Sunday, 20 February 2011

Tameside Taxpayers Alliance exposé makes the regional and national press - well done!


Public bodies have spent tens of thousands of pounds of tax¬payers' money telling officials how to walk.

Others carry warnings about side effects of walking – 'feeling warm, clammy and short of breath'.

A leaflet for Tameside Council, near Manchester, outlines six routes.

In a section worthy of John Cleese in the Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks sketch, it advises walkers to keep their head centred and in line with their spine and to ensure their arm swing is natural.

It also tells staff that 'the heel should always touch the ground first with each stride, then the ball of the foot, then your toes – in that order'.

Emma Boon of the TaxPayers’ Alliance branded the leaflets 'patronising codswallop'.

She added: 'This highlights everything that is wrong with the public sector's attitude towards our money.'

Urbanwalks is run by Colin Anderson, a graphic designer, and his wife Justine Dingwall, a physical activity consultant, from their home in Manchester.

Mr Anderson said: 'I think the people want to know that people working in the public sector are healthy.'

Tameside Council said: 'The council has used Urbanwalks on two occasions.

'We paid £4,200 for one commission. The second commission was paid for by external services.’ Daily Mail and Manchester Evening News.

12 comments:

NCB said...

I disagree TC.

I used to walk backwards with one leg bent at a 45 degree angle, but, now, thanks to these excellent leaflets produced by our council, I am able to walk normally again. I honestly don't know where I'd be without Tameside council.

Alf Garnett said...

Anonymous pls read my reply to what you said regarding UU having no responsibilite for the reservoir roads in Audenshaw on the last topic cause i don,t think that debate was finished, and i don,t think you understand about the delivering clean water to the general public.

Anonymous said...

I didnt know u had a sense of humour nigel.

Click for Silly Walks said...

Clearly John Cleese has never seen Tameside MBC's leaflet on how to walk properly.

Nightshift said...

Socialists regard the public sector as a job (and vote) creation and protection scheme. They see themselves as having a right to as much of your money as they can possibly lay their hands on to be spent in any way they see fit. The concept of running an efficient operation and delivering good quality, value for money services to the taxpayer is absolute anathema to them. They detest the idea of accountability and criticism.

We pay for this said...

Yet another example of council waste. Labour's 'jobs for the boys' cabinet system is now costing taxpayers in the region of £326,000 a year. Almost half the Labour Group now have a cabinet position of one sort or another, with system costing £94,000 a year MORE than it did 2004.

Great work by Floyd Paterson to highlight this sham.

If we have to have a cabinet system in Tameside why does it need 21 people to serve it, when other councils have no more than 10in their cabinet?

Cost Cutting Conservative said...

I agree with the above poster, but the cabinet system isn't the only problem. We need to significantly reduce the number of councillors and how much they are paid and entitled to.

Why do councillors get their own secretaries to reply to constituents? Can't they do it themselves? They are paid enough. And you can't exactly say that they don't have half the time as no more than 10 councillors hold down a job.

Banish the freeloaders said...

CCC asks "Why do councillors get their own secretaries to reply to constituents?". Come on CCC you know the answer to that question. The calibre of the average Labour councillor is so low they are barely literate and many struggle with basic arithmetic.

I was at a council meeting where Alan Whitehead got completely confused and made a right idiot of himself when trying to work out how much kids pay in bus fare to school on a daily basis if their weekly bus fare allowance is £7.00.

The outrage is that many of these numpties many of whom were/are trade union yes men are earning vast sums at the council tax payers expense which they could never in their wildest dreams hope to earn in the real world.

Cost Cutting Conservative said...

Of course I know the answer. It was more of a rhetorical point. I'm told by a friend of mine that Kieran Quinn read my comment about the meals councillors receive before the full council meeting which lasts roughly half an hour. And as a result, he's cutting it as of the next full council meeting!

I'll give credit where it's due, but well done to Cllr. Quinn for listening.

Anonymous said...

CC Conservative want us to give credit to Councillor Quinn,come off it, your post may well have been essential,but he`s running fast at present trying to keep up with the scandals coming out.
Like his 5 Directorships shown in previous posts.
The horse has bolted TMBC Councillors time to start running before the finger of fate points at YOU.
And it will !!!!!!

jobs for labour's boys & girls said...

CCC said, "...no more than 10 councillors hold down a job."

21 Labour councillors have a cabinet position of one type or another.

They even have 'assistant' cabinet members, presumably because the cabinet members cannot do their jobs on their own.

Either that or they are wasting cash to line the pockets of their Labour comrades with taxpayers' cash.

Cost Cutting Conservative said...

It's also in the Sun today TC. About time the national press caught on to what a wasteful council Tameside is.