Around 300 people gathered outside the Treasury in London yesterday evening, ahead of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ controversial spring statement, to demand the government raises taxes on the wealth of the super-rich instead of slashing public spending.
Rachel Reeves: throwing countless people into further poverty
The government sparked fury ahead of the budget, by announcing deep cuts in disability benefits and international aid spending, while boosting investment in the military.
Author and economist Gary Stevenson, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, and Labour peer Prem Sikka addressed the crowd, alongside the leaders of union, environmental groups, and anti-poverty organisations:
LISTEN UP 📣 The UK government is slashing welfare payments by £5 billion while inequality is rising – & the wealth of the super-rich is skyrocketing.
We're outside the treasury ahead of the spring budget to say:
❌ No more cuts to public services
✅ #TaxtheSuperRich! pic.twitter.com/FnqPhQoNGo— War on Want (@WarOnWant) March 25, 2025
“This is the only way to save the majority of the country from poverty” Stevenson told the crowd:
I know that we can win this one. But we don’t win it today, and we don’t win it tomorrow, and we don’t win it this week, and we don’t win it next year. We need to build this and build this and build this, because this is the issue that unites this country and people all over the world that are being squeezed out of a quality of life that their parents and their grandparents had.
The protest was organised by War on Want, Oxfam, Greenpeace, and others.
There have been mounting calls for the government to raise taxes on the assets of the super-rich. The Trades Union Congress endorsed one last summer, and in October, a dozen Labour MPs broke ranks to support the call.
Yesterday, Oxfam published research revealing that three quarters of Brits back a tax increase on the richest over cuts to public spending.
The richest 1% of Brits own more wealth than the poorest 70%, and the world could see multiple trillionaires within a decade. Levying even a 2.5% tax on assets over £10 million could raise £36bn annually, according to Greenpeace.
‘Cruel and misguided’
Nuri Syed Corser, Senior Economic Justice Campaigner at War on Want, said:
Inequality is soaring, the climate is collapsing, and public services are at breaking point. We need huge public investment to tackle these crises. But instead, the government is gearing up to deliver lethal cuts to welfare, international aid and green investment, claiming there is not enough money to fund these life-saving policies. Meanwhile, the obscene wealth of the super-rich is surging and going largely untaxed. It’s time to tax it.
Matilda Borgström, UK Campaigner at 350.org, said:
Rachel Reeves’ decision to slash welfare while refusing to tax the super-rich is both cruel and misguided. Instead of making billionaires like Jim Ratcliffe – who profits from fossil fuels that drive the climate crisis – pay what they owe, she is choosing to side with the ultra-wealthy at the expense of ordinary people. A wealth tax on billionaires could fund vital support for those struggling with the cost of living – accelerating the transition to renewable energy could slash energy bills, insulate homes and create future-proof jobs. Instead, Reeves is prioritising the interests of a handful of elites over the well-being of millions. This is not just an economic failure – it’s a moral one.
Rachel Reeves: failing us all – except the super-rich
Hannah Dewhirst, Head of Campaigns at Positive Money, said:
Too many wealthy corporations and individuals have seen their riches rise because the last government failed to prevent profiteering during a cost of living crisis. This government must rectify the inequality caused by this by taxing back some of that wealth and using it to support the struggling households it was squeezed from.
Caitlin Boswell, Head of Advocacy at Tax Justice UK:
Across the country, inequality is soaring and people are being left behind, struggling to make ends meet and dealing with broken public services, all while the very richest get richer. Choosing to make cut after cut to the poorest and most marginalised, while leaving the vast resource of the extreme wealth of the super rich untouched, is immoral, harmful, and will not deliver for our communities or the economy. Instead, this government could choose to tax the wealth of the very richest people and corporations. This would raise tens of billions annually to address the cost of living crisis and deliver the long-term investment our country needs.
Featured image and additional images via Andrea Domeniconi/War on Want
