Tory-Lib Dem council Birmingham City Council is sponsoring Reform's upcoming conference "Localism and the Public Services Revolution", at the cost of £7,500.
Free Market think tank Reform is very keen for the public sector to spend less. So, for example, director Andrew Haldenby has argued that there should be 300,000 fewer employees in the NHS, and one million fewer in the public sector as a whole. So if the public sector shouldn’t spend money on front line staff, what should it spend its money on? Why – free market think tank conferences, of course.
Tory-Liberal Democrat run Birmingham City Council is sponsoring Reform’s upcoming conference “Localism and the Public Services Revolution”, at the cost of £7,500.
Reform’s business model is a sound one – take sponsorship from private companies, many of whom apply for public sector contracts, and then advocate for ever greater outsourcing – for example, in the NHS. (Although how that qualifies Reform to charitable status is puzzling).
That a local authority like Birmingham, currently cutting social care, meals-on-wheels and youth centres, thinks this is the best use of taxpayers’ money seems bizarre. Despite the enthusiasm of communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles for targetted attacks on local authorities and agencies he doesn’t like, we don’t expect he’ll be using his headlining appearance at the conference to comment.
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
52 Responses to “Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship”
Tweet4Labour
Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
Tweet4Labour
Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
Karen Purdy
Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
Leigh Thompson
Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship: http://bit.ly/jQuqyV writes @DanielElton
Nick Drew
RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l