TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 13 February 2009
They are getting rattled
This week's bulletin is a special grassroots and activist edition, packed with news about our most recent campaign activities and our upcoming campaign days, protests and local campaigns around the country. But first, we wanted to highlight an encouraging sign that our campaign for lower taxes and better government is really hitting home. Polly Toynbee (right), doyenne of the high taxing champagne socialists, devoted her whole column in the Guardian on Tuesday to an attack on the TPA - calling us "rottweilers" and accusing us of feeding "an insidious poison into the nation's veins". This is a great sign that people like Polly, who are happy with taxing people until the pips squeak and are rich enough not to care about the way our public services are letting ordinary people down, are getting really worried that we are winning this fight. Though she must have had to grit her teeth, even she was forced to admit in her article that the TPA is "phenomenally successful" - and indeed in January we broke our record for media coverage yet again, with over 530 appearances in the media arguing for lower taxes. Needless to say, as soon as Polly's article was published, we responded swiftly to her on our blog: you can read why she's not only rattled but wrong, here. This kind of reaction shows that we are succeeding, and should spur us on to work even harder. As Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
From Cambridge to Newcastle and NottinghamIt's been a busy week on the campaign trail. Today, Tim Aker is speaking at Nottingham University about the TPA's EU campaign, while Mark Wallace has spoken at Cambridge University Conservative Association, Northumbria University, Central Newcastle High School, the Royal Grammar School Newcastle and North Tyneside Conservative Association. Thanks also to the merry band of TPA supporters who braved the snowstorms to come out petitioning in Newcastle city centre yesterday (pictured right), and who signed up hundreds of new supporters. It was great to get such a good reaction from the public, and wherever we go a growing number of people have heard of us and are supportive of the campaign. Don't forget, if you would like to hold a petition day or invite a TPA speaker to an event in your area, email us at tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com.
Council Tax protest in Morden
TPA activist Layla Wells is organising a protest outside Merton Civic Centre in Morden, South London this coming Wednesday February 18th. We’ll be joining her to protest any increases in council tax whilst handing out leaflets and collecting petitions for lower tax. We’ll be meeting at 9am outside Merton Town Hall, a map of which you can find here. The nearest tube is Morden underground station. We’ll be there until 1pm, so feel free to join us at any point during the morning and early afternoon. Layla’s gone to a great effort to organise this protest, so it would be great if you could join us. Please RSVP to our grassroots coordinator, Tim Aker, on tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com or by phone on 07866 165 760.
Protest in Chelsea
This coming Thursday February 19th we’ll be teaming up with the West London Residents Association to protest against the extremely expensive and controversial “shared space” scheme. The redevelopment outside Sloane Square station and the proposed changes to Exhibition Road will cost Kensington and Chelsea taxpayers millions of pounds. The particular concern about the plan is that given how busy these roads are, the so-called "shared surface" aspect of the scheme poses risks to partially sighted and blind pedestrians who are made to "share space" with vehicles. So, come join us on the 19th. We’ll be meeting at 10am outside Sloane Square underground station (on the District and Circle lines) and the protest and rally starting at 10.20am. If you will be joining us please email our grassroots coordinator, Tim Aker, on tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com or by phone on 07866 165 760.
Stop Councillor Allowance hikes in North Yorkshire
TPA supporter Cllr Richard Hall has informed us that North Yorkshire County Council will be voting on their councillor allowances next week. He is opposed to the increases and has asked that TPA supporters attend the meeting to show support. As well as being an increased cost to the taxpayer, Councillor Hall and the TPA have concerns that some local parties are driving up allowances in order to get taxpayers' money to fund their political campaigns. We will have an article in the Yorkshire Post this coming week on the issue, so keep an eye out for it.
In a recession, where our fellow countrymen are losing their jobs and taking pay cuts, politicians should share the pain of the economic conditions. They should vote against this pay rise and we urge you, if you’re in North Yorkshire, to go and support Richard. The Council meeting will be held next Wednesday, 18th February at 10.30am at North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 8AD. You can find a map to the County Hall here. If you are attending can you contact Cllr Hall on 01423 867 210 or by email on cllr.r.hall@northyorks.gov.uk
A new tax on motorbikes...
We are pleased to announce we are formally teaming up with No to the Bike Parking Tax, an energetic grassroots campaign against Westminster City Council's new daily charge on motorcycles and scooters which park in the Borough. The TPA supports the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of lower taxes, and adding the Alliance's weight to the campaign against this unfair charge is a great way to fight against the rising tide of stealth taxes that so many of us now face. In the past, they got away with introducing new charges and taxes on individual groups, sports, hobbies and occupations one by one - well no longer. We would urge every TPA supporter to get behind this campaign by signing up through the campaign's website or by joining the demonstration by hundreds of bikers and other protestors on foot outside Westminster City Hall, Victoria Street at 5:45pm onwards on Tuesday, 17th February.
Writing to the Leadership of Westminster City Council to object to the proposals, Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TPA, said:
"It is wrong - particularly in a recession - to levy ever greater charges and taxes on people. Those who need their bikes or scooters to travel to work in Westminster should not be punished for doing so. This new charge will make it harder for many to pay their bills, add to the costs of business in the area and undermine the hard work being done by local shops to stay afloat. The council has a responsibility to save money and to reduce costs in such tough economic times, not invent extra bils for people to pay."
...and a tax on the right to park at work
Having lost overwhelmingly in the Mancheser Congestion Charge referendum, the Government is already promoting another new tax on people who commute to work by car. Nottingham City Council have become the first local authority to announce a new system of workplace parking taxes, which will force companies to pay up to £350 per parking space for the privilege of allowing their staff to park near work. Whether the charges are paid by businesses or passed on directy to their staff, this is an appalling new stealth tax being proposed at a time when everyone is struggling to stay afloat.
The British Chambers of Commerce have launched an online petition, which you can sign here. If this plan goes ahead nationally it will hit all of us - wages will suffer, people will lose their jobs, prices will rise and businesses will have another tax to contend with.
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