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TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 25 November 2011 - Exposed: Taxpayers fund trade unions to the tune of £113 million a year - David Cameron challenged at PMQs over TPA report on motoring taxes - Pin-Up and Pinhead of the month - Why taxpayers shouldn't fund political parties - Grassroots - Best of the Blogs Exposed: Taxpayers fund trade unions to the tune of £113 million a year Our devastating new report reveals the value of direct grants and paid time off that trade unions receive from taxpayers. In the run up to the disruptive strikes on November 30th we expose the staggering £113 million of your money that the unions raked in over the last financial year. There are now at least the equivalent of 2,840 full time staff working on trade union activities or duties at taxpayers’ expense. Taxpayers shouldn’t be funding staff to work for trade unions, providing them with a huge activist base to support strikes and freeing up resources for political campaigns. It is yet another burden on hard pressed families, diverting money they expect to be spent on frontline services. The trade unions should pay for this staff time themselves. This was a huge project for us and involved the most extensive Freedom of Information campaign ever carried out, with more than 1,300 requests being sent to councils, the NHS and quangos across the country. Click here to read the full report and find out more. CALL TO ACTION: We have led the campaign to end taxpayer funding of trade unions and now we need your help. By using the WriteToThem website you can urge your MP to stop trade union reps getting time off funded by taxpayers. Search the full report for your local council, NHS Trust, Police Force and Fire Service to see just how many union activists you are paying for in your local area. David Cameron challenged at PMQs over TPA report on motoring taxes Our recent report into the excessive motoring taxes paid by British drivers was centre stage in Parliament on Wednesday. We found that the residents of Maldon in Essex are clobbered by the highest excess motoring taxes in the country, so their local MP, John Whittingdale, asked David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions what he was going to do about this “intolerable burden”. The Prime Minister replied by saying that he is “absolutely committed” to helping drivers with motoring expenses at this time of economic difficulty – and you can be sure that we will hold him to that. The Prime Minister added that the TaxPayers’ Alliance is doing “a good job” of highlighting the issue. Watch the full exchange here. Elsewhere in Parliament this week, Shipley MP Philip Davies called on ministers for an urgent debate on the impact of the Government’s climate change policies on British industry. In making the demand, he cited our recent paper, Industrial Masochism, which he described as “a new and compelling report… which demonstrates how the carbon floor price threatens the jobs of tens of thousands of British workers as energy-intensive businesses relocate overseas.” Pin-Up and Pinhead of the Month Yesterday we announced our latest awards for the “Pin-Up” and “Pinhead” of the Month to celebrate those in power who have sought to save – and waste – taxpayers’ money. November’s Pin-Up is North East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan, who has put country and constituency before loyalty to his party or the Coalition this month in apportioning some of the blame for the closure of the Alcan aluminium smelter in Northumberland to the Government for its obsession with green taxes. He has also been refreshingly honest in calling for Greece to default on its debt and leave the euro, whilst also opposing any increase in the EU budget. The Pinhead of the Month, meanwhile, has gone to Cllr Jason Kitcat, a Green Party councillor in Brighton and Hove, where he is Cabinet member for Finance and Central Services in the Green minority administration. He has been boasting this month about his administration’s decision to refuse the Government funding which would allow for a freeze in council tax next year and to instead impose a 3.5 per cent increase in council tax for Brighton and Hove residents. It is disappointing that he and his colleagues have so little regard for taxpayers’ hard-earned cash that they want to snatch even more of it. Click here for the full details of the awards. Why taxpayers shouldn't fund political parties A report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life into political party finance has proposed parties should receive at least £23 million in funding from taxpayers. The report put forward the idea at a time when many people are struggling with rising prices and tightening their belts. It would be absolutely wrong for taxpayers to be forced to bail out politicians. Our Political Director Jonathan Isaby set out the case against these out-of-touch proposals in his latest blog. When the Government and local councils are making necessary spending cuts, the idea that some of those savings should be channelled into the coffers of political parties is monstrous. These proposals would see taxpayers subsidising political parties they don’t support. Parties already get taxpayers’ money in various ways and that funding should be cut, not increased. Grassroots Tim Newark, Grassroots Co-ordinator for Bath & South-West TaxPayers’ Alliance, finally got a response, on appeal, to his Freedom of Information request about Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) councillors not paying their council tax. Shockingly, it has revealed that one Bath councillor has had to have legal action taken against him or her to recover the outstanding council tax. The councillor concerned has not been named. Over the last two years a total of eight B&NES councillors have been sent reminder letters for late payment of their council tax—an amount totalling £3,429.55. Three of these councillors then had to be sent a second reminder letter—at taxpayers’ expense—for a total of £491. One of these then had to have legal action taken against them to recover the outstanding tax. We are all human and we all make mistakes but councillors are elected by us to represent us and we are entitled to expect them to act with due responsibility when it comes to paying their council tax—the money that helps fund local government. They should display leadership and set an example—not delay or avoid paying. Can they not set up a direct debit payment? Best of the Blogs Burning our money: Non-job of the week - Which department is looking for a Stakeholder Engagement Manager – Smart Meters Programme? Andrew Allison looks at yet more adverts for superficial and expensive non-jobs. European Union: Other European countries do enjoy a better relationship with the EU -TPA Director Matthew Sinclair on how countries can enjoy a better relationship with the EU without being dictated to by Brussels, and why Britain is in a strong position to re-negotiate our relationship. Let them eat carbon: Double taxing holidaymakers - Our Director Matthew Sinclair debates air passenger duty with John Stewart, Chairman of Airport Watch live on Sky News Campaign: 20 per cent of councils may increase council tax - Local authorities consider rejecting calls for council tax freeze