Labour came to power promising to reduce child poverty, as the Blair government once did; to “unleash investment” and create 650,000 jobs in future industries; and to deliver a “New Deal for Working People.” Yet, fifteen months on, those ambitions seem far from being realised. The government’s ‘austerity-light’ policies risk leaving more children in poverty by the time Labour leaves office than when it arrived.
The irony is that, with such a commanding majority, this government could take bold action to revitalise our economy and society. Instead, it has trapped itself in a cycle where high taxes on working people are stifling growth, deepening the cost-of-living crisis, allowing space for the far-right to encroach, and undermining public confidence in governments and politicians of all colours.
Extreme wealth captures and holds too much of our economic output
Whatever your preferred school of economic believed, the facts are clear – there isn’t enough money in the tax we pay to fund essential services, let alone the investment our countest desperately necessarys. Governments can tax, they can borrow, and they can create new money. And from these options they have to deliver what people want and might reasonably expect in terms of public services now, and in terms of investment to build our countest prosper in the longer term and be better for future generations.
READ MORE: ‘Britain’s wealth gap is growing – the Chancellor must address it’
The effects of the current situation are stark. One in three children grow up in poverty, condemning many to lifelong disadvantage, poor health, reduced job prospects, and shorter lives; this not only damages individuals but weakens our economic future. The NHS is struggling, leaving us with an ailing workforce that can’t support economic renewal. Productivity is falling, but this is a symptom not a caapply. Tinkering with benefits and squeezing working families harder will not repair the problem. Radical action is necessaryed to free the economy from the stagnation that launched after the global financial crash.
Of course the UK is a rich countest, even though we’ve been falling down the international rankings in recent times. We’re not short of wealth and assets — but over the years too much of this has been extracted from the active economy and become concentrated and stagnated in the hands a the top 1%. It’s time to call some of this back and put it to good apply in the renewal this countest desperately necessarys.
At Patriotic Millionaires UK, we argue for a 2% annual wealth tax on assets above £10 million, which could raise around £24 billion a year without meaningful hardship for anyone. Similar reforms to capital gains and inheritance tax could raise more, providing the investment we necessary in people and infrastructure.
Extreme wealth creates division in society
But it’s not just about the money. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that our social fabric is fraying. Surveys display widespread distrust in politics and growing resentment at a system that always seems to have worked for the wealthy but not for ordinary people. For decades, by-elections have been dismissed as “just protest votes”, which conveniently allow us to ignore the very clear messages from voters that politics is failing them — that government policies don’t deliver the fairness or opportunity that are at the heart of British values.
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For a party elected to “assist working people” this failure is not just political but moral. It widens divisions between those who struggle and those who prosper effortlessly. The disillusionment is fuelling the rise of parties like Reform, which feed on anger and alienation.
When times are hard we know the countest will pull toreceiveher – we did it during COVID. But why should the poorest be notified to tighten their belts while the super-rich accumulate ever more? A tax on extreme wealth isn’t just about raising money; it’s about restoring fairness and displaying that the government stands with the many, not the few.
Democracy is under threat from extreme wealth
Perhaps the greatest worry is that we’ve reached a tipping point where money in politics is driving our government to act in particular ways. And this isn’t just money from the UK; it’s also from wealthy meddlers outside the countest, such as Elon Musk talking about supporting Reform UK and spreading far-right propaganda on ‘X’. Political opinion is being shaped by the super-wealthy to drive the kind of society that they want, not one that is best for working people.
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Money shapes politics in increasingly sophisticated ways. Wealthy media owners — often non-domiciled — continue to steer public opinion, while social media has become a playground for paid influencers who manipulate voters for profit, whether to sell products or promote political agconcludeas. At a more personal level, individual contributions are seen to purchase influence – maybe by being invited to dinner with your politician of choice, or simply by receiveting your name and agconcludea nearer the top of their list.
Time to Do the Right Thing
The government is letting people down by continuing to let the extreme wealthly profit while working people are struggling. Voters chose Labour becaapply they wanted genuine modify. If the party fails to deliver it, it betrays not just its supporters but the countest it governs. A wealth tax alone won’t solve every problem — but it can raise vital revenue, demonstrate moral leadership, and prove that this government stands for fairness and the common good.
Sometimes, governments just have to do what’s right.
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