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TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 20th May 2011 Rally roundup The TPA joined the Rally Against Debt last weekend along with hundreds of other taxpayers. We would like to say a huge thank you to our supporters who made it down to Westminster to join us and also to those who couldn't make it but sent through kind words of encouragement! It was a great day and a lot of fun, and it was fantastic to meet so many of you, hear your concerns and feedback about past TPA projects and ongoing campaigns. But of course we were there to bring attention to a very serious issue. Unlike recent trade union led marches to protect unsustainable public spending, the Rally Against Debt organisers pulled this together quickly. We drew a crowd of hundreds without a year of organising, taxpayer-funded activists or members motivated to defend their own special interests. Those at the rally represented the quiet majority who know that spending cuts are right and necessary. We reiterated that it is immoral to spend beyond our means now and pass on debt to future generations, that we want our taxes spent on services rather than debt interest and that we do not want our money propping up a failing Eurozone. There were several high profile guests at the event, each gave an impassioned speech about the need to tackle the national debt. The speakers were the TPA's own Matthew Sinclair, Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs, filmmaker Martin Durkin, MEP Nigel Farage, Bill Cash MP, Priti Patel MP and journalists Paul Staines and Harry Cole from the Guido Fawkes website. Watch Matthew Sinclair on BBC here Watch Martin Durkin on Sky News here There were some great banners and placards on display too, catching the attention of the media. Click here for photos from the day. The day was topped off by an appearance by our famous Debt Clock, showing the scale of the debt we are passing on to future generations. The event grabbed headlines across TV radio and newspapers, here is just some of the coverage: BBC News: Rally backs cuts to reduce UK debt (Matthew Sinclair interview and Nigel Farage speech) BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: Rally Against Debt is planned and any attendees popping into Fortnum and Mason will only be to marvel at their selection of goods and perhaps make the occasional purchase BBC 5 LIVE: Matthew Sinclair talks about the national debt and why the TaxPayers' Alliance will Rally Against Debt BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: Matthew Sinclair 'cogently' explains why the national debt must be tackled, then Alexei Sayle and Simon Heffer debate BBC News Channel: TPA Campaign Director, Emma Boon, discussed the Rally Against Debt BBC News Online: Rally in support of government cuts due in London Daily Express: Coming soon: the rally against too much borrowing - comment piece Patrick O’Flynn Express.co.uk: Rally will fight Eurozone aid Telegraph.co.uk: Rally held to back Government spending cuts Telegraph.co.uk: Pro-cuts demonstration held outside Houses of Parliament Guardian.co.uk: 'Rally against debt' activists call for more cuts in Westminster protest DailyMail.co.uk: Maybe the the Rally against Debt was a spoof, but we were there to make a serious point Mirror.co.uk: Rally staged in support of cuts Standard.co.uk: Paying a debt to Fortnum Scotsman.com: Hundreds demonstrate in favour of spending cuts Toby Young: All those who care about Britain's future should attend the Rally Against Debt Archbishop Cranmer: The Rally Against Debt cannot morally be opposed At the Rally we started a "No to EU bailouts" petition. We have been commenting on the Government's lack of backbone on this issue,strongly criticising Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, for failing taxpayers by allowing our money to be used for bailouts. If you would like to sign the "No to EU bailouts" petition, which we started at the rally, do follow the link and add your voice to the campaign. International development spending The Times newspaper published a letter from the Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox, in which he criticised the Government's pledge to increase the international aid budget by more than a third over this Parliament. This will happen while other budgets are necessarily being reduced. Before the election we called on any incoming Government to freeze the aid budget. Too much money is actually wasted and the focus should be on getting better value. It's a mistake that Governments too often make: throw more cash at something to show you care, confusing spending other people's money with commitment to actually alleviate poverty. Liam Fox was criticised for making this stand although he actually said in the letter that he agrees in principle with the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on aid. The TPA do not, it's an arbitrary number and too focussed on inputs, not outputs. Our paper on international aid showed that more than £700 million doesn't even make it to the frontline where it is needed, but is lost in admin costs. This figure was picked up in a Times opinion piece on the subject. TPA Director Matthew Sinclair took to the airwaves to debate the topic with a representative from Oxfam, listen to the debate by clicking here. And read Matthew's blog on aid money being used to target Rwandan dissidents here. HS2 debate Videos are now on line of our Cancel HS2 conference held last Thursday. It brought together various organisations with different views on many issues but united on one thing: the Government must scrap HS2. Watch each of the speakers online here. Yesterday our Campaign Director Emma Boon went head to head with the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond in a live ITV Central debate on Birmingham. She made the case to scrap this white elephant. Emma took the fight straight to the man in charge, watch the sparks fly from last night's event by clicking here. More spending transparency from DCLG The Department for Communities and Local Government has publishedrevealing data on how much each council spends per head. We would urge all of you to have a look and ask your councillors some testing questions. If your council has higher council tax and worse services than your neighbours, why? If your councils spends more per person but is less efficient than those next door, why are they not looking to benchmark their performance against them? Have a look at the data andwrite to your local councillor here to find out what they are planning to do to cut back on wasteful spending and when they plan to cut council tax. In many councils a whole fresh batch of new councillors have joined in the elections earlier this month, hopefully full of energy to improve local government, ask them what they are going to do for you their local taxpayer. Grassroots A big thank you to those who attended the Rally Against Debt last Saturday and expressed an interest in becoming activists for the TPA. One of our supporters from Kent has asked for some of our recruitment cards to deliver to people's homes, and is very keen to set-up a branch. Any supporters in Kent who would like to help him get started, please contact Andrew Allison, our National Grassroots Coordinator, and he will put you in touch. In a blogpost this week, Andrew spoke about the silent majority becoming the vocal majority. If you would like to lead the charge against waste and high taxes in your area, get in touch with Andrew. Our activists come from all walks of life, so please don't feel daunted. We are here to give you all the advice and support you need. Best of the Blogs Economics 101: Debt and Deficit confused in the mainstream media yet again - Guardian journalist confuses the facts and misinforms taxpayers, says TPA Research Director John O'Connell Grassroots: Nottingham City Council shoots itself in the foot (again)-Refusing to publish it's spending but is increasing charges and giving taxpayers a raw deal Campaign: Rural broadband is necessary, but doesn't need to be government funded - Dominique Lazanski, TPA Technology Analyst, on the government target for rural broadband deployment Burning our money: Non-job of the week- Hillingdon and East Sussex the guilty parties this week Campaign: Deja vu, another London mayoral candidate says High Speed Rail doesn't deliver benefits - The list of reasons to oppose HS2 gets bigger. TPA Campaign Manager Charlotte Linacre has more Better Government: BBC One's The Street That Cut Everything taught us nothing - New BBC reality show, while sensationalist, is completely flawed Grassroots: Cornish Parking Anger- Anger among Cornwall taxpayers over rising charges in council-run car parks Better Government: Where is the localism? - Our praise was premature: disappointingly, the Lords overturn a proposal that would finally make police accountable to local people Grassroots: New council leader wants to hold a referendum -Dramatic changes at Hull City Council, and yet their first decision is to not make a decision Grassroots: There is nothing like a good telling off! - TPA supporter John Martin appears to be on the receiving end again, and has some advice for dealing with your local council