Gordon Brown to scrap "pay-as-you-throw" bin tax plan.

So Gordon Brown is planning to scrap his plans for a "pay-as-you-throw" bin tax. Well pump bloody pump. He knew this was highly unpopular with the people of this Fair land, but did he give a monkey's before he and his party got handed their arses last Thursday? NO he bloody well did not. This is a U Turn to save his neck. If Labour had done well in the local elections would he be scrapping this tax? Not a chance.

Anyhow, when Brown and his bunch of numpties were peddling this unfair tax they assured us that we wouldn't be out of pocket - in fact they told us we could actually be better off if we recycled more. So which is it? Is Brown doing us a favour by scrapping his plans for this tax, or is he stopping us saving money on our council tax bills. What about recycling - is that not a priority now that his job is looking dodgy? I'm confused.

What a load of pony. Mavis "Ooh I don't really know" Brown will have to do a lot better than that.

Bin Tax to be trialed in five Councils - What a load of rubbish

The go ahead to trial bin tax has been given for five ENGLISH councils. The top recycling households will get an annual discount of up to £50, while planet destroyers (that's a normal family to you and me) could be charged up to £50. It sounds like a excellent incentive to recycle doesn't it? but is it? Already there have been worries expressed over the likely increase in fly tipping. The cost of clearing up fly tipping and prosecuting those responsible is already massive and it looks like it will only get larger. Who will pay? I'll give you one guess.

Then you have to consider the cost of setting up any charging scheme. That has been estimated at £700,000 per council. Who will pay? I bet you can guess. Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said "bin taxes" would lead to "a surge in fly-tipping and back garden burning. To add insult to injury, the cost of fitting Bin Brother microchips and computer databases, new wheelie bins, complex bills and chasing non-payers, will far outweigh any savings. Bin taxes are so expensive to introduce that taxes on families will have to rise as result, through higher council tax bills. Everyone will lose out, whether you recycle or not."

This could be seen as a tax on families because they are the ones who are generating the most waste (it's a matter of numbers). Also this will be another tax on the working members of our society. Will those who do not pay council tax pay for any extra waste they produce? I doubt it very much. So I think we can safely say that if you are working and married (or cohabiting) with kids then this is a tax aimed at you.

There is so much that could be done before resorting to taxing us into submission. Manufacturers could be forced to improve the way they package their produce, we could go back to using milk bottles, we could ban plastic bags in supermarkets, we could improve recycling facilities, we could better educate the population on what can and can't be recycled, if packaging is labelled as recyclable, it must be easily recyclable (a lot of items aren't), more energy from waste facilities need to be built (in accordance with the Kyoto protocol). The ways to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill are numerous and increasing our tax bill should be seen as a last resort. But of course taxing us is a no-brainer.

Bin Tax gets the go ahead - What a load of rubbish.

Local councils have been given the go ahead to TAX YOU MORE. Pilot schemes are to be introduced throughout the country which will allow your council to charge you for the amount of rubbish you generate. This could be seen as a tax on families because they are the ones who are generating the most waste (it's a matter of numbers). Also this will be another tax on the working members of our society. Will those who do not pay council tax pay for any extra waste they produce? I doubt it very much. So I think we can safely say that if you are working and married (or cohabiting) with kids then this is a tax aimed at you.

There is so much that could be done before resorting to taxing us into submission. Manufacturers could be forced to improve the way they package their produce, we could go back to using milk bottles, we could ban plastic bags in supermarkets, we could improve recycling facilities, we could better educate the population on what can and can't be recycled, if packaging is labelled as recyclable, it must be easily recyclable (a lot of items aren't), more energy from waste facilities need to be built (in accordance with the Kyoto protocol). The ways to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill are numerous and increasing our tax bill should be seen as a last resort. But of course taxing us is a no-brainer.

Wheelie Bin Spy and Rubbish Tax. I've had enough. Is it time for Localism?

Ok I've had enough. Once upon a time in this country people stood up for their rights. If the people thought they were being cheated, someone would know about it. Now we have the government and local councils telling us how they are going to spend our money, instead of us telling them. The latest good idea is to charge us for waste collection on a per bag basis. I used to get my bin collected weekly, now I have a large wheelie bin sat in my front garden stinking and covered in maggots for a fortnight. This of course brings with it the joy of having to clean this health hazard, or paying one of the growing number of wheelie bin cleaning services to do it.

This massive decline in what was a basic public service irritates me, but what really annoys me is the fact that this stupidity has been foisted upon us without our consultation. We have become the servants of the state, and we are expected to pay up and shut up or face a fine. What has happened to us, are we so used to being told what to do now, that we can't even raise a whimper of defiance when our opinion is being so obviously disregarded?

It is thought that one in seven local authorities have fitted wheelie bins with microchips, this equates to approximately four million homes. The Conservative shadow local government minister, Eric Pickles, said: "We face the prospect of bin chips quietly being fitted in bins across the country to spy on families without their knowledge. I fear now that Labour ministers are forcing town halls into levying new bin taxes, without public consent."

This is yet another case of the government failing to do its job. Instead of getting manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use, the government have fallen back on their tried and tested method of taxing us to sort out their problems. If the roads are congested, instead of building more, or improving the ones we have, or subsidising public transport, they tax us.

Not only are the government failing to do their job, they have the (add any word you like) nerve to them charge us for the privilege of being led by incompetents.

UPDATE: Daniel Hannan of the Telegraph has posted an article entitled: Join the localist revolution Please try and find time to read it.