had barely sat down after committing the Tories to freezing council tax for two years when 16 London councils rushed out to denounce the proposed freeze. They claim they can't and won't rein in their spending, despite the huge amounts of unnecessary spending in their budgets. So it’s up to us to fight for a freeze and push for a cut in our sky-high council tax where we can. Please email the offending council leaders and write to their local papers opposing their narrow-mindedness - you can find their email addresses, contacts for the local papers and information about each council's excessive spending here.  
 
"The Number One Tax Detective Agency"
 
The Spectator became the latest publication to write an article about the TPA this week, and we'd recommend you have a look at it here. A few quotes spring to mind, not least "The TaxPayers’ Alliance publicity machine would have had Goebbels stunned", but it's their conclusion that is really pleasing: "The achievement of the Taxpayers’ Alliance is to make one word synonymous with tax: waste."

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Posted by Britannia Radio at 11:26