Climate Resistance disrupted Minister for Employment Dame Diana Johnson last week at the New Statesman Politics Live Conference to demand that Labour tax the super-rich.
Information and photos: Climate Resistance
Protesters have confronted Minister for Employment Dame Diane Johnson and Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee Debbie Abrahams at a New Statesman panel event, demanding to know why the government continues to protect billionaire interests instead of working people. on “How Can Longer, Healthier, Working Lives Support the Economy?”, directly questioning why the Labour party continues to protect billionaire interests instead of working people.
Protesters disrupted the conference with banners reading “Tax the rich” and shouts of “We need a wealth tax!” One protester gave a speech about Johnson’s support for disability benefit cuts, which are expected to push thousands of disabled people into poverty.
Security tackled the protesters to the ground as they entered the conference venue, but one protester was able to make it into the audience before being escorted out.
The activists challenged Johnson about the government’s failure to implement a wealth tax despite overwhelming public support, just one week before Labour’s autumn budget. Johnson was speaking on a panel entitled “How can longer; healthier working lives support the economy?”
The top 10% in the UK hold more wealth than the rest of the population combined. According to YouGov, three quarters of Brits support a wealth tax. The Labour government is facing growing pressure to implement a wealth tax, with major trade unions including Unite formally backing the demand.
Over the past year, Labour has faced public as well as internal opposition over welfare cuts, such as cuts to the winter fuel allowance and disability benefits. Meanwhile, billionaire wealth has grown by XX and the government has renewed subsidies for companies like Drax, the UK’s largest carbon emitter.
Sam Simons, spokesperson for Climate Resistance, said: “While Dame Johnson has claimed fees for her second home, she only wants ordinary workers to live healthier lives so they can continue to line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy. This government talks about ‘longer, healthier working lives’ while protecting the super-rich who have hoarded extreme wealth during the cost of living crisis. With the budget just a week away, Labour’s continued silence on wealth taxes is an insult to working people.
The truth, Simons adds, “is clear: the Labour party is the party of billionaires. While disability support is slashed and winter fuel allowances are cut, the billionaires keep getting richer. By ignoring calls to tax extreme wealth and tackle soaring inequality, this government is setting the scene for the rise of the far right. We urgently need to tax the super-rich out of existence and use their extreme wealth to fund climate action and public services.”
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