Hi ,
One year on from the 2024 general election and the government has, for the first time, not immediately ruled out a wealth tax when asked about the possibility. Starmer and Reeves have always been quick to dismiss the idea of taxes on wealth or other tax hikes for the richest, both before the general election and in government. Instead, the chancellor and government have placed all their faith in reheating the same economic model that got us here: trying to attract international investment through reduced regulation and a desperate belief in the power of planning reform and AI to somehow fix everything. It's an indication of how well that model has performed over the last year that wealth taxes may now, finally, be on the table.
What's prompted this potential change in approach (and it's still very much a potential change, rather than a certainty) is the massive effort from activists and campaigners, including thousands of signatures and letters sent by you, to fight back against the proposed disability cuts. It forced a massive climbdown in which most of the cuts were dropped, and the government's impact assessment of the remains of the reforms are that instead of forcing 250,000 into poverty, they'll now lift 50,000 out of poverty.
For some reason, the government is claiming this is a terrible financial liability and are scrambling to find new spending cuts or tax rises. Let's be very clear – this is something that MPs should be celebrating! Paying social security to people who need it makes us all richer – it helps people access education and job opportunities, keeps people healthier for longer, and reduces the unequal barriers people face to fully participating in society.
This is a fairly good snapshot of where we are one year after the election. Collectively, unions and campaigners have managed to push a lot of good things through government (allowing some rail franchises to be nationalised; some expansion in worker and renters rights; increased capital investment into energy, transport, and housing; commencing the socio-economic duty). But these advances are being constrained by insisting the UK's underlying, unequal system doesn't change.
This is a refusal to acknowledge the reality the rest of us live in. The government is not governing as if a crisis is going on. There are deep structural problems with the way we have been governed: people are excluded from power; a small number of people have got very rich at the expense of the rest of us; and the bits of society that should work to the benefit of everyone have been handed over to investors for profit. There is no possible way for this or any government to continue running this model and not get the same results.
However, this is the time when big public campaigns are incredibly effective. We got millions of people to spend weeks talking about the need to support people with disabilities and highlighting inequality. This all started because government figures had some polls that they thought meant cuts would be popular; now the public are incredibly against them. Instead, overwhelming majorities want taxes on the rich, nationalisation, more equal economies and greener communities. Without other options, MPs are being forced to accept this reality.
In just one year, we've massively shifted what's possible under this government. Imagine what we can achieve by next July! |
