Union Boss Tells Labour There Is Clear Public Support For Wealth Taxes
General Secretary Paul Nowak told PoliticsHome wealth taxes were "overwhelmingly" supported by the British public. (Alamy)
3 min read
A union leader has urged the Labour government to introduce wealth taxes at the November Budget, claiming that new polling shows "overwhelming" public support.
Paul Nowak, General Secretary at the Trade Unions Congress, said support for wealth taxes was particularly high among people who voted Labour at last year's general election but now say they support Reform UK, citing a Hold Sway survey commissioned by the TUC.
Government figures have so far dismissed calls from figures like former Labour leader Neil Kinnock to introduce wealth taxes as a way of funding Prime Minister Keir Starmer's agenda, claiming that they would only result in people moving their wealth out of the country.
However, according to Novak, his union's findings should give ministers the "confidence" to raise taxes on those with "broader shoulders" in the coming weeks.
His intervention comes as rising borrowing costs threaten to leave Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves with very little room to manoeuvre when it comes to spending announcements at the 26 November Budget.
“What we've looked at is equalising capital gains tax with income tax, a tax on the online gambling companies, a windfall tax on the profits of banks, and other financial institutions, and a two per cent annual wealth tax," Nowak told PoliticsHome.
"Overwhelmingly, those measures are supported by the British public: around about eight in ten support that package, and the support is actually strongest amongst Labour to Reform switchers.
"We think that that should give confidence to the government going into the Budget: the choice is public services, and rebuilding those public services, and asking those with the broader shoulders to pay their fair share.
"The government should be firmly on the side of working people.”
The poll, which surveyed over 5,000 people online in mid-August, found that over half of people (51 per cent) would support a decision to "raise capital gains tax to the same level as tax on wages from employment", with 34 per cent saying they opposed it.
Two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) said they would support "a windfall tax on the profits of banks and other financial institutions", while 21 per cent opposed it. Supporters included nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of Labour-to-Reform switchers.
The highest level of support was for "higher taxes on casinos, gambling machines, and sports betting", with 71 per cent of people backing the idea and 19 per cent opposing it. Nearly three-quarters of Labour-to-Reform switchers (74 per cent) supported this measure.
According to Novak, a focus on wealth taxes, alongside lifting employment rights, would provide Labour with "clear dividing lines" to take the fight to Nigel Farage at a time when his party enjoys comfortable leads in the opinion polls.
"Nigel Farage and Reform say they stand up for working people, but have voted against legislation that would improve rights for millions of working people, time and time again in the House of Commons with the Employment Rights Bill."
He urged No 10 to communicate much more clearly "whose side" the government is on and to be "more vocal and much more demonstrative about what that looks like in practice".
"Far too many people don't think the government is batting for them," said Nowak.
"The Employment Rights bill is a classic example of that.
"[It is] overwhelmingly supported by the British public. We did a big poll with Hope Not Hate earlier this year, and in every single parliamentary constituency, there was a majority support for things like banning zero-hours contracts, employment rights on day one.
"But the problem is, most of the public don't know about the Bill, don't know about those changes."
