Wednesday 27 October 2010

Someone Turn That Tap Off!

A day after the passing of the Health Act 2006, I was discussing its implications with some friends in a pub when one said "ASH may as well pack up now, they've got everything they ever wanted". He meant it, too. He believed that there was nothing left for them to go for. Yet here we are, 4 years later, and ASH - along with a plethora of other anti-smoking organisations - are louder and shriller than ever. One can barely read, watch or listen to the MSM without reading, seeing, or hearing one of them droning on about 'the next logical step' in tobacco control.

But then, it's hardly surprising when one sees how much government money they have to spend, as highlighted today by Forest. In fact, the state is shovelling so much cash their way that Anne Milton all but admitted - in reply to a question from our esteemed blog mascot in September - that they had trouble keeping track of it!

Forest's report, entitled Government Lobbying Government, sheds light on the flood of taxpayer funds being channelled towards quangoes and fake charities such as ASH ... in order for them to lobby government on what the government no doubt already wants to do.

As scams go, it's a biggie. And in the current environment of cuts to services, scaling back of projects and closing of public bodies, one must wonder how the coalition can justify keeping the tax tap open like this while they are simultaneously cutting off funds for schools and libraries.

You can read the report HERE in pdf format. Simon Clark has also written a piece at Conservative Home where the comments section is starting to get busy.


3 comments:

Sam Duncan said...

ASH will never pack up. The final logical step in “tobacco control” will be complete prohibition, and they'll be right in the front row cheering on the “war on tobacco”, leading the panic over tobacco as a “gateway drug”, and decrying the inevitable “tobacco-related” violence and gang warfare.

By the way, from that ConHome piece:

“ASH Scotland employs no fewer than 27 people, three times that of its sister organisation in London.”

Making it, proportionally to the population, thirty times larger. And I thought Scotland appearing more Righteous-infested than the rest of the country was just my imagination.

Anonymous said...

Of course ASH will fight to the death for their spitefull cause.
Their index linked pensions depend on it.
Still come the revolution ,meat hooks and rope a la Mussolini.

Junican said...

I know that it has been said before, but we must really emphasise the reason that we describe 'fake' charities as 'fake'. I think that this is important.
A charity is an organisation which 'does good works' (and not 'makes statements'). It is funded by donations from the general public. It is reasonable that, in deserving circumstances, that the government might contribute funds also (eg, troop charities).
ASH has no such 'raison d'etre' - it does no 'good works'. Ergo, it is not a charity and should not be receiving taxpayers' funds at all. QED.

Unfortunately, so many MPs and Ministers and Civil Servants have f*cked up by giving them charitable status in the past that only a really determined Minister will overturn the status quo - lots of questions will appear about past actions.
But that is what we want, isn't it? Don't hold your breath, but hope, and do your best (all of us), to reveal the truth!