Harry Fone: Profligacy is to blame for the Council Tax rise in Wolverhampton

Plus: Waltham Forest’s proposed “consultancy support for a strategic reset” sounds like something from David Brent.

James Frayne: The scale of the unpopularity of Council Tax is staggering

The Conservatives should think about the implications of what would happen if Labour got serious on this issue.

John O’Connell: Lobbying, and an unacknowledged problem – namely, groups funded by the taxpayer that lobby for even more

The forgotten victims tend to be the taxpayer and small businesses – most of which can barely get hold of their local councillors, let alone ministers.

Harry Fone: Almost 700 council staff are paid over £150,000 a year

Nottingham City Council paid nine staff over £100,000 a year. What did local taxpayers get for their money? A failed council-owned energy company.

WATCH: How to Reform Business Rates and support businesses

Our fringe event with the TaxPayers’ Alliance, including Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business.

Harry Fone: Councillors in Walsall give themselves a big increase in allowances

Plus: The residents of Tunbridge Wells are left with the bill for their council’s Calverley Square vanity project.

Budget 2021: Think tank response round-up

How have think-tanks and campaign groups responded to the Chancellor’s fiscal and economic initiatives?

The Budget should be a big reset moment for post-Brexit, post-Covid Britain. It risks being lost amidst a rush to tax rises.

It will probe whether or or not Sunak can prepare the country for that future – and perhaps succeed Johnson himself, “one fine day”.

Harry Fone: Holding council meetings online can save millions in travel expenses

Plus: Why is Sandwell Council spending £10,000 for a lighting company to project messages onto buildings?

Harry Fone: Parish councils can waste money too

The removal of the precept, a virtually guaranteed source of income, could well lead to greater fiscal prudence.

Spending Review 2020: Think tank response round-up

How have think-tanks and campaign groups responded to the Chancellor’s fiscal and economic news?

Kieran Neild-Ali: We need tougher auditing of council spending. But a new quango is not the answer.

We must continue to devolve power to council taxpayers themselves – building on the legacy of the abolition of the Audit Commission.

Matthew Elliott: Please apply to invest in Britain’s future and win £10,000

We would like to hear from people under the age of 35 with an exciting idea or contribution to policy debate.

Robert Halfon: Delivering social justice means feeding children properly. We’re not doing so – and we must.

The Government’s own calculations of welfare payments do not cost in the provision of a healthy diet.

Sunak’s measures: What do they look like, where’s the money coming from – and how do they compare to other countries’?

While the Chancellor’s recovery measures look drastic, they are “middle of the pack” when compared to others in the world.