How Britain’s mega-rich gambled away our future

Last year, the richest 1000 people in Britain gambled away a mind-boggling £155 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Not that they are lying awake at night worrying about the electricity bill. Despite their recession, they still have £258 billion between them – three times more wealth than they had when New Labour came to power in 1997.

These missing billions could have ended starvation in Africa.

They could have built 1.5 million high quality homes for social rent across the UK – 150,000 in Scotland.

They could have funded a UK-wide free public transport for the next ten years.

Instead, the rich used their money to make more money … and more money … and more money.

They built the biggest tower of debt in history. Then the tower came crashing down on top of everyone else.

Now we face millions unemployed. A whole generation cast aside. A decade of gloom and austerity.

This gigantic crisis needs gigantic solutions. Yet the big political parties offer us only petty squabbling over pounds and pennies.

We need wealth redistribution on a mammoth scale, and an economy which puts people before profit.

A ten per cent wealth tax on Britain’s richest 1000 people would instantly generate £25 billion to create jobs and stimulate. If such a scheme were extended to every millionaire, we could create 80,000 well-paid jobs in Scotland and 800,000 across the UK.

The idea of tax on greed is an idea whose time is long overdue.