The have-yachts and the have-nots

Trade unions must lead fightback

Monopoly man with axe dancing on money bags, 1% super-rich austerity inequality, photo torbakhopper (Creative Commons) (Click to enlarge)

Simon Carter, East London Socialist Party

Anti-poverty think tank the Resolution Foundation has added to an accumulating body of evidence on the ever-widening wealth gap in Britain.

According to its recent report, just 1% of the population own 14% of the country's wealth (and that's just the declared income and assets of the super-rich) or a mind-blowing Ł1.6 trillion! Yet the poorest 15% of adults own nothing or have negative wealth because of deepening debt.

Low incomes, combined with pay caps and pay freezes, zero-hours employment, benefit cuts and soaring rents, have all played a part in impoverishing an increasing proportion of adults in Britain.

In addition, the collapse in home ownership among the poorest half of the population since the onset of the financial crash in 2008 has dramatically widened the wealth gap.

Overall, the average wealth of an adult has fallen from Ł99,000 in 2006-08 to Ł84,000 in 2012-14 according the Resolution Foundation's report.

As the Socialist previously reported, the richest 1,000 individuals in the UK again saw their total wealth rise - by 14% last year to Ł658 billion. In contrast, the Trade Union Congress found that between 2007 and 2015, real wages fell by 10.4%, the biggest decline in the developed countries - matched only by Greece.

Little wonder then that the Tories, with their repeated austerity message, lost a parliamentary majority in the general election.

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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.

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