Taxing Wealth Report | Sheffield Green Party

Former Councillor Bernard Little recently spoke in a rally organised by the NEU outside the Town Hall, calling for an end to the two-child benefit cap.

Here is the speech in full.

So my name is Bernard Little. I was, until recently, a Green councillor for Walkley and Upperthorpe. I’ve retired through ill health. Tackling inequality is one of the main political objectives of the Green Party.

We all know what a scam looks like. But does our new chancellor, Rachel Reeves? Her claim that the 20 billion hole in public finances it creates is a surprise, is absurd. Utterly absurd!

To claim that she only just had sight of the figures that are prepared by the Department of Budget Responsibility every year for the last 40 years is not believable. What the hell was Labour doing when it was in opposition? Was it not scrutinizing what was going on, where the money was going?

Obviously, no, I knew about it. But I’m just an ordinary bloke. And now we have the Labour Party saying it can’t afford to scrap the Two Child Benefit Cap.

As was said earlier, we are the sixth richest country in the world. Our country has £15 trillion, over £15 trillion in wealth, in the hands of the very richest. We cannot put up with this. It’s outrageous. Yet, our compliant media, government, and big finance are giving away their pretence of having a moral compass. They no longer question what’s going on. So how could a government pay for decent public services, tackle inequality, and face head-on the climate and nature emergency?

So I’m going to quote from a report called the Taxing Wealth Report, produced by accountancy Professor Richard Murphy of Sheffield University. It’s called the Taxing Wealth Report and is highly recommended. It was produced before the General Election in the run-up to the General Election to challenge politicians, to say this is how we can have better public services. Up to £30 billion a year could be cancelled in terms of interest payments to the Bank of England.

The net benefit of that change would be over 20 billion a year, £20 billion. Would that make a difference? Of course, it would. If would end child poverty and the Two Child Benefit Cap. It will allow us to pay the whole of the backlog of pay due to junior doctors and restore their confidence in the National Health Service. So those doctors do not leave this country to go to Canada, Australia, or elsewhere.

It would allow us to pay for the special education needs of every young person at school, primary or secondary, across the whole of the UK. It would end the Bedroom Tax. It would restore most of the payments due to those with disabilities. These were lost during the period of the Tory government. It could restore the services provided by local government.

Having been a councillor, I have fought for the last three years to try and get decent public services for people in my ward, and it was very, very difficult to explain to people why on earth this was happening. £20 billion is a lot of money. It would mean a real change to the way our economy is run and our services are supplied. And right now it’s all going to the banks and it makes no sense at all.

Should they, and the most wealthy be enriched at the cost to the people of this country who need government services. Services that enable people to enjoy a full life as part of their community.

I’m a member of the Green Party, we don’t think so. Do you?

Thank you.

Greens on Sheffield City Council have proposed a plan to help fund local public services following years of cuts.

Walkley Green Councillor, Bernard Little, at Wednesday’s Full Council meeting, will propose a plan of action to address the Government cuts that mean that the Council has £856/household per year less to spend on local services than in 2010.

Councillor Little said,

“What really concerns me is that neither the Conservatives, nor a potential Labour-led Government, have a proper plan for ensuring cash-strapped councils get the funding they need to deliver the services so many people rely on.

“The good news is that the answers to how we raise the funds needed have been developed here in Sheffield. The ‘Taxing Wealth Report’ (1) being produced by Economics Professor Richard Murphy of Sheffield University, shows that, by fairly taxing the top 1% of the wealthy and high earners, the Government could raise £83.3 billion each year. Unfortunately, this is something that both Labour and the Conservatives are unwilling to consider.

“In the absence of a plan from both larger parties (2) the Council needs to develop its own plan to make it more resilient to funding cuts, whether it is a Conservative or Labour Government that is imposing them.

“Greens are proposing three policies to bring much-needed extra cash to support local services.

“Establishing a wholly-owned Council company to help deliver the council’s objectives and raise income by delivering reliable services for Sheffield residents. These could be useful services such as gardening, household repairs, heating system servicing and replacement and retrofit works. This has been successfully piloted by Oxford City Council where, this year, it will make a £600,000 contribution to council funds. (3)

“We need to invest in renewable energy projects on Council land and buildings to generate energy and income. Cambridgeshire County Council will soon be receiving £1 million each year from a solar farm it has developed. (4)

“Introducing an Employers’ Workplace Parking Levy to help fund public transport, road safety and active travel measures. This could raise around £10 million each year. This has been successfully trialled in Nottingham where they have raised nearly £100 million and attracted over £1 billion in investment for public transport and active travel over the last 10 years. (5)

“Together, these measures will improve the standards of our homes, our transport and our quality of life for everyone in Sheffield.”