MPs and Peers from Five Political Parties Sign Cross-Party Letter to Government Demanding a Review of How we Tax Wealth
16th June 2023
Twenty-eight MPs and Peers from five political parties, including The Labour Party, SNP, Greens, Alba, and the SDLP, have signed a cross-party letter to Rishi Sunak demanding that the government reviews how it taxes wealth. This is in response to analysis of the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 showing that the top 50 families in the UK now have the same wealth as the entire bottom half of the population, and that the wealth of those on the rich list is set to overtake UK GDP by 2035. In the context of an economy is in crisis, with spiralling inflation, wage stagnation, cost-of-living concerns, and record NHS waiting times, parliamentarians have asserted that more robust taxation of wealth is needed to create a more dynamic and inclusive economy and raise revenue for investment in essential public services.
The letter, delivered to Rishi Sunak this month, cites overwhelming support from the electorate in all regions of the UK for higher and more robust taxation of wealth, demands from millionaires themselves that their wealth be taxed more effectively, and recent calls from fifty UK civil society organisations for a review into how we tax wealth. Co-lead by Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth; David Linden, the SNP MP for Glasgow East; and Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, it states that tackling extreme concentration of wealth would lead to “greater educational attainment; increased social mobility; less crime; more trust in government; and improved health outcomes” in the UK.
With high support for fairer and more robust taxation of wealth now spanning the voting public, the ultra-rich, leading economists, civil society, and parliamentarians of all colours, the government is increasingly under pressure to address the extreme wealth divide.
Read the letter in full below:
Dear Rishi Sunak,
Wealth concentration in the UK is extreme. Analysis of the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 shows that the top 50 families in the UK now have the same wealth as the entire bottom half of the population, and that the wealth of those on the rich list is set to overtake UK GDP by 2035. There are now 171 billionaires in the UK – up from just 29 in 2010 – and they have seen their wealth grow by £31 billion over the past year. Meanwhile, the UK economy is in crisis and ordinary people face wage stagnation, soaring energy bills, and record NHS waiting times. More robust taxation of wealth could help create a more dynamic and inclusive economy and raise revenue for essential investment in public services. We therefore call on the government to review the way it taxes wealth.
Taxing wealth more effectively could help reduce inequality and provide much needed revenue for investment in the NHS and other key infrastructure. Millionaires themselves recognise this and are calling for fairer taxation of wealth. As parliamentarians, we, too, call on the government to more fairly and effectively tax wealth. Without addressing the concentration of money and power, the wealthiest minority will become even richer and the gap between them and the less well-off will increase. Why does this matter? Because there’s overwhelming evidence that we all do better when this gap is smaller: there’s greater educational attainment; increased social mobility; less crime; more trust in government; and improved health outcomes.
Wealth tax reform enjoys widespread popular support. Recent polling from YouGov found that 78% of voters support higher taxes on the super-rich, while fifty civil society organisations have recently joined a campaign calling for higher taxes on wealth. With support spanning the voting public, millionaires, economists, civil society, and parliamentarians, now is the time to act.
Yours sincerely,
Debbie Abrahams MP (co-lead signatory, Labour)
David Linden (SNP co-lead signatory, SNP)
Caroline Lucas (co-lead signatory, Green)
Baroness Natalie Bennett (Green)
Baroness Jenny Jones (Green)
Tommy Sheppard MP (SNP)
Deirdre Brock MP(SNP)
Clive Efford MP (Labour)
Richard Burgon MP (Labour)
Lord Prem Sikka (Labour)
Alison Thewliss MP (SNP)
Kenny Macaskill MP (Alba)
Patricia Gibson MP (SNP)
Owen Thompson MP (SNP)
Tony Lloyd MP (Labour)
Allan Dorans MP (SNP)
Matthew Gower MP (SNP)
Anne McLaughlin MP (SNP)
Alan Brown MP (SNP)
Emma Lewell-Buck MP (Labour)
Amy Callaghan MP (SNP)
Martyn Day MP (SNP)
Claire Hanna MP (SDLP)
Dan Carden MP (Labour)
Alyn Smith MP (SNP)
Richard Thomson MP (SNP)
Dr Philippa Whitford MP (SNP)
