Andy Burnham should tackle inequality in the UK by introducing a wealth tax, universal free personal social care and bringing gas and electricity networks under public ownership, according to a report from more than a dozen influential thinkers.<\/p>\n
In the lead-up to the first budget of the chancellor, John Healey, this autumn, the Compass thinktank has collated 70 policy options from 15 leftwing thinkers that they argue would deliver on the prime minister\u2019s promise to end 40 years of neoliberalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Introducing the report, Ending Business as Usual<\/a>, Michael Jacobs, a former adviser to Gordon Brown, and Neal Lawson, director of Compass and a close friend of Burnham, praise what they call the prime minister\u2019s \u201cinvaluable aura of authenticity\u201d.<\/p>\n However, they warn that while he has ambitious plans \u201cthere is no guarantee that he will be given any longer to deliver results than his immediate predecessor\u201d. The authors argue that it is \u201csimply not the case that a British government can no longer govern from the left of centre\u201d.<\/p>\n Among the policy proposals, which the organisation states is \u201ca menu of policy options, not a manifesto\u201d, are a \u00a350,000 cap on political donations, the abolition of the House of Lords and an immediate cost of living package.<\/p>\n The plans also include a raft of far-reaching tax policies, including the introduction of a wealth tax on net assets of more than \u00a310m, which would raise about \u00a324bn a year, according to Caitlin Boswell from Tax Justice UK.<\/p>\n Other mooted policy ideas include equalising capital gains tax with income tax, which would raise a further \u00a311.3bn a year \u2013 enough \u201cto fund the building of 90,000 new social homes\u201d. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has argued<\/a> such a move would risk lowering total tax revenue and investment, and lead wealthy individuals to move their money or leave the country.<\/p>\n The essay also calls for what it describes as the \u201cregressive, outdated and unfair\u201d council tax as well as stamp duty to be replaced with a proportional property tax, noting such a move would result in 23% of households \u2013 concentrated in London and the south-east \u2013 paying more.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the new Labour government is serious about rebuilding public confidence and delivering material improvements to people\u2019s lives, it must be prepared to address one of the structural causes of inequality: a tax system that favours wealth over work,\u201d writes Boswell.<\/p>\n