Andy Burnham has been urged to introduce a wealth tax on the wealthiest households by a left-wing pressure group. Think tank Compass, led by Labour Party Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s ally Neal Lawson, has urged him to act.
Wealth tax proposal
Compass calls for a wealth tax of 5-10 per cent on wealth greater than £10m. The report hopes proceeds would fund a universal basic income for citizens in need. The report argued the government should establish a national commission to look at how Basic Income initiatives can become part of an expanded welfare system, citing food producers and creative artists as groups lacking guaranteed income despite their “contribution to national culture and food security”.
Leadership and devolution
The report also says: "To highlight examples of ‘everyday’ leadership within communities and cultivate an eco-system of support. The existing top-down leadership structure does not tap into the country’s wealth of talent and, by itself, cannot address complex social issues. For devolution to succeed, it must not simply replicate the Westminster model on a smaller scale. Over the next five years, the For Us, By Us initiative will launch pilot programs across the country. It will start with a 6-12 month internal phase dedicated to questioning leadership norms, building belief, and instilling confidence before expanding across the country."
Political funding and aid reform
It goes on: “Ban most private and corporate donations to political parties, replacing them with state funding based on votes or membership numbers (small nominal donations, like raffle tickets, still allowed). Public trust is collapsing because people believe policy is bought by wealthy donors. The current government can refer to the detailed proposal from Labour donor Dale Vince, would cost roughly £1 per taxpayer per year.”
It also calls for a rethink on aid, saying: “Labour’s amplification of earlier Tory cuts to the development budget is short sighted, self defeating and immoral. As well as increasing spend, we need a fundamental rethink of what we consider “aid”, as currently much “aid” money comes back to the global north, benefitting wealthy countries, NGOs and institutions. This buys short-term UK-attributable results, but does not build national or regional capacity and autonomy for reducing poverty, protecting the environment or improving health and education. Amidst the recent swingeing cuts, IFIs have been protected; carrying on their evangelical agenda of privatisation and neoliberalism. The focus on short term UK-attributable “results” that accompanied the 0.7% target – a Tory model, created to appease the right-wing anti-aid lobby – serves to ensure ongoing aid dependency. Abolition of DFID and FCDO encouraging departure of those with expertise and integrity, has resulted in FCDO being fundamentally unfit for purpose. A radical new mandate and structure is needed to genuinely assist governments and institutions to deliver their plans for improved human and environmental outcomes.”
