Jon Trickett MP: When will we finally tackle wealth inequality?

Jon Trickett MP writes: The wealthy attendees had lots to celebrate. With Donald Trump back in the White House and the new American oligarchy of Musk, Zuckerberg and other tech capitalists by his side, the super-rich feel like the President has their back. They will surely soon see a hefty cut to their tax bills.

Here in Britain, billionaires' wealth increased by £35 million a day in 2024 according to Oxfam. That is three times faster than the year before. The super-rich have never had it so good.

The wealth held by the top ten per cent of households in Great Britain is about five times greater than the bottom half of all households combined. Things seem to get more unequal year by year.

It’s fair to say that the rest of the country isn’t faring so well. Between 2020 and 2023 household income fell in Britain. We all saw the devastating consequences of the cost of living crisis in our communities with people struggling to afford to heat their homes or put food on their table.

But when you look at the statistics the situation is even more shocking.

Twenty-one per cent of people in Britain live in relative poverty after housing costs. That is over 14 million people.

Twenty-two per cent of children live in poverty. That is over three million kids.

Nearly four per cent of the population lives in what is called destitution, which means they couldn’t afford the basic essentials of life, like a home, food or heating.

How can such enormous wealth lie in the hands of a select few whilst so many millions of people suffer?

The truth is that our economy has been designed to produce these outcomes. For over four decades since Thatcher’s government, the trend has been towards low taxes on wealthy individuals and on big corporations. At the same time workers’ rights have been eroded, which has led to a decline in the rate of pay growth. In these circumstances, wealth inequality grows and grows.

Our economy could be re-designed to produce fairer outcomes if those in power wanted to do so. It would take time. It would face opposition from some of those at the top who are doing very well under the current system. It wouldn’t be easy. Nothing is. But it is possible if a government were to muster the courage to try.

One obvious place to start would be the tax system. Huge sums of wealth have been accumulated by the super-rich. Those UK billionaires who’s wealth increased by £35 million a day have money stacking up in their bank accounts and in other assets. Even a small tax on the wealth of the super-rich could have a significant impact.

Richard Hagan, director of the Crystal Doors company and a member of Patriotic Millionaires UK has said: "A two per cent tax on wealth over £10m would create £24bn a year for the UK Treasury and rein in extreme wealth. Only 20,000 people would pay it – and they would barely notice."

​I agree with him. We need a wealth tax, now.