A TAP TOPIC, London, 12 February 2025
Inequality is not just a side effect of economic systems—it is a direct consequence of policies that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few while leaving millions in poverty. The UK, one of the world’s richest economies, has millions of people unable to afford basic necessities, while a small minority amass ever-greater fortunes. This isn’t just unfair—it’s economically and socially destructive.
But why does excessive wealth lead to poverty? And more importantly, what can we do to change it?
The Problem: A System Rigged for the Wealthy
1. Wealth Hoarding Drains the Economy
When wealth is concentrated at the top, it becomes inactive—held in offshore accounts, property speculation, or excessive stock buybacks instead of being reinvested into productive businesses, fair wages, and essential services. This limits opportunities for others to earn a decent income.
🔹 Example: Billionaires can afford to let properties sit empty while thousands sleep rough because housing has become a financial asset rather than a basic human need.
2. Low Wages and Insecure Work Keep People Trapped
The ultra-wealthy and large corporations maximize their profits by suppressing wages, offering insecure jobs, and weakening workers’ rights. When people don’t earn enough to cover their basic needs, they have no chance of building financial stability or escaping poverty.
🔹 Example: UK wages have stagnated for years while corporate profits soar. Many full-time workers still rely on food banks because their wages are too low.
3. Tax Avoidance Shifts the Burden onto the Poor
The super-rich use loopholes to dodge taxes, leaving a funding gap in essential services like NHS, schools, and social care. This shifts the burden onto ordinary taxpayers, who pay proportionally more while receiving less in return.
🔹 Example: A cleaner at a major corporation may pay a higher proportion of their income in taxes than the billionaire CEO due to regressive tax policies.
4. Wealth Buys Political Influence
Excessive wealth leads to a concentration of power, allowing the richest individuals and corporations to lobby for policies that benefit them, such as tax cuts, deregulation, and weakened labour protections—further entrenching inequality.
🔹 Example: A handful of billionaires control much of the UK’s media, shaping political debates in ways that serve their interests rather than the public good.
The Solution: How We Can Rebalance the System
We don’t have to accept an economy that benefits only the few at the expense of the many. Here’s how we can tackle excessive wealth and reduce poverty:
1. Fair Taxation on Wealth and Corporations
✔ Close tax loopholes that allow the rich to dodge their fair share.✔ Introduce a progressive wealth tax on assets over £10 million.✔ End corporate tax avoidance, ensuring multinationals pay their fair share.
🗳 What you can do: Demand that your MP supports tax reforms to ensure billionaires contribute fairly.
2. A Living Income for All
✔ Raise the minimum wage to a real living wage.✔ Guarantee universal basic services (housing, healthcare, education, and transport).✔ Reform Universal Credit to lift people out of poverty, not trap them in it.
🗳 What you can do: Support campaigns for fair wages and universal basic services.
3. Housing for People, Not Profit
✔ Introduce rent controls to stop landlords from exploiting tenants.✔ Crack down on property speculation to make homes affordable again.✔ Expand public and social housing to meet demand.
🗳 What you can do: Join movements fighting for fair housing policies.
4. Strengthen Workers’ Rights
✔ Ban exploitative zero-hour contracts and give workers job security.✔ Guarantee the right to unionize without fear of retaliation.✔ Ensure all workers receive fair pay and benefits.
🗳 What you can do: Support unions and advocate for stronger worker protections.
5. Take Money Out of Politics
✔ Ban corporate donations that allow the rich to buy influence.✔ Ensure transparency in lobbying and political financing.✔ Implement democratic reforms to put power back in the hands of citizens.
🗳 What you can do: Push for campaign finance reform to stop wealth from controlling democracy.
Poverty Is a Policy Choice—We Can Choose Fairness Instead
The UK doesn’t have a shortage of wealth—it has a shortage of fairness. When extreme wealth is allowed to accumulate unchecked, it creates poverty rather than alleviating it. But we have the power to change this.
✅ Demand political action. Contact your MP and tell them to support policies that tackle inequality.✅ Join the movement. Support organisations like Taxpayers Against Poverty that fight for economic justice.✅ Challenge the system. Speak out against unfair policies and demand a fairer society.
It’s time to rebalance the economy so that wealth works for everyone—not just a privileged few.
💡 Get involved today: www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk
🚨 Join us in the campaign for a fairer economy. Because poverty isn’t an accident—it’s a choice. Let’s choose justice instead. 🚨