Taxmen protest in parliament
By Ian Dunt
Taxmen from Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are set to lobby parliament today as thousands of them lose their jobs in the latest cost-cutting drive.
The civil servants will lobby MPs for support, boosted by a successful local campaign in Derby.
The cuts originate in the Gershon efficiency review, which earmarked 200 offices for closure to cut government bureaucracy.
Taxmen are expecting a further 12,500 redundancies, taking the total number of job cuts to 25,000 by 2011.
A spokesman for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which organised the lobby, told politics.co.uk: “There is little public sympathy for the profession, but it’s vital.
“If you don’t have tax revenue tax don’t get collected and tax credits don’t get paid.”
The lobby will be followed by a rally within parliament.
