Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickard's "The Spirit Level: why equal societies almost always do better" summarises its theme in its title. It argues in effect for equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity. The Guardian's Polly Toynbee has praised it as "ground-breaking" (now there's a surprise). Charles Moore, the Greatest Living Englishman and Daily Telegraph […]
OVERALL JUDGMENT Madsen Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute: "Basically the coalition's first budget was a reality check, and an indication that Britain is on the way back from the madness of the Brown years. It will be a slow haul, but this was a positive start." BIG CUTS IN SPENDING… Matt Sinclair of The […]
New research from The TaxPayers' Alliance shows that 62% of the £2.9 billion awarded by Regional Development Agencies from 2007 to 2009 did not go to private businesses but to public sector organisations. The report also argues that RDAs failed to deliver on their key objective of closing regional imbalances. Gross Value Added (GVA) in […]
It was the Conservative-controlled Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead which blazed the trail on transparency in local government when it voted last year to publish all expenditure over £500. Now, with the Government leading the way on opening up data about spending and salaries, Tory-controlled Northamptonshire County Council is the latest authority to herald […]
The Institute for Fiscal Studies notes that today's cuts are "less than a tenth of the fiscal repair job" that Alistair Darling said was going to be necessary. Andrew Lilico, Chief Economist of Policy Exchange identifies the Departments which have suffered the largest cuts: [Today's cuts as a percentage of today's budgets | The extent […]
Last week David Cameron announced plans to recruit and train 5,000 community workers as part of his 'Bigger Society, Smaller Government' agenda. The idea has been condemned by Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs… "It’s all very well for the Conservatives to wax lyrical about the merits of a post-bureaucratic age, but their […]
Yesterday we noted how a panel of influential journalists, parliamentarians and thought leaders rated the London think tanks. The Centre for Social Justice and Policy Exchange won top marks. Simultaneously we also held a vote of ConservativeHome readers and that produced a very strong showing for The TaxPayers' Alliance in almost every category. 1,265 took […]
Over the last few days ConservativeHome has been surveying readers and 'influentials' about the quality of the London think tanks. Tomorrow we'll publish how readers voted. Today we publish the results of voting by 94 influential journalists, parliamentarians, bloggers and other thought-leaders. The Centre for Social justice was voted the think tank that has had […]
Ahead of today's Budget the centre right and reformist think tanks have been lining up to offer Alistair Darling advice. Here's a summary of what they're saying. There is an air of unreality about the tough decisions that are going to be necessary, according to Mark Littlewood of the IEA: “Politicians are not talking seriously […]
The TaxPayers' Alliance has published its manifesto this morning. Many of its pledges will cause the Tory party no headache but some are in direct conflict with the ambitions of a Conservative government. SOME TPA PLEDGES CONSISTENT WITH TORY POLICY Cut middle class welfare; Cut corporation tax to 15% or lower (I expect George Osborne […]
Research from The TaxPayers' Alliance notes that strikes are now fifteen times more likely in the public than private sectors. Ten years ago private sector strikes were twice as likely. See the research note here (pdf). ConservativeHome has been highlighting the role of the public sector unions as they pour money into Labour's marginal seats […]
Respublica, the think tank of 'Red Tory' Philip Blond, is the latest to launch a blog. It has been named The Disraeli Room. Mr Blond's first post focuses on the big idea of "ownership". Many think tanks featured by ThinkTankCentral already have established blogs: The Institute of Economic Affairs; The Centre for Social Cohesion; Civitas; […]
Key staff Matthew Elliott (Co-Founder and Chief Executive); Andrew Allum (Co-Founder and Chairman); Sara Rainwater (Operations Director); Matthew Sinclair (Research Director); Susie Squire (Political Director); Mark Wallace (Campaign Director); Alex Deane (Director, Big Brother Watch). Basic philosophy The TPA is Britain's independent grassroots campaign for better public services and lower taxes. It currently has 32,000 […]
"Parking Fines: The £328million Enforcement Industry" (PDF) Author: Joint report between The TaxPayers' Alliance and The Drivers' Alliance Publication date: 25 November 2009 This report argues that many people perceive parking enforcement as little more than a money making scheme for councils. It states that a total of £328million of parking fines were received in […]
"ACA to YJB – A Guide to the UK's Semi-Autonomous Public Bodies"(PDF) Authors: Ben Farrugia and John O'Connell Publication date: October 2009 The report addresses the UK's 1,148 Semi-Autonomous Public Bodies (SAPBs) which are more commonly known as quangos. The Government spent an estimated £90billion on or through these organisations in 2007-2008 which was an increase in £13billion […]