IPPR North, the Northern office of the left-wing IPPR think-tank – is arguing that decarbonising the North’s housing stock could directly generate 77,000 jobs and £38.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) by 2035, this would be achieved after a taxpayer subsidy of £143 billion. £143 billion. This is not a typo.
The IPPR argues that social housing providers are key players in delivering decarbonisation at scale and developing the private-sector supply chain. They argue that taxpayers should fund a 10-year programme of subsidy into social housing and retrofitting new boiler systems. They claim it will generate 77,000 jobs, which works out at a mere £1,857,142 for each job – a bargain. This is the green economics madhouse.
£143 billion is almost an entire year’s income tax revenue, it is three times the defence budget, it is, in other words a stupendous figure. It represents a tsunami of taxpayers’ money going where? To the sponsors of IPPR’s report of course.
The publication was sponsored by the Northern Housing Consortium with the logos of not-for-profit housing associations prominently displayed. There was no mention of the dozens of property developers, property service companies, plumbers, builders, roofers, construction firms and boiler fitters who will stand to profit from the green gold rush.
Guido has nothing against the green upgrading of homes, he just thinks the taxpayer should not be on the hook for it. Are all those corporations who have concreted over so much of the North in it just to save the planet? Of course not, they’re in it to make billions in profits snatched off taxpayers…
£39,584,172 of taxpayers’ money was funnelled to left-wing lobby groups, new research from the Taxpayers’ Alliance has revealed. Between the years 2017 and 2019, groups arguing for higher taxes, spending, and in favour of a greater regulatory burden were flush with money – handed to them by the Government they campaign against…
Taxpayer funding went to the socialist Fabian Society, anti-growth New Economics Foundation, and anti-trade deal ‘War on Want’. Other cash that was splurged on left wing campaigners included:
- £215,000 given to the IPPR, a left wing “progressive policy” think tank, which lobbies for higher taxes and government spending.
- £978,000 handed over to Rosa, an organisation that claimed last year “The Conservative government is actively selling off our NHS to the US.”
- £185,759 sloshed over to nanny state lobby group Alcohol Change UK which pushes the Government to further increase the price of alcohol.
- £228,000 forked out to the British Youth Council, an organisation that runs the ‘Youth Parliament‘, lobbying the government to lower the franchise to include children, and supports nationalised transport.
No need to ask these left-wing groups ‘who funds you’. The answer is usually ‘the taxpayer’…
The director of the IPPR left-wing think-tank , Tom Kibasi, has explicitly backed the Labour Party in a Guardian op-ed. He appears to be breaking the rules requiring charities to be non-partisan – an issue on which the Charity Commission has been particularly active of late. In his piece Kibasi doesn’t hold back, writing: “The country cannot afford and should not expect anything less [than a Labour victory]” and Labour’s dire state in the polls “can and must change”. Which seems a tad partisan…
The laws on charitable think tanks explicitly rule out the backing of political parties.
Almost certainly just more fake news from No10. But if true, I look forward to the days of a future Labour government that bangs up all the dodgy right wing networks that take dark money from the US and have undermined our relations with Europe. https://t.co/f2KCvQmu5n
— Tom Kibasi (@TomKibasi) 20 October 2019
No doubt the Charity Commission will have something to say about this lest they again be accused of double-standards again…
Left-wing think tank IPPR has released a report claiming “New analysis of the government’s planned transport spending shows that, unless investment in the Northern Powerhouse goes ahead, London is set to receive almost 3 times more per person than the North.” You would hope the IPPR would be keeping track of the details…
To reach these skewed numbers, the think tank has had to include private sector investment. Yet they claim incorrectly in their press release that the “new analysis” is of “the government’s planned transport spending”. It quite simply is not. The train-wreck of a report implies that Government investment is highest in the South and lowest in the North. In reality, official figures show that the opposite is true…
Looks like their report has already come off the rails…
The former Prime Mentalist has just told an audience at the IPPR “More people voted for Ed Balls on Strictly than for our next Prime Minister.” Tens of thousands of Tories will have voted for Boris to become leader. The country made the Tories the biggest party and in Britain’s system of democracy that gives them the opportunity to form a government. Precisely zero people voted for Gordon Brown to become PM because his thuggish reign of terror scared off any opponent in his party from standing against him. Unbelievable hypocrisy…
ComRes have today revealed their rank bank of think tanks, assessing where the esteemed establishments rank among MPs of different parties. Their bi-annual survey of MPs has found that the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute of Economic Affairs come out on top among Tory MPs, with 65% and 59% of Tory MPs respectively endorsing them for their ‘high quality output’. Free market ideas still rule the roost, despite the leanings of the current party leadership…
Additionally, 39% of Conservative MPs say the CPS is one of the most influential think tanks, with the IEA nearest on 35%. The Centre for Social Justice, Institute for Fiscal Studies and The Taxpayers’ Alliance follow closely behind to round out the top five. The CPS are by far the biggest climbers with a sizable 13% jump, testament to their recent star hires…
Labour MPs liked the IPPR best, with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and IFS falling in behind. On an overall cross-party basis, the top five most influential wonks were the IFS (37%), followed by the JRF (30%), Chatham House (28%), the IEA (28%), and the CPS (24%).
Oddly, the Adam Smith Institute wasn’t included in the list for MPs to choose from, despite some big policy wins this year. Guido hears the CPS has sportingly called on ComRes to include the ASI next time round…
Read the report in full below:
