Just arrest him

This loathesome piece of detritus represents you, look it says UNITED KINGDOM on the name plate. He has claimed £16 000 for mortgage payments on a mortgage that did not exist. On the Black-Grey scale of criminal offences this one firmly is in the Black under the terms of the Theft Act.

It matters not a jot that he has paid some of it back, this was not a mistake, this 'was not within the rules' it was deception and theft.


If he is not arrested/the whip removed/resigns by the end of the day, the rest of us do not have to obey a single edict of this corrupt Parliament.

We have had the long and short Parliaments,the Rump Parliament, we have even had the Addled Parliament, we are living under the rule of the Rotten Parliament

Taxpayers' Alliance petitions for full disclosure of MPs expenses

The TPA have teamed up with Heather Brooke, the independent transparency campaigner who won the famous High Court victory on MPs' expenses against the secretive Parliamentary authorities last year, to launch an online petition to demand the full publication of MPs' expenses claims immediately.

You can sign the petition here:

http://www.petition.co.uk/publish_mp_expenses_in_full

Despite the recent scandalous revelations around "house-flipping" and other abuses of the second home allowance, the Parliamentary authorities still want to keep the addresses of the second homes bought using taxpayers' money secret. To stop them, please sign this petition, send it to your friends and family and feature it on your own blog, website or facebook page.

http://www.petition.co.uk/publish_mp_expenses_in_full

Check your Council Tax Bill !

Good Morning

I received yesterday a copy of the budgets for 2009/10 with my Council Tax bill.

I am astounded that the Authority has agreed a ten fold increase against last years budget for 'Estates' of £2.6m to £20.5m, and approved a 'borrowing' level of £24.5m.

Can you provide detailed information on what the Police Authority is proposing to spend an additional £18m this year ?

Secondly from whom is the Authority proposing to 'borrow' this money from, over what period and on what terms ?

Yours sincerely

TaxPayers’ Alliance urges Bristol politicians to co-operate to cut taxes

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TaxPayers’ Alliance urges Bristol politicians to co-operate to cut taxes
“Best of the Budgets” would provide a 2.2% tax cut

The Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) wishes to congratulate all the political parties currently represented on Bristol City Council for the efforts to identify potential areas where the burden of taxation can be lifted from local residents, and urges the different parties to pool their best ideas to produce a “Best of the Budgets”, which would deliver a 2.2% tax cut for Bristol taxpayers. The Bristol Branch of the TPA has studied the proposals of each party and calculated that if the ruling Labour executive was to take on the savings proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens as well, then £11 million could be saved from the Council’s spending.

A wide range of measures have been proposed, e.g. Green Party Councillor for Southville ward, Charlie Bolton, has identified in his amendment [No.6] the potential to reduce members' allowances by 2%, and apply no increase for inflation, creating a saving of £54,000. Were all the savings identified by the members of the Council enacted, with no other increases in Council budget beyond those for inflation, the Band D rate to support the Council's own spending would be £1244.35, a 2.2% reduction on last year's figure of £1,272.00.

This “Best of the Budgets” option is an opportunity for Bristol’s local politicians to work together to help local residents in the recession. The TPA urges them to join together at the Budget Meeting on 24^th February 2009 to adopt these proposals.

James Barlow, Convener of the Bristol Branch of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“There are good proposals to save money from all the different political groups on the council. With everyone suffering in the recession, it's within the gift of the councillors to co-operate, pool their best money-saving ideas and use them to cut council tax. This plan could save £11 million, which could be left in the pockets of people in Bristol who need the money to help them survive these difficult times.”

For further comments, information or quotes, please contact:

• James Barlow
  
• Email: tpa@jamesbarlow.co.uk
  

Notes:

1) The TaxPayers’ Alliance is Britain’s independent, grassroots campaign for lower taxes and better government. The Bristol Branch of the TPA was founded in December 2008 and is actively campaigning across the city.

2) The following Council documents form the source of the data in this article:

• Budget 2008-09
  Proposals and Budget Amendments 2009-10

3) Full list of identified savings:

How Much did Somerset County Council lose in Iceland ?

30/04/08 PRESS RELEASE

Somerset County Council Praised by Auditors

Somerset County Council’s process for setting up Southwest One, a Joint Venture Company between Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council, IBM, and more recently, the Avon and Somerset Police Authority, has been praised by Auditors this week.

Somerset County Council Resources Scrutiny Sub-Committee heard on Monday that the partnership arrangement has been one of the most scrutinised processes that the Audit Commission’s specialist had witnessed.

In presentations made by the Audit Commission and Grant Thornton, the Audit Commission specifically commended the County Council for the arrangements it had established to secure value for money with the partnership, the robustness of their client arrangements and the thoroughness of their procurement process.

Councillor Jill Shortland, Leader of Somerset County Council and Councillor Ross Henley, Leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved here. We’ve created a way forward with authority partners and the private sector towards delivering services for residents which will be improved and more cost-efficient. This brings a final confirmation from the Audit Commission of the commendable work that Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council, both excellent authorities, have done to secure this work in Somerset and to bring in a global company to boost the Somerset Economy.”

The Audit Commission and Grant Thornton gave presentations as part of their routine audit work over the arrangements of Southwest One.


THE ANSWER IS £25,000,000 OF YOUR MONEY

ASK THE AUDIT COMMISSION HOW MUCH THEY LOST

THE ANSWER IS £10,000,000 OF YOUR MONEY

AUDITS WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR,ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

Another £1m on the public wage bill at Bristol

Bristol City Council website has vacancies for 9 service directors earning between £63k and £80k a year.



Service_Director_Communications_and_Marketing

Service_Director_Economic_and_Cultural_Development

Service_Director_Information_Communication_and_Technology

Service_Director_Landlord_Services

Service_Director_Older_People_s_Services

Service_Director_Portfolio__Programme_and_Projects

Service_Director_Putting_People_First

Service_Director_Shared_Transactional_Services

Service_Director_Transport



Almost £1m in salaries – God knows what that’ll be in pensions.

Derek Draper gets shouty with the Taxpayers Alliance

Derek Draper for those of you not in the know was one of Labours early spinmeisters (peddler of lies) he is now trying to revive his political career with a lamentably bad Labour blog.

These are the sort of people spending your hard earned cash.