Here’s a way for Council candidates to improve their chances of election.
Offer lower Council tax. Why do so many candidates compete to spend more and put it up? Why do Councils usually put it up by the maximum allowed?
Offer to cut out all those annoying expenditures that make our lives worse. End Council “investments” in property and utilities.
Cancel all those anti driver road schemes.
Sell Council trading activities, empty properties and surplus land.
Have a plan to slim down bureaucracy with staff freezes and slimmer organisations.
Cut out many of the woke projects.
Use competitive contractors to deliver more of the service
February 23, 2025
You ask why, simples, Local government in many cases is the nursery school for National government. It is where the elected, often financially ill prepared, learn the art of spending other peoples money. Large mayoral authorities allow them to do it on an expanded scale for even greater personal reward. For socialism it is perfection because only the aspirational and successful pay. The rest become an ever expanding dependency culture, more inclined to do what they are told. When you add to the mix an out of control police force, the Mail on Sunday today, you are well down the path to 1984. It merits a national judicial enquiry.
February 23, 2025
Except the judiciary are in on the 1984 scandal as are the BBC.
The real problem is that (with rather a few notable exceptions like JR) anyone who aspires to be a politician is almost certainly totally unsuitable they want to boss people around, steal their assets and waste their money on insane religions like Net Zero, pointless wars… many are bitter and mentally harmed and inveterate liars. Aspirant lawyers can often have similar issues but perhaps less severe.
Very few politicians have decent science, maths, logic or engineering degrees or even at A level. They push things like “renewable” energy but often do not even know the difference between power and energy and their units! They demonstrate their ignorance and stupidity in almost every debate and speech they make! Moronic performing seals reading out their lines written by other idiots very often.
Has Sunak said sorry for his Covid vaccine safety lies to parliament yet?
When will our often appalling Judges grant Lucy Letby her appeal for the 15, clearly unsafe, convictions and life sentences?
February 23, 2025
@Lifelogic – are you sure ‘they want to boss people around, steal their assets and waste their money on insane religions’ to me it would appear that there are 620 so people out of a possible 650 just want to freeload without responsibility until the next election. They let the ‘Blob’ do and spend what they like on all the hair brain schemes like NetZero, DEI and so on as long as they are left to sleep away the day – as parliament isn’t there to question or hold people to account
February 23, 2025
Certainly an interesting the response from Apple on cyber security recently, I agree with their decision not to allow Government to have access to all personal accounts.
Thus due to Government dogma, Apple now only allowed provide us with less security against hacking.
February 23, 2025
@Berkshire Alan – did you read that backwards. Apple removed security features from their product and services in the UK(the UK Only) as Government (started under the Tories) wanted free unfettered access to all accounts to go on hunting and fishing trips to uncover those of a ‘right-wing’ persuasion.
It wont be used to hunt down those with nefarious intentions, as they aren’t that stupid to use mainstream communications.
The unintended consequence of leaving the door open to the Government and its Authorities is that the door is open to all hackers and foreign adversaries to practice their evil.
From the BBC – ” Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data.” they have removed their ‘data security’
February 23, 2025
Apple in the past have obliged security authorities when just cause has been shown. This wasn’t about real security it was a frightened of the People Government in action
February 23, 2025
Exactly so. I have closed our iCloud account, deleted all data. It’s impossible not to upset somebody no matter what you write.
These two sentences will no doubt upset the U.K. Government and Apple Inc.
February 24, 2025
I have no connection with Apple except my ancient iPod. I switched to Android devices more than a decade ago. They are cheaper, less prone to breakages, and, unlike Apple devices, they can take a cheap memory card for expansion and are kept current for a lot longer by software updates. My Blackview 9800Pro ruggedised phone is built like the proverbial small brick building and cost just $500. It’s five years old and stil operates perfectly.
Nevertheless, I am keeping a careful eye on Google as I am increasingly concerned about these big tech companies. The jury is out………
February 23, 2025
It would be otherwise if worthy people put themselves forward for election, but it seems they never do. Every time there’s a local election, the candidates fall over themselves trying to outbid the others in how much more they will spend.
Can we not have candidates committed to reduce waste and local council costs? The answer seems to be no. Probably because they run successful businesses and don’t have the time.
February 23, 2025
@Dave Andrews – if only!
February 23, 2025
Of course they do when there is an actual job to do. We have not had a Government for 50 years. Just a rubber stamping operation.
With a proper sovereign Parliament all we need to do is kick the party machines into touch and select the best people possible. Nobody less worthy than JR.
We need Matt Goodwin, Douglas Murray and Neil Oliver in Parliament.
February 23, 2025
The type of people who stand for councillors are generally busybodies who take a delight in bossing people about.
For many itsthe first rung on the ladder to trying for the ultimate prize a seat in Parliament.
Photo opportunities are created to inform us what a great job they are doing almost always involving spending vast amounts of our cash
The projects being mainly pointless.
Governments have mandated so many statutory obligations on councils, it has become the preferred method of increasing taxation. This was started by Gordon Brown and enthusiastically continued by subsequent governments.
The latest wheeze is to create mayor’s and unitary authorities costing even more money and being less accountable. We need to revert to basics with s defined responsibility for the council.
February 23, 2025
Ian
Correct on all points !
February 23, 2025
I was once (twice) a Councillor, and can confirm councils were then stuffed with such types. They were often arrogant, self-important and vindictive, too.
Those seeking elevation (to “cabinet” level) were usually the worst. Often scheming, nasty pieces of work who liked getting buttered-up and giving dressing-downs. The “do you realise who I am!” types.
Typically they’d go along with what officers said, even if that was plainly against what should have been their Party’s line, as well as contrary to common sense and their electors’ interests.
They did all the bad things our host rightly laments, and more, yet because the electorate voted along Party lines (it’s poisonous at local council level to have Parties) they never got voted out, unless there was a national revulsion to their Party.
February 23, 2025
Unitary Authorities shouldn’t be needed. If local Councils want to cooperate on projects, they are free to do so where it makes mutual sense. The same applies to Devolution. Before then, MPs represented their own constituenies without some other nuisance interfering.
February 23, 2025
@Ian wragg +1
The opting out of duty and promises they made to ensure we lend them our authority.
I have come to the conclusion that the root of our ills is political parties, they want to choose candidates in their own image so fight the people to stop them choosing the candidates that will best represent and serve them. Political Parties have become anti democracy anti the people cabal out to destroy the Country and its People, in the first instance taxpayers money supporting these cabals should be removed. Then funding for campaigns should be restricted to those on the electoral role in the area concerned. Democracy needs to come back to the People.
February 23, 2025
@Ian B: I agree about the malign nature of parties but there is an easier solution to the problem: all votes in Parliament to be conducted by secret ballot.
Suddenly no whips, no bribes, no threats, just voting according to conscience and, by the way, election of MPs on their merits and not the colour of their rosettes.
When the secret ballot for general elections was introduced in the 1870s, the fiercest opposition was from the voters themselves who resented losing their generous bribes. No doubt MPs would feel the same. Tough.
February 23, 2025
@Nick – up to a point I agree, but I would suggests its ‘who’ gets to select and then fund the candidates is the bit that destroys the real chance of democracy. At the moment is the ‘gang’ leader, in some remote unconnected venue and their committee that selects those that are the most ‘loyal’ and obedient to be on the ballot, then through central funding get to hold sway. The Constituents, the ones that are to be represented are side-lined. Technically they are all said to be on an equal footing but, the sitting candidate and party does get some taxpayer support so-called admin costs. At the GE, I know that is not local, the greater majority of the electorate was simply disenfranchised, with the party that obtained just 20% of the electorates support seizing power – that’s not a good look to be called democracy.
February 23, 2025
Nick,
That would never do – far too close to democracy where those supported in constituencies actually might vote for what was promised / what is morally right / what their Party ought to be doing.
February 23, 2025
Having attended a few Local Council meetings as the Trustee of a Local Charity (no personal financial reward) Party politics appears to be more important to many than the local residents needs.
Local Councils now appear to be no more than a money collection and money distribution centre, rather than in decades past where maintenance of the local infrastructure its buildings and services were a priority.
February 23, 2025
Correct. So many Labour MPs like the dire Education Secretary joined the Labour party as a teenager. What sort of well balances person would do this? Many of these people are clearly indoctrinated into the Labour religion before full brain development. Just like many of the older religion. Is indoctrination of young children not a form of child abuse? And one that can do a great deal of harm.
For good people to be made to do evil things often takes religion.
I see the sensible Katharine Birbalsingh has called the dire education Secretary a Marxist who hates academies. What these types of people really hate is any fair competition to the state sector at all in health, education, transport, housing… this as it shows up just how dire and incompetent it usually is. They are consumed with the evil of envy.
February 23, 2025
To see the dire Education Sec. in all her evil, politics of envy & irrational glory just listen to her on Camilla Tominey GB news today. I cannot help thinking she was damaged or indoctrinated in someway in her youth. Or are people actually born with this bitter, nastry irrationality?
Bridget Phillipson talks about private schools and says they are in business and if demand falls some may go bust that is business! Well if you make people pay 20% extra and four times over (tax, NI, fees, VAT and taxes of other people’s school) of course some will go bust – are you really to thick to see this dear you are running a rigged market. Rigged to make them pay four times over. So ones that are hugely better and more efficient that many state schools will indeed go bust but the often dire and worse state paid for by others never will.
February 24, 2025
Absolutely correct, LL.
February 23, 2025
Good morning.
And sort out those over generous retirement and benefits plans.
We could also look at all those Central Government inducements whereby Councils are encouraged to adopt some Government scheme in return for more money. They could also look at providing services to UK only citizens and not for those from overseas.
There is a very long list of things in which councils can do to save money and maintain basic services.
February 23, 2025
The Home Office is currently rubber-stamping “asylum granted” for as many criminal migrants as it possibly can, as quickly as it possibly can, so that they can be moved out of hotels and responsibility for housing them can be passed to Local Authorities.
They are then moved off the Home Office budget and British households will be charged for providing the “free” accommodation via their Council Tax, whilst at the same time the Government can claim to have got the asylum backlog down.
That is one reason why your Council Tax is going up and the Council’s Social Care costs are increasing. Yet another SCAM from the Westminster Uni-Party, which British citizens are being forced to fund.
February 23, 2025
Sir John,
At least we know by how much our Council Tax or rip off tax, as I prefer to call it, will increase because in Wokingham it is always by the maximum amount they are allowed without asking the people.
I notice they often start charging for services(sic) which had previously been included in the past years as part of the tax… A couple of recent examples were garden waste and an initial consultation with a planning officer for advice which had always been free.
I notice that currently Wokingham are advertising for four directors of various services, each attracting a salary of between £89,000 and £109,000 per annum plus benefits,in The Municiple Journal jobs section.
For me, The California Crossroads project shows clearly that our council misappropriately spends our money for the sake of spending it.
February 23, 2025
My LibDem council have been charging for garden waste collections for some years. Apart from the main one, libraries are now unmanned, entry is by swiping your library card. (Goodness knows who puts returns back on the bookshelves) and presumably, things such as toddler story time is a thing of the past. The local museums are mostly volunteer run ….
It’s sad to see.
February 23, 2025
Well it apparently cost £5.5M to build Cliff, which is pretty expensive for a childrens playground (without any slides or swings) and cars running through the centre of it.
It has clearly worked in one sense though. I avoid going out that way now (as I think it’s dangerous) so it is certainly an effective deterrent to traffic.
February 23, 2025
+1
February 23, 2025
Now I wonder who will be the successful candidates for the 4 Director jobs?
Could it be that friends of LibDem councillors will turn out to be the best qualified for the jobs?
Just wondering.
February 23, 2025
The long-suffering UK ratepayers are heaving under a phenomenal amount of debt, mostly built up over the past 20 years
UK local authorities are £122bn in debt, much of it owed to lenders with one council (Birmingham) owing £2.9bn alone. Councils owe £97.8bn to lenders or £1,455 per resident, as of September last year.
When we consider all types of local authority, including the usless police commissioners and combined authorities, the debt climbs to £122.2bn. Birmingham has the highest debt of any local authority, followed by Leeds at £2.2bn, Woking at £1.9bn, Warrington at £1.7bn and the City of Edinburgh at £1.6bn.
If we consider population, it’s Woking that lands the worst position, as its debt equates to £18,756 per person, which is the highest ratio in the country. The bulk of the debt has been built up because of interest payments and the gold-plated, index linked final salary pension schemes that the council have awarded themselves
Councils were urged by Govey’s Dept of Levelling Up to undertake commercial investments, to generate income sources separate from grants, council tax, business rates, parking fees, speeding, planning charges etc. Town halls have bought hundreds of assets, from shopping centres to office parks, cinemas, energy firms and housing developments. Many of these investments were ill-advised – and are now at a loss on their books
February 23, 2025
There are no incentives for Councils to reduce their spending.
The Not-a-Conservative-Party allowed them to increase Council Tax by up to 5% every year, no questions asked …. so that’s exactly what they did, every year.
Labour has gone one better and allowed some of them who have “managed” their fiefdoms so badly that they are effectively bankrupt to push through even larger increases.
All the time Councils can just demand and get more money they will not cut expenditure. Just like the Westminster Uni-Party.
February 24, 2025
Not only are there no incentives to reduce their spending it was my experience over many years that the opposite was true. Individual departments were urged to make absolutely certain that their allocated budgets were fully spent by the end of each financial year in order to ensure that their budgets for the following year would NOT be reduced.
February 23, 2025
Local councils run out of money before they’ve come to an end of their statutory duties. The only way they can make ends meet is by delaying paying out.
So relieve local councils of their responsibility of paying for care homes for those who spent all the money they ever had, and put nothing by for their old age. Perhaps the charity sector could have pity on them.
February 23, 2025
Not a hope in hell sir JR. Take, take, take, it’s all they know.
As an aside. I live in a close, it’s a private road owned by the five dwellings within. No streetlights, no council maintenance. nothing.
They do empty our bins (charging an extra £50/year for the garden waste) This costs us over £3000/year !!!! Value for money ? Or an expensive rip-off tax ?
February 23, 2025
The way for Conservative councillors to improve their prospects of election is to apply to switch to Reform UK. If they are valid performers and succeed in meeting Reform quality standards and vetting process, they may succeed. If however they are just dead weights, just trying to stay in office, Reform will reject them, as should all sensible voters.
February 23, 2025
Shouldn’t the members of Reform vet the candidates? All the parties Farage had led have a verrrry poor record of selecting candidates.
February 23, 2025
-isn’t that true of all Parties? Forget your unjustified bias and consign the was-Tory Party to the dust heap it deserves.
February 23, 2025
Members might do so already, Lynn. Branch Chairmen and Management Committees have to be nominated and seconded by members, and they are then subject to a majority vote of members attending the monthly meetings. The vetting and appointment of Candidates for Election is bound to be more stringent, but I don’t yet know if those are, or will also be, subject to membership vote.
Reform UK is rapidly developing a solid national structure and adding more professionalism. Some duffers may seep through, as in any party’s selection process. What is noticeable in Reform is that wrongdoers are rapidly expelled.
February 23, 2025
I agree with the sentiment Sir John but there is just one small problem.
The elected councillors have no power to adjust or control any of the nonsense policies permanent council staff members come up with.
In my own area plagued by pot holes like so many other areas of the UK the council decided to employ a pot hole consultant to advise them about pot holes. The cost was £1000/day and the post was maintained for a year. The scale of pot holes and the numbers did not alter one jot. No councillor wanted a Pot Hole Consultant!
February 23, 2025
Having unelected unaccountable committees that define a “maximum allowed” is an ‘oxymoron’
At best it is just jumped up ‘numpties’ that can’t get real jobs and depend on friends of friends to keep them employed, then at the other end it is those we empower and pay to do a job opting out of their duties.
Either way it is our corrupt Politicos fighting the people and choice
February 23, 2025
Great advice – that would surely improve the chances of a lot of candidates if they came out with those ideas.
That must surely leave out the liblabcon, SNP and Greens because belonging to a party usually means candidates follow the national party line. It would be very brave candidate who didn’t. Independents should win though.
Most local councillors are just as indoctrinated with netzero as are MPs and Lords at Westminster, so I don’t hold out much hope that there will suddenly be a realization by any existing councillors that they suddenly see the light.
These points are well worth noting though and candidates should be challenged on them.
As netzero comes more into it’s own, we will see just where local councillors stand by the decisions made, and I fear they will be seen to be just as ignorant as MPs when it comes to the science. Let’s see if Reform can make a difference to that viewpoint to kick start a popular revolution.
February 23, 2025
How on earth are councils expected to “fight climate change”, maintain “nuclear-free zones” or ensure “fair trade only” shops without more money?
February 23, 2025
None of those aims are worth a light anyway.
February 23, 2025
Only the brave would go for moderate, sensible policies as such moderate policies will be shouted down as “far-right” by the extremists.
February 23, 2025
Get rid of any jobs for Woke and diversity this also includes the police the NHS and any public postb
February 23, 2025
We are all trapped
Yvette Cooper(Mrs Balls) has furthered the Uniparty dream of controlling thought and free speech. The likes of ‘Apple’ have had to stop supplying their customers in the UK(only this TwoTeir absent PM & Government, UK) with the security needed to keep them safe.
The Home Secretary wants and needs direct access to everyone’s personal thoughts. She has opened the door to all hackers, and terrorist they can now steal your money your bank accounts and life. You are not allowed to be safe or free.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/22/ai-social-media-dsit-disinformation-trump-vance-elon-musk/
Its part of the TwoTier method of Government we now endure. Ban ‘Free Speech’ by locking up those that disagree or have an opinion. Then when it is not all in the public domain seek it out by stealing personal details.
There is no keeping us safe in this policy, those with ill intent keep well clear of Government reach. It is simply about controlling the everyday people with the thought it will keep those in Government Safe.
A Government that fights, not serves it people. That is not Government, that is Dictatorship
February 23, 2025
Great post / comments overall (95% agree with everything).
For comic relief on this topic, please turn to the infamous ‘Handforth Council Zoom Meeting’ on YouTube.
February 23, 2025
Off Topic that is really very on Topic
from the media ‘John Lydon(we have a generation that have no idea who he is) – is enjoying Trump’s presidency. “It’s joyous,” John says, grinning broadly. “His distractors are distraught, but public money had been wasted and now there’s a businessman in charge. He stops the waste, cleans up the rubbish and makes it efficient. What a novel idea!’
Local Government as it stands is not independent it is central Government fodder, so they don’t “stop the waste, clean up the rubbish and make themselves efficient’ as they prefer to take their lead and be shown the way by a frightened central command and control Government. After all, they(The Local Councils) and the people voting for them have no say. Even their candidates are chosen from above, that why they reflect Central Command.
So Jonny Rotten just as with the BBC his thought on Jimmy Savile appear to be on the money once more
February 23, 2025
Gets my vote
February 23, 2025
However I believe that the council-tax should be scraped and replace 100% by central grant
February 23, 2025
@glen cullen – dangerous!
I believe it should be the other-way around. Taxes should all be a local thing and central Government only getting what the locals vote for them to get. Proper devolution(the one talked about that never happened), power moved to those most able to do what is required. Central Command style Government just squanders money, they cant manage what is required in every different location – in fact they cant manage period.
Last reports shown by Taxpayers’ Alliance lists 957 ‘semi- autonomous public bodies’ (Quangos to me and you) under the remit of the UK Government which it estimates employ 700,000 staff, receive Government funding of £82 billion and spending over £120 billion. – That was 2010, the feeling is the number has grown since, it was never Government Money it is as always Taxpayer Money going to the unelected, unaccountable seemingly friend of friends but with no one actually accountable and in charge and nothing achieved
February 23, 2025
Ian B – I just don’t like the current local government funding model, we need to change the funding tax but retain local control
And I agree with your analysis of quango’s …..We could happlily survive without a single quango
February 23, 2025
On past experience it seems most unlikely that any of the so-called ‘Major parties’ will offer anything so attractive and sensible; it will be interesting to see if Reform when it comes to it, is substantially different. If it turns out to be, then it will face a great challenge getting its manifesto proposals past the un-elected officials to whom they will represent the prospect of significant redundancies.
February 23, 2025
TwoTierKier is said to be making a speech today “He will say that the dangerous, I’ll repeat, the dangerous right-wing politics of Reform UK will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people, but they are not telling the truth. They are not to be trusted. They are dangerous right-wing politicians.”
So again if you dare, just dare to criticise TTK you are right-wing
That begs the question what is someone that is maliciously destroying the UK economy, making deals to put other unelected unaccountable foreign bureaucrats(ECJ etc) in charge of the UK, giving sovereign UK territory away, then to hide everything by seeking to completely ban ‘free speech’ in the UK?
February 23, 2025
Isn’t it strange that “the dangerous right-wing policies” of Reform UK are resonating so well in the working class areas which Labour abandoned.
February 23, 2025
And well beyond working class areas, too.
February 23, 2025
So let’s embrace ‘right-wing’ – you have to be right to be right wing after all. Why don’t we call them ‘wrong-wing’?
February 23, 2025
@Donna & Lyn – strange how hard working people that manage themselves and are seen as being self reliance and resilient, the centre ground of the UK, are now to be labelled ‘right-wing’. Who will stand up and work with the people of the UK and who fights their very being?
February 23, 2025
Good idea, its better to be right wing than wrong wing.
February 23, 2025
They were once called the ‘man on the Clapham omnibus’ – us older folk get it…..under 50 maybe not?
February 24, 2025
@Mickey Taking – In Law the definition of the ‘man on the Clapham omnibus’ is still there but our left-wing activist Judges and Legal profession find that putting personal spin on the law is more endearing to the ego than what was intended by the Law. But the again, a Parliament stuffed with lazy ‘free-loading’ MPs as our Legislators leads to bad Laws.
February 23, 2025
I believe in some areas 25% of the annual council tax payment goes to fund pensions payments for current and past staff.
February 23, 2025
Indeed and so much of the rest on salaries, expenses, junkets… for the current staff or pissed down the drain on lunacies like DEI, non crime hate incidents and net zero. Like so very much of the state sector it is run for the benefit of their (senior especially) staff. About 80% is essentially just parasitic activity.
February 23, 2025
@Roy Grainger – contributing to a pension fund is something other people do. As LL pointed out there is also DEI, the big Discrimination Network so loved by taxpayer funded organisations – they have to throw other peoples had earned cash somewhere
February 23, 2025
Much guff in the press this weekend concerning how quickly the UK needs to increase it’s defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, with “sources” claiming that the 2030 target will be brought forward to 2028
Surely this misses the point? Israel defence budget 2023 was $25bn. For that the Israeli taxpayer gets 170,000 active personnel, 465,000 reservists, 2250 tanks, 530 artillery guns of 155mm and above, 340 combat aircraft, 150 attack helicopters, 5 submarines, 50 patrol and coastal ships and a highly effective air defence system (based around the outstanding Iron Dome system)
As a result the Israelis regularly wipe the floor with their adversaries.
The UK spent $68bn on defence in 2023. For that we have about 50 combat ready Challenger II tanks, about 100 artillery guns, 50 attack helicopters, 30 combat ready Typhoon jets (and those without the latest radars), 25 F35b warplanes (with pilots in training) and roughly 12 frigates and destroyers – plus the carriers – which cannot operate without US Navy/Marines support. We also have six Astute subs with one in build – however only two or three are at sea at any one time due to shortages of RN sailors. And no homeland air defence system whatsoever.
We do, however have 65,000 MoD personnel – only slightly less than the Army at 75,000. Clearly, our defence system needs root and branch reform to give us more bang for our buck
February 23, 2025
@Sakara Gold – as was the real thought emerging from Sir John’s item the other day it is not what is spent as a percentage of GDP it is what is needed to do the job, it will take many years at 10% just to redress the imbalances foisted on out defences. Without resilience, self reliance, the industry and the affordable energy being built in there is no GDP to create a percentage from. At a guess we could get to that figure quickly by getting rid of all taxpayer funded Discrimination Departments( they call themselves by the cuddly title DEI)
February 24, 2025
Ian is right :
We need a proper assessment of our defence needs before we set a budget.
I would abandon every activity East of our shipping lanes to the Middle East. We cannot possibly afford to help the US against China. In any event, we will still need far more warships to do the job properly. At least 30 destroyers and frigates. These should be designed here but can be built cheaply and quickly in Taiwan.
We must concentrate more on UK defence, including a missile shield, and bring in less expensive tactical Nukes which would be worth dozens of Divisions in any European war against Putin and will undoubtedly add a further layer of deterrence. These can be new warheads for Storm Shadow missiles that we could rapidly develop, possibly in cooperation with the French.
We do however need more fighting troops. To think that when I lived in Germany in the 1980s, BAOR alone had 100,000 troops. We have a far bigger population today so if they are properly paid, recruitment should not be a problem. It must however be handed back to the Regiments whose Commanding Officers would be highly effective in maintaining their own unit’s fighting strength. Giving recruitment to Capita has been an unmitigated and expensive disaster.
New ships, better pay, and conditions should also solve recruitment problems that have been holding back the Royal Navy.
February 24, 2025
@Chris S
Many in the UK defence community would agree with you. However, I see no advantage in wasting money on new non-strategic nuclear warheads – which would never be used. We have our strategic deterrent and the French would definitely not share their nuclear technology with us. We are tied to the Americans and Trident. Better we learn from the Ukraine war and rebuild our defences accordingly
February 24, 2025
Well, one way of increasing our armed services would be to halve the number of pen-pushers at the MoD and to offer those 65,000 MoD personnel a choice of joining one of the “Active Services” – Army, Navy, Air Force. And if they choose not to join up, they are at risk of making themselves redundant.
February 23, 2025
Sorry John, but – as usual – we disagree over the Social Housing and residential elements. Generally, Government pay the Social Housing Allowances to tenants, who then give them to Housing Associations. Each property, and every tenant, becomes just another number. Special needs accommodation is provided by the private sector who make a profit from the excess payments demanded from Councils, reducing funding available for social care. When a council uses its own land to build need identified property it can make a small profit, after repaying loans, albeit only 1 or 2%, then a substantial excess of income once that debt is reduced. The more there is inflation, the less the debt becomes, creating a larger net income. I devised and created Wokingham Housing, a company worth a net of over £25 million (500 houses with some borrowings) when I lost my seat, despite officer objection. All at nil cost to the Council Tax payer. I never agreed with the acquisition of commercial sites, unless they had long term residential potential, and then only in the WBC area, so we agree there.
Reply My comments are about the many Councils buying commercial property as investments or going into solar panel and other renewable investments. Some have already lost a lot of money. All are facing increases in the borrowing costs as they are doing it on borrowed money.
February 23, 2025
An exposure by TPA reported by the Sun, reveals some fine example of how taxpayer money is wasted on woke ideology.
Never mind USAID, UKAID is robbing ordinary people of their money to fund very questionable nonsense.
– £15billion in public cash went on foreign aid projects such as shrimp farms in Bangladesh and electric cars for Albanian jails;
– Projects included £199,922 for the Coventry University study into “Ontology and Ownership of Internet Dance”;
– Other grants included £1.1million for the University of Sheffield to probe “Intersectional Inclusion”.
…and so much more.
Clearly we were all taken for mugs when UKAID was seen to be too expensive and Cameron assured us that every penny was well spent – Ha
February 23, 2025
+1
February 23, 2025
More waste and LOST PRODUCTIVITY from the mandarins of Westminster:
Taken from Guido Fawkes
February 23, 2025
Maybe their own homes are in sunnier climes abroad. A lit of people who live under the sun could do these jobs for very few pennies if they don’t need to turn up in person.
Perhaps that’s the route we should take, to paraphrase DOGE this morning ‘if you don’t turn up 5 days every week it’s will be taken as resignation’.
February 23, 2025
+1
February 23, 2025
Worked for Trump. Anybody seeking election should copy and past this manifesto.
February 23, 2025
What a novel idea to look for ways of saving money and reducing council tax. Is there any council in the UK that does that?
Whatever you think of Trump, his DOGE department is an excellent idea. Government departments spend money and never seem to question why or seek value for money. So, an in-depth audit of government spending should be an essential part of any new government’s responsibility. But I doubt there has been any such audit in the last 30 years, or indeed ever here in the UK. Every Labour government leaves the UK broke and worse off at every level of government, including local councils.
February 23, 2025
@Keith from Leeds – here in Wokingham we have gone from being one of the least costly Councils in the Country supplying second to none services to one of the top taxed Councils with little or no proper services and infrastructure. Unless you count an ego trip by the Liberal Democrats of painting leaves at a major road junction, to confuse and probably cause injury – but I guess that was them using central government(£5.5 million) funding meant for pot holes that are still there. The Town centre has been deserted by real choice and commerce just a handful of dreary coffee and charity shops. Yet the population has grown by a massive magnitude, incomers out number locals and the politics of the Council Changed which the Councils revenue has gone up by the same
February 24, 2025
If I were you, I would move !
We went from West of Maidehead to East Dorset and while, regrettably we currently also have Lib-Dim councils, that will change with the growth of Reform. Here we have more space and the demand for new housing is less acute.
However, we are currently blighted by the enforced building of many miles of new cycle lanes that are rarely if ever used and have dramatically increased traffic density, but nothing like that in Berkshire.
February 23, 2025
The same challenge might be met by candidates for national office too of course, as M. Thatcher showed to the great benefit of everyone (bar the official Oppostion).
February 23, 2025
I have experience of this kind of thing.
If an individual candidate campaigns to do this it only has a very marginal candidate it has only a marginal, if not very marginal impact as people are very fairly very sceptical about what an individual Councillor to do on his own.
What can potentially have a big impact is if a political group, especially a group with some chance of taking control of the Council promises to do that – so it is imperative for any candidate to persuade the leadership of the political group, be it Conservative or nowadays even Reform to promise to do just this : the problem with the leadership of Conservative groups is that they have usually settled into a cosy relationship with Council Officers and forgotten about the interests of the voters who elected them! I did manage once in Bury behind the back of the then group leader (who told me afterwards he didn’t like that promise) to persuade the finance spokesman to promise (that was before the capping of Council tax rises and in contrast to what Labour were then doing on the Council) to not increase Council Tax by more than the rate of inflation. The Conservatives took power the following May and sort of kept to that promise the following year (keeping the Council Tax rise below the highest of the then 3 main measures of inflation) but found a pretext to break that promise thereafter. So everybody in Bury should be thanking me for saving them a few pounds a year in Council Tax (as future rates are based on percentage rises from past rises, especially with capping in place)!
February 23, 2025
Well Done!
February 23, 2025
Is it true that around 70% of a councils budget is on adult and children’s social care?
Did the tories cut half a billion £ from an average council budget from 2010 to 2024?
Reply That leaves out the education budget and the capital budget I guess. Do not recognise the 2010-14 numbers
February 24, 2025
According to Wokingham DC’s 2024-25 budget breakdown, 64% (£110m) goes on Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. 81% of the overall budget comes from Council tax.
https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/sites/wokingham/files/2024-03/SHC24058%20WBC%20Council%20tax%20budget%20breakdown%202425%20-%20accessible%20V2.pdf
Reply These numbers leave out education which is around half the total and financed by central government grants.
February 24, 2025
@reply – yes the medium term budget plan document includes additional material on education. It isn’t clear to me how council taxes play into that area.
February 23, 2025
So Germany has yet again failed to Elect a Government. What a punishing thing PR is! So the political class will now gang up against the second most popular party (having berated them as having a Christian name of ‘Heil’) and pit into power all the marginal parties to form a government. Even Baerbock might be back – and like Gencher I’m sure she will only play ball if she is Foreign Secretary. Threatening the USA is such a German characteristic.
‘Unless the USA goes to war with the Russian Federation – Germany will!’ 🤪
February 23, 2025
Whereas we elect a government with a huge majority based on the votes of 1 person in 5. What a punishing system that is.
February 23, 2025
Why isn’t the government introducing a Bill to expand UK Quantum Research under the Department of Energy with a funding budget of $400 Million over the next five years?
Why is the UK not doing this (or something like this) when the American Senate introduced, on 14 Feb 20205, a Bill To Expand U.S. Quantum Research under the Department of Energy with a funding budget of $2.5 Billion over the next five years?
Why not?
February 24, 2025
Why? the focus of NQTP is product to market – what is the tangible benefit to this country when the R&D and product development that does get done here is given away by the ignoramuses.
February 24, 2025
The UK government has assisted in development of other famous technologies like radar. Yes, it’s possible to make the mistake of giving away the technology for nothing. This is wrong. And we must learn from this. However don’t throw baby out. The UK didn’t create radar – it just discovered it. Sooner or later someone else would have discovered it. But we were able to discover it first because we had some very well educated people in science with good practical, commercial experience in science. The US government helped fund / establish Silicon Valley from which private tech enterprise has benefited hugely. The USA now dominates tech but China quickly catching up. With both of their governments investing in quantum tech research (funding dropped somewhat because of funding/focus rising in AI). And it’s essential to dominate / be three steps ahead in tech otherwise your tech becomes quickly out of date and worthless.
February 24, 2025
Worthless in terms of having immediate market value.
February 24, 2025
As I have said here before, there is zero chance of a change in the way we are governed unless voters take a chance and vote for a Reform-led government. Every other party at Westminster with the possible exception of the NI members), is wedded to the status quo so we are not going to see any change from them.
The difficulty for Reform now is that the state has been expanded by such an extent that almost 50% of voters depend on handouts and don’t pay taxes for any of it. The huge increase in personal tax allowances was a clever Lib-Dim policy which Cameron foolishly allowed to be introduced. These people have no interest in voting for change. Unfortunately Nigel Farage seems to want to push this even further. Who is going to vote for a much smaller state, unless they will personally benefit from it ?
We have a little over 4 years before we have a last chance to change direction. Fail to take the opportunity and the country will continue in the current downward socialist spiral, even under the lib-dim-light Conservative. In the first instance Reform need to wipe the floor clean of Conservative councils in May, and put the fear of God into Starmer and Co.
That will be the springboard for a major realignment before 2029. It is our only hope.
February 24, 2025
Even if Reform did get in there is little chance of changes in the overall direction – you can’t magically re-introduce manufacturing here when the man in the street is only interested in cheap stuff from China and future looking businesses that remain are moving off to the US.
February 24, 2025
I well remember Wokingham council running a referendum on education and council tax.
the voters were offered three choices max education spend & max council tax, min education spend & min council tax, and one in the middle.
the voters voted for min council tax and min spend by a large majority, and after this unusual exercise in democracy… the council implemented max council tax and max education spend anyway. democracy was openly shown to be a sham.
you were the local mp at the time…
Reply I remember no such thing!
February 24, 2025
@Reply – neither do I
February 24, 2025
I was there, it was sometime between 2000 and 2004
why would I make it up
I voted in it
February 24, 2025
“Why do Councils usually put it up by the maximum allowed?”
Because they know the majority number of voters in Council elections are net takers who will always vote for more benefits and ‘services’: which also suits the councils very well, as they want maximum payments into their own pension funds, and after the elections they can easily pretend services ‘have to be cut’.