Saturday 7 August 2010

TPA Bulletin - 6th August 2010
Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘Prevent’ grants
You may remember back in September 2009 we published a report that revealed for the first time where local authority 'Preventing Violent Extremism' (PVE) grants were going. We argued then that the grants were a well-intentioned but costly social experiment and disliked by all community groups. We called for them to be abolished and the Government has now decided to adopt our position. However, Prevent is cross-departmental and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have also been giving out these grants.
Today we released more research showing how the FCO distributed these funds in 2007-08 and 2008-09. A huge £10.5 million was distributed in grants in 2008-09 alone, for schemes like a “mobile cinema for justice”. Already well funded public bodies like the BBC and the British Council received yet more taxpayers’ money for other dubious projects and the results show a marked shift of focus away from the other strands of Contest to Prevent. The Government should scrap the entire Prevent Strategy and focus on sound policing and intelligence to stop violent extremism.
Media coverage for this report has included:
Daily Express: Terrorism cash 'wasted
ITN.co.uk: Government funded 'dubious' counter-terror schemes
Colourful FM: Matthew Sinclair was interviewed about the report
Sunrise FM: John O'Connell was interviewed about the report
European Resource Bank and TPA Gala Dinner
From Wednesday 8th to Friday 10th September 2010, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has the privilege of hosting the Seventh Annual European Resource Bank meeting. The European Resource Bank (ERB) is the largest annual gathering of centre-right & free market academics, think-tankers, campaigners and policy makers in Europe. This three day conference, incorporating the TaxPayers' Conference, is unique in that it builds a ‘bank’ of human capital by creating and renewing the ties between the participating individuals and organisations. Taxpayer groups from far and wide will also be congregating, and we're delighted to be welcoming delegates from China, Tanzania, Sweden, Lithuania, Japan and the USA, amongst others.
We are extremely pleased that our international speakers include:
Siv Jensen (Leader of the Progressive Party, Norway)
Barbara Kolm (Secretary General, Hayek Institute)
Grover Norquist (President, Americans for Tax Reform)
Tim Phillips (President, Americans for Prosperity)
Fred Smith (Founder & President, Competitive Enterprise Institute)
Benoite Taffin (President, Contribuales Associes)
And, we are also grateful to our friends in the UK who are speaking:
James Delingpole
Robert Halfon MP
Allister Heath (Editor, City AM)
Andrew Lilico (Chief Economist, Policy Exchange)
Julie Meyer (CEO, Ariadne Capital)
Douglas Murray (Director, Centre for Social Cohesion)
You can find out more information about the conference programme on the website – http://www.europeanresourcebank.com/. It is set to be an extremely interesting, informative and very much a social gathering. There are going to be sessions on the economy, civil liberties, global warming, healthcare, threats to freedom, taxing the banks, tax competition and taxpayer rebellions.
Many one day conferences put on by campaign groups and think tanks here in the UK cost up to £100. True to our philosophy of providing good value for money, we have managed to raise sponsorship for the conference which has allowed us to keep the delegate fee down to £200. For this amount attendees will enjoy 2 receptions, 2 lunches, 2 days worth of conference sessions and also, on the final night, a seat at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Gala Dinner which is being held at the Guildhall and addressed by the great economist, Dr ‘Art’ Laffer, creator of the 'Laffer Curve' and advisor to President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
We know this is a lot of money for many people, so we will also be making sure that the speeches are put on the internet for those of you who are not able to join us in London for this event.
Recap of policy wins
As you know, here at the TPA we work hard to promote the case for lower taxation and spending cuts, and we'd like to think that as a result of our many campaigns and reports - most of which have featured widely in the press - many people are now more receptive to the idea of the government making savings and agree that the public sector need to drastically improve their use of our money. Occasionally in our work we've made recommendations of just how these improvements could be made, and we're pleased that many of these suggestions have been adopted as policy by the coalition government.

Over the past few weeks we've sought to bring you these policy 'wins' as soon as they've been announced, and now, in an article for the ConservativeHome website, our Research Director Matthew Sinclair has reflected on the parts of our manifesto that are being brought to life.

From the abolition of the Regional Development Agencies and the Sustainable Development Commission, to the two-year pay freeze for public sector workers and the halving of the government's advertising and publicity budget, do take a look at this fascinating blog which provides a full rundown of TPA-inspired reform...
Tirade Unions
With the axe poised to swing and spending cuts finally emerging in an attempt to cut government debt, inevitably the unions are starting to mobilize in opposition. At the TaxPayers' Alliance we've been keeping an eye on their grumblings, noting their threats and generally finding their rationale pretty weak.

A letter sent to the Guardian this week, co-ordinated by Tony Benn and signed by Mark Serwotka of the PCS and Bob Crow of the RMT (amongst others), declared the perceived generosity of our welfare state to be "nonsense" and called for revenue raising through higher taxes. The offering was critiqued in a great blog by Matthew Sinclair who points out that the fiscal crisis they blame on "bankers' profligacy" is actually a result of a massive growth in government spending that was impossible to finance before the crisis, hence the desperate need for cuts now. In support of this idea, two centre left organisations - Demos and union-sponsored blog, Left Foot Forward - actually released polls on Tuesday suggesting that the public are ready for cuts in spending.

We've also had cause to criticise the unrealistic expectations of Scottish Unite members, who've demanded a 3% pay rise (after rejecting a 1.5% increase over three years) despite the fact that south of the border public sector workers earning over £21,000 have been told to expect a two-year pay freeze. It seems like that might be the tip of the iceberg though, as the Public and Commercial Services unions (PCS), Unison, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have all tabled resolutions for next month’s TUC conference in Manchester calling for co-ordinatedaction, ignoring the fact that - as Policy Analyst Jennifer Dunn points out - the government is spending £5 for every £4 taken in tax meaning the spending cuts they oppose are unavoidable if we're to get our heads above water. Someone should really tell Bob Crow, who has similarly called for "general and co-ordinated strike action" against the "savage assault on jobs", read more here.
Best of the blogs
Economics 101: Letter to the Guardian with Tony Benn reveals Union extremism
And also this week, you can now read Matthew Sinclair's excellent Prospect magazine article - Time to get level - free-of-charge. We recommend you take a look at this great piece debunking claims that there is a link between social problems and inequality. READ IT HERE.

Posted by Britannia Radio at 09:52