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A UK wealth tax
Top economists join climate campaigners, millionaires and Unite union in calls for a UK wealth tax.
25 October 2024
Main image credit: Climate Resistance
In the early hours of yesterday (13 May) morning, dozens of unofficial adverts appeared across north London in response to Tony Blair’s comments on net zero policy.
The adverts, installed by Climate Resistance, call out Blair for being bankrolled by billionaires and petrostates.
The adverts read ‘Ban billionaire-backed Blair’ and accuse him of being a ‘billionaire lapdog’, stating he ‘lied about Iraq’s WMDs’, ‘destabilised the entire Middle East’ and linked him to ‘ecocide and climate genocide’, among other charges.
The Tony Blair Institute has worked with fossil fuel companies and petrostates, including signing a multimillion pound deal with the Saudi government.
Larry Ellison, a tech-billionaire and Trump ally with a carbon footprint 539 times higher than the average consumer, donated £200 million to the TBI.
Blair has long fought for the interests of corporations, namely the fossil fuel and tech industries, by pitting net zero policies against progressive causes.
The richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity – yet they are responsible for more emissions than two-thirds of the global population.
According to YouGov, over half of Brits believe billionaires should not exist and, according to the most recent survey published this year, 78% support a wealth tax. This includes the support of 66% of those with assets over £10 million.
‘Net zero is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. The sooner we make the transition to a green economy, the more lives we will save. It isn’t green transition we can’t afford: it’s Tony Blair and his billionaire chums who keep hoarding more wealth than 95% of us and torching our planet with their luxury lifestyles. It’s time to tax them out of existence and use those resources to fund climate action.
‘Net zero is a key opportunity for the UK to escape the profiteering of fossil fuel giants and create thousands of green jobs in the process. But billionaire-backed misinformation campaigns and climate denying think-tanks like the Tony Blair Institute keep getting in the way, slowing down the UK’s transition and fuelling the cost of living crisis for their own gain.’
SAM SIMONS
Climate Resistance
Top economists join climate campaigners, millionaires and Unite union in calls for a UK wealth tax.
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