The Conservatives are acting in the interests of the “very wealthiest” in society, Jeremy Corbyn has said as living costs continue to soar.
In an exclusive interview with The London Economic, the former Labour leader claimed social inequality would get worse as a result of policies introduced under past administrations.
“They refuse a wealth tax. They proposed under Liz Truss a massive giveaway to the very richest, which the backtracked on a bit, but not totally,” he said.
“We now have the most unequal and divided society anywhere in Europe, and it’s getting worse. There’s something morally repugnant about the way this country is going.”
Cost of living crisis
His comments follow polling by YouGov which revealed fewer than one in four people believed tackling the cost of living crisis was a priority for the two main parties.
Published in August, Labour was viewed as better placed to tackle the crisis, by 40 per cent to the Conservatives 21 per cent.
Last year, Truss and former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng served up the biggest tax cuts in half a century, with more than £45 billion gambled in a bid to kick-start the economy.
Kwarteng’s mini-Budget gave a huge tax cut to the 600,000 highest earners following the abolition of the 45p top rate of tax.
The cap on bankers’ bonuses introduced after the 2008 financial crash, and the planned rise in corporation tax due next April, were also scrapped.
The plans were slammed by a leading think tank, which warned the sweeping tax cuts would give Britain’s richest households twice as much financial support as the poorest households.
The Resolution Foundation said the former prime minister’s package would come with a “colossal” price tag for taxpayers that was poorly targeted when combined with tax cuts.
“What we have is a whole industry of inequality and injustice within our society that is disgusting and appalling. Poverty is a waste as well as wrong,” Corbyn added.
“For almost 10 years, the average working-class family’s income has fallen by 20 per cent in the past 12 years. And so the idea that somehow or other inflation is wage driven – it’s not, it’s greed-driven.”
“Morally repugnant”
Corbyn resigned as leader of the Labour Party following the result of 2019 general election which saw support crumble in its former heartlands as the Conservatives swept to victory.
The party recorded its worst election result since 1935, although they still managed to secure more votes than Tony Blair received in his 2005 victory (10,292,354 compared to 9,566,618).
But this hasn’t stopped Corbyn from vocalising his support of wealth redistribution, with the North Islington MP urging Keir Starmer to “side with those in need” ahead of the general election.
Labour has come under fire for ruling out any version of a wealth tax, despite pledging to increase the 45p top rate of income tax.
The shadow chancellor had backed a tax on wealth to raise £12 billion for the economy, but since back-stepped claiming that “growth, not taxation” is the best way forward for Britain.
The Liberal Democrats have also u-turned on key tax commitments, opting to hike levies on banks and corporations rather than high earners.
Targeting water, oil and gas firms, Sir Ed Davey said the party’s long-standing commitment to raise income tax by 1p was no longer sustainable in the current economic climate.
For Corbyn, the two opposition parties are “completely wrong” to refuse to countenance the introduction of a tax on wealth.
“The argument I’ve heard used is that the very wealthiest wouldn’t invest in Britain because they would have to pay too much tax,” he said.
“Let’s look at it another way. There are 65 million people in Britain. They buy food, they buy clothes, they buy washing machines, they buy cars, they buy bicycles, they buy all kinds of things.
“There’s a lot of people spending a lot of money, there’s a very big market here, we can be quite strong and say, actually, we’re putting in a wealth tax because we think it’s morally repugnant that people are living in such poverty.”
Corbyn recalled his speech at the Confederation of British Industry in 2019 during which he tried to convince business heavyweights of the merits of Labour’s proposed tax on wealth.
“I can’t say they were all rolling in the aisles with applause, and I didn’t get a standing ovation for my proposals on taxation,” he said.
“I said ‘yes, you will be paying more in tax and, yes, it’s going to cost you. But what you get in return is better education, and a better trained workforce.’
“And I said, ‘when you go into your beautiful glass, stainless steel office on a Monday morning in the City of London, are you really happy to be stepping over a homeless person sleeping in the doorway?’
“Do you want to live in a society where we factor in homelessness and desperation and poverty, as you just think about it, pay your dues to society. They didn’t all rise in standing ovation. But some went very quiet.”
Figures published by the Trussell Trust revealed 760,000 people were forced to use a food bank for the first time between April 2022 and March 2023.
December 2022 was the busiest month on record for food banks in the charity’s network, with a food parcel being distributed every 8 seconds.
“Completely wrong”
As households brace themselves for higher energy costs this winter, Corbyn argued for the renationalisation of industries to prioritise affordability over profit.
Families up and down the UK are preparing for increased bills for despite Ofgem’s reduction of the price cap thanks to a reduction of government support.
Government statistics show that 3.26 million people in England were living in fuel poverty in 2022, but charities believe this is a significant underestimate.
Analysis by the Resolution Foundation reveals nearly half (47 per cent) of the poorest tenth of England households are set to face higher bills this winter.
“It’s completely wrong and that’s why energy companies should be in public ownership and should be properly controlled,” Corbyn told The London Economic.
“Energy prices should be affordable to people, so it would be perfectly possible to have a tiered price system where everybody gets a basic amount of energy at a controlled, reasonable price.
“What we have are people desperate not to go home in the evening and stay somewhere where there’s some heating on because they can’t afford to turn it on at home.”
The scale of the UK’s broken energy system was laid bare in August with a shocking report revealing suppliers are set to claw a huge £1.47 billion in profits over the next 12 months.
Gas and electricity giants have seen the annual profit they make from the average customer on a variable tariff rise from £27 in 2017 to £130 in early 2023, according to Warm This Winter.
“Profits made by the energy companies are absolutely enormous. Why on earth do we have a system which fixes in an increase in energy prices over a year on the basis that it was the role of the state to ensure the profitability of energy companies is unaffected?”
“The French government, and nobody would accuse the French government of being the most left-wing government on the face of the earth, they saw the sense in taking the whole of the energy market into public ownership in order to control price.
“The Spanish government has done exactly the same, which is one the reasons why Spain has the lowest levels of inflation.
“This government has calmly blamed inflation, when it was up to beyond 12 per cent for a short time, on pay levels and pay rises – there’s been no pay rises.”
Related: ‘Still a lot more to come out about the 2019 election’ – Corbyn