Matthew Sinclair appeared alongside a witness from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, and he faced some probing questions from the MPs. Matthew offered insight on the biggest revenue raisers in the Budget – changes to energy policy – that have been ignored by much of the media but will hit taxpayers and businesses. He also said that big spending pressures from projects like High Speed Rail will make it harder for the Government to make necessary fiscal adjustments. This, and other recent parliamentary appearances are a testament to our credibility and growing influence. You can watch Matthew’s appearancehere. Or have a read through our Budget briefing document to see more detail on our reactions. The project is expected to cost more than £30 billion (£1,000 per family) and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond (pictured) has been trying to justify it on the basis that it will increase capacity; our new report showed this is not the case. It is important that our MPs know how foolish this project is. Please write to your MP to urge them to oppose HS2, and tell them about our research into the proposals. If you are unsure how to contact your local MP have a look at the Write to Them website for some guidance. We've seen some ridiculous examples of waste over the years, from the truly outrageous to the downright silly. Despite this we are constantly surprised by the crazy new schemes that are cooked up to spend taxpayers' money on. As it's April Fool's Day we thought we'd share a few of our favourites with you in the form of a quiz. Can you spot which of these tales of wasteful spending are true and which are false? You might be surprised... There are no prizes, it's just a little fun. Why not pass it on to your friends and see if they can spot which of these wacky tales is fact and which are fiction? Our grassroots activists across the country are at the heart and soul of the TPA. Keeping their eyes peeled and their ears to the ground these are the people that help us to unearth wasteful spending and excess across the UK. Activists at our training day earlier this year told us they'd like to hear more about the work that other TPA-ers are doing across the country. So, once a month we'll be profiling a grassroots activist, giving you a little more insight to what others are campaigning on, perhaps even inspiring you to try a similar campaign in your area. This week we're giving you a peek into the work of Welsh grassroots activist Lee Canning. Originally from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Lee moved to Cardiff to study Politics and Law at Cardiff University. He then worked in Wrexham, North Wales, running a sales and marketing company, before briefly returning to live in Northern Ireland in 2008. However, the pull of Wales was too strong and Lee is now back in Cardiff and has been involved with the TaxPayers' Alliance since September 2010, examining a number of issues that affect Wales and Northern Ireland such as, public liability claims filed againstCardiff Council, local council waste as well as waste within the Welsh Assembly andNorthern Ireland Assembly. He is pictured above being interviewed by BBC Wales Today. The MPs' expenses scandal reared its ugly head again this week as former Labour MP Jim Devine was jailed for 16 months by a Judge at the Old Bailey in London. He is the third former MP to be jailed in relation the expenses scandal. David Chaytor was recently denied an appeal against his 18 month sentence, and Eric Illsley was jailed for a year last month. Lord Taylor of Warwick awaits sentencing after being found guilty of fiddling his expenses. He may not have swindled the most money out of taxpayers, but Devine's case was particularly egregious because he carried on regardless, despite the public outcry over expenses. The 57 year old submitted false invoices totalling £8,385 between 2008 and 2009 - after other politicians' claims had already become front-page news. Campaign: Zadie Smith’s lecture suggests BBC bias - The BBC has an obligation to provide a balanced view in news and current affairs, says Charlotte Linacre Grassroots: Non-job of the week - 'Transformation Manager' the new 'Future Shape Programme Manager'? Economics 101: Johann Hari’s convenient lie - Matt Sinclair's response to the spectacularly inept economic commentary of Johann Hari Grassroots: Sheffield is still counting the cost 20 years on - Hull Council's mismanagement has proved once again why it is essential to reform public sector pensions, says Andrew Allison Better Government: Usefulness of transparency - Chris Daniel on the benefits of transparent data - to taxpayers and the Government 2020 Tax Commission: The missed opportunities of George Osborne's Budget – Rory Meakin considers what George Osborne left out of his speech Grassroots: Leeds pensioner fired for revealing the truth on senior pay - Andrew Allison with another disgraceful tale of councils hiding the truth from taxpayers Better Government: Problems with new accounting regulations no excuse for poor FoI responses - Councils still relying on 'selective disclosure' when it comes to their accounts, says Chris Daniel Grassroots: Costly consumables - Leicestershire County Council have an opportunity to reduce the burden of cuts on frontline services, explains Jago Pearson
TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 1st April 2011
March but no alternative
The Trades Union Congress organised a 'March For the Alternative' in central London last weekend, to protest against the Government’s planned spending reductions. Sadly, an accompanying protest descended into violence and vandalism – particularly strange was the decision to target Fortnum and Masons, considering their extensive charitable giving – but then the message of the main march was rather confused too. There were those that thought some cuts are indeed necessary, but they wouldn’t say what to cut or when to do it. Despite the name of the march, we heard no serious alternatives set out.
There was also a significant number of people there who believe that no cuts whatsoever should be made. This was clear from the number of “No Cuts” placards that were on show. It’s crucial that we tackle the deficit and cutting spending is the best way to do that; the crisis in the public finances is largely down to a decade of over-spending. What’s more taxes went up, not down, during that time so asking families to pay even more tax to plug the gap would be wrong. Saying that there should be no cuts at all means that, despite the number of people marching at the weekend, they are a small minority outside of sensible policy debate.
Our Director, Matthew Sinclair, appeared prominently in the media over the weekend, providing a voice for those who believe that the Government are right to curb spending. He also set out in detail here why many of the marchers are wrong if they think we should cut less and cut later.Further analysis of the Budget
After the success of our Budget briefingwith the Institute of Economic Affairs, the TPA was invited to give evidence to the Treasury Select Committee to offer further thoughts on the Chancellor’s announcements.
Fewer seats on faster trains
We are continuing our campaign to halt the Government's plans for an expensive high speed rail link. This week we upped the pressure with a new report showing that the scheme will leave many towns across the UK with a worse service, fewer seats and less frequent trains than they'd have otherwise.
Click here to read the full report, which includes the first, comprehensive list of towns that will be worse off and gives details of how each place could be hit by worse journey times, fewer seats and/or fewer trains per day.
Our Director, Matthew Sinclair said:
“High speed rail isn’t the right way of getting the capacity we need. The project is set to cost taxpayers a fortune and it is increasingly clear it will be a huge white elephant. While politicians are holding out the promise of a faster journey for a fortunate few, huge numbers of people will face slower and less frequent services with more overcrowding. Everyone will still have to pay the hefty bill. The Government are passing over an affordable opportunity to increase capacity quickly in favour of a flashy new train set that won’t be delivered for the best part of two decades. They should cancel HS2 and get their priorities straight.”April Fool's Day Quiz
Grassroots Profile
MPs' expenses update
In jailing Devine, the Judge, Mr Justice Saunders, branded him a liar and told those present that the former Labour MP for Livingston had been calculating and deliberate in his fraud, and seriously damaged the reputation of Parliament. Taxpayers could still lose out further though, as a hearing to decide on more than £40,000 legal costs is to be held at a later date, Devine is unlikely to have to pay them as he has been declared bankrupt.
Our Director, Matthew Sinclair, welcomed the sentence:
"Jim Devine didn't admit his guilt and tried to pin the blame on others after he was caught stealing from taxpayers. It is right that he is now facing a jail sentence for his crime, as it reflects the seriousness of lying to exploit taxpayers' money. Hopefully this sentence will also go some way towards restoring public confidence in Parliament, after it was so badly damaged by the expenses scandal."
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