Why is Labour so afraid to admit that we must tax the rich to help the poor? | Andy Beckett

There have been modest redistributive reforms, but the party of the workers still daren’t admit that Britain’s rampant inequality needs to be addressedAfter 125 years of practice, Labour ought to be good at saying why resources should be redistributed from the rich to everyone else. Its founding conference in 1900 passed a motion calling for “a distinct Labour group in Parliament”, to collaborate with any party “promoting legislation in the direct interests” of the working class. Creating a more egalitarian society and politics – which by definition means redistribution from the powerful – was Labour’s original purpose.Britain was then, and remains, a highly unequal country: more unequal currently than neighbours such as Ireland, the Netherlands and France. This week the children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza, said that some British children were living in “almost Dickensian levels of poverty”. But as any expensive but packed restaurant, pavement lined with new Range Rovers or row of smoothly renovated home exteriors will tell you, the rich have been enjoying a long boom in Britain, arguably ever since the Conservatives abolished the top 60% income tax rate 37 years ago.Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

Cyber attacks are evolving – so too must government response

Gregg claims he's been hung out to dry - just like a pair of the underpants he never wore: JAN MOIR

Made in Chelsea star hit by fresh setback after bid to crack America ends in sudden failure... amid criticism for ditching dog because of 'busy' schedule: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

QUENTIN LETTS: The more Napoleon burbled on, the more you understood why his wife whacked him

TOM UTLEY: I no longer have the slightest wish to 'save' the decaying NHS. But, for the sake of our mental health, please leave our pubs alone

Mamdani just latest mayor wannabe who thinks they can police the world

The NEA’s antisemitic ADL split: Letters to the Editor — July 11, 2025

We’re politicizing Pilates now? Or are Gen Z spending waaay too much time analyzing instead of enjoying themselves

Easing cannabis restrictions would set back the ‘Golden Age’ . . . and boost China

America’s largest teachers’ union puts lefty politics over kids — Congress should step in

Inside the Times’ sick scaremongering on New Yorkers losing health care

Mayor Adams is right: New York ABSOLUTELY should ban masked ‘protests’

The week in whoppers: TV host Tiffany Cross, Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries go bonkers on deportations and more

Fresh proof America dodged a Kamala bullet despite her kid gloves treatment from the media

Lying ex-CIA head John Brennan belongs in prison — but I’ll settle for eternal shame

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews: The Great Plague with Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman: Moralising TV presenters spoiled this absorbing look at plague-hit London

Why England were right to abandon Bazball on day one - and the technical flaw holding Ollie Pope's batting back: BUMBLE ON THE TEST

Zohran Mamdani’s 2020 Twitter meltdowns shows he’s no leader —socialist threatens to bring NYC back to bad old days

Perils of share volatility: Private equity sees Britain's second tier public firms as easy pickings, warns ALEX BRUMMER

How brilliant Jasprit Bumrah left Harry Brook baffled - and what the world's best bowler shares with true greats like Shane Warne and Jimmy Anderson, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

The horrible reasons the teachers union just endorsed Zohran Mamdani

I saw Columbia craziness up close — and New York City’s headed that way if Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor

No politics in the pulpit — IRS rule change will ruin reverence

Madness: To fight ICE, City Council aims to let street vendors run wild

This is why Gregg Wallace is using autism as his pathetic new PR excuse after being caught behaving badly... it's a disgrace: BRYONY GORDON

Prince William's act of rebellion during the French state visit that everybody missed - and what it tells us about the future of the monarchy: RICHARD EDEN

Contributor: The 'Big Beautiful Bill' got one thing right

Contributor: When Darrow took on Bryan 100 years ago today, science got the win. Or did it?

Epstein followers in shambles as their conspiracies are falling apart

Miranda Devine: Susie Wiles brings calm to Trump admin—helping the president rack up wins

It’s crazy to be reminded of how seismic Caitlin Clark’s impact on sports is — both the good and the incredibly ugly

Anyone who believes in clean sport will hope Novak Djokovic sinks Jannik Sinner, writes OLIVER HOLT

KENNEDY: The most vile politicians I've ever met: From the Congressman who can't pleasure a woman to another who smells. They think they're untouchable... but I'm naming names

PETER HITCHENS: This is the sinister motivation behind the plans to change our legal system. They must not be allowed to happen... or we'll all be at risk

Royal chaos as King Charles is accused of 'slap in the face' by late Queen's personal aide over THIS move at state banquet for Macrons: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Trouble With Mr Doodle: Sensitively drawn portrait of Mr Doodle's psychotic breakdown

Trump’s embrace of American strength is forging alliances — and peace

NY’s legal guardrails will be no match for Zohran Mamdani’s socialist harms

An AIDS funding crisis that isn’t, faculty unions drive Jew-hate and other commentary

Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s ‘large-scale’ firings is a win for common sense — and democracy

We’re Jewish schoolteachers — our union’s vote against the ADL attacks us too

The UFT’s Mamdani endorsement: Letters to the Editor — July 10, 2025

Bailey provokes Chancellor over pension fund plan - but he does have a point, says ALEX BRUMMER

Sir David's dig about lawyers drew a prim response from the PM. The House didn't warm to Starmer's tone... QUENTIN LETTS on SAS veterans

Letters to the Editor: Instead of spending money on ads, State Farm should be helping its customers more

Letters to the Editor: Extreme heat on Los Angeles public school campuses must be urgently addressed

Letters to the Editor: Immigration agents in MacArthur Park were 'such a waste of taxpayer money'

Letters to the Editor: There should be a memorial to Pacific Ocean Park's bygone pier

Best of the Babylon Bee: Disney World installs robot district judge to block animatronic Trump

Albany mayor and progressives owe ex-DA Soares an apology

QUENTIN LETTS: From the workshy to immigration, what Norman Tebbit dared to say 40 years ago is more pertinent today than it ever was

John Barrowman makes astonishing gay 'cover-up' claim against the BBC - and says corporation was full of homosexual men 'married to women': RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

Yay for Trump for resuming weapons deliveries to Kyiv — but who exactly stopped them?

All hail the end of TSA’s idiotic shoe rule — could toothpaste freedom be next?

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: Will we ever know the truth about ALL this serial scammer's evil lies?

Trump has a point — the Federal Reserve DOES need fixing: here’s how

Netanyahu’s gift to Trump marks a ‘historic horizon’ for Mideast peace

Spineless tennis chiefs have gifted propaganda to Vladimir Putin by forcing Wimbledon to let Russians play, writes IAN HERBERT

The Texas flooding blame game: Letters to the Editor — July 9, 2025

Zohran Mamdani’s college application debacle is just one more example of privileged kids acting oppressed