The TaxPayers' Alliance appears before the Committee on Standards in Public Life inquiry into MPs' ExpensesTPA Chief Executive Matthew Elliott and Campaign Director Mark Wallace appeared before the key committee investigating how MPs' expenses can be reformed. They argued for complete transparency so that taxpayers can know how their money is being spent and other reforms including a ban on MPs employing family members and housing MPs in the Olympic Village in Stratford. To read the TPA's written submission to the committee, go here. To read the TPA research note explaining how MPs could be housed in the Olympic Village, go here.
BBC ExpensesThe BBC have released details of the expenses claims of their directors. You can read the details of what has been claimed here.
The TPA have been commenting on the story across the media, attacking abuses of licence fee payers' money and arguing that the BBC needs to do more to open up its expenses to scrutiny. TPA spokespeople have appeared on BBC Newsnight, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Ulster and TalkSport. You can see Matthew Sinclair, TPA Research Director, talking about the scandal on Newsnight here.
EU libraries cost £570 per book loan
This week the TaxPayers' Alliance released new research on the cost of the EU's libraries. With ordinary families tightening their belts in the recession, the EU institutions need to play their part and cut unnecessary costs. The European Commission’s libraries have frequently been criticised as a waste of resources. This paper shows that the extravagance of these underused assets stretches far further than was previously thought. This is particularly inappropriate when many public libraries in the UK are under threat of closure. You can read the full report here.The report was an exclusive for the Metro, and covered on their front page. It is soon to be covered in Der Spiegel:
Get your free horoscope from David Tredinnick MPMark Wallace, TPA Campaign Director, has blogged here about Bosworth MP David Tredinnick who claimed £210 for astrology software for his computer and £300 for tuition on how to use the software from his parliamentary allowance. He claims he used the software to “assess whether Indian Ayurvedic Medicine relates to traditional English Herbal remedies because of his political interest in alternative therapies.”
Mark rightly says this is absurd and a desperate defence of an outrageous claim. You paid for Mr Tredinnick to become an astrologer, why not get your money's worth and email him your date of birth so he can do you a horoscope? He can be contacted here: tredinnickd@parliament.uk
Mad Politician Syndrome
A supporter has alerted us to this consultation underway at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Their aim is to change the way animal diseases are tackled, but their proposals would just mean higher taxes for farmers.
Under DEFRA’s proposals, they aim to levy a new tax on livestock and establish a new quango to deal with animal health. Their plans include new revenue taken straight from taxpayers’ pockets. They intend to implement a system of “farmer contributions” (read: taxes) and “financial penalties for non-compliance” with regulations (read: fines). You can have your say against the stealth taxes proposed in the consultation here.
Hull and East Riding TPA blog
Our Hull and East Riding branch have set up a blog. Feel free to visit it and contact our organiser Andrew Allison about upcoming action days and campaigns in East Yorkshire.
Stop Thurrock Council’s plans for a ‘Council Tabloid Newspaper’
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