The rich are cashing in. It's time Labour taxed wealth
When the world suffers a major crisis, it seems that, time and time again, it is the poorest who are hit the hardest while the wealthy continue benefit more and more. People are having to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets, at the forecourts and in the shops, as Trump’s illegal war on Iran continues, and it continues to drive prices up. Whenever the world faces such a crisis, it seems that the big companies are always ready to cash in on misery, and this again appears to be the case as the globe’s top oil and gas companies are raking in windfall war profits – $30 million an hour, as recently reported by The Guardian.
At a time when people were already struggling to make ends meet, this is a complete slap in the face for working-class communities. But it should also serve as a wake-up call for UK Government Ministers because it teaches us an important lesson. As I have said before, and as I will continue to say, the war in the Middle East is another shining example illustrating just why the UK must not rely on others to meet our most basic needs in an increasingly volatile world.
In Alloa and Grangemouth, the constituency I represent, we have seen the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, bringing an end to 100 years of proud industrial history, and a century of opportunities and employment for many in the town. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS and the Chinese State company PetroChina closed the plant and the folly of vital national infrastructure not being under Government control, and instead, in the hands of private capital and a foreign state is something which I have spoken about at length.
With Brent crude prices soaring and a transit through the Strait of Hormuz a dangerous proposal for any tanker, it is obvious that UK consumers would be better protected if we still produced our own fuels from our own oil, rather than relying on imports.Often invisible as to its depth, wealth inequality has been rising in the UK and it is believed that the richest 10 per cent own around a staggering 60 per cent of the UK’s wealth, according to the Fairness Foundation’s Inequality Knocks report published last year.
The thing is, there is plenty of money in society, Britain recently reclaiming its place as the fifth wealthiest nation on the planet. But that wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few. Pressure is growing inside and outside of the Houses of Parliament to deliver measurable, and speedy, improvements to living standards. However, public services are still deteriorating and, without bold action, this Labour Government risks continuing a managed decline.
Leadership must remember that the enduring mission of the wider Labour movement is to redistribute wealth and power in society – precisely what is needed to change the UK for the better today. That is why I have been advocating for the introduction of a wealth tax.
An annual two per cent tax on those people with net assets worth over £10 million could raise in the region of £24 billion each year. Reforming and equalising Capital Gains Tax, so that income from wealth is taxed at least at the same rate as income from employment, could raise another estimated £12 billion a year. The 2010s were the decade that the richest in society won. During 14 years of Tory austerity, we saw wages being suppressed and stagnate for ordinary people while the wealthiest got even richer.
We then suffered a global pandemic that exaggerated inequality even further and now a cost of living crisis so severe that some people believe it will never end. It has been a redistribution of wealth – but in the wrong direction. Taken together, the last decade and more have been a hammer blow to working-class families up and down the United Kingdom. Indeed, we have seen the creation of a new strata of society – that of the in-work poor.
When millions rely on the kindness of others just to survive, it seems wholly unfair that extreme wealth would go untaxed. A Labour Government rooted in real Labour values of fairness, equality and social justice must do better than continuing the status quo and must challenge vested interests. Most people agree that there is a minimum standard of living for everyone – even if current welfare support or minimum wages do not reflect that.
Why should we not draw an upper limit? Wealth taxation is not only economically viable, it is also morally necessary. When I came into Parliament in 2024, a wealth tax was considered a fringe idea. However, thanks to the work of some fellow MPs as well as pressure groups, it has entered the mainstream political agenda. I intend to keep that conversation going until, and after, it becomes reality.
Brian Leishman is the Member of Parliament for Alloa & Grangemouth.
