EXCLUSIVE: General Secretary of Britain’s biggest union Unison, Andrea Egan, says polls show the public want a hike in taxes on wealthy to fund fractured public services
John Healey has been warned by the leader of Britain’s biggest trade union failing to hike capital gains or introduce a wealth tax at next week’s Budget would be a big mistake.
Andrea Egan, the General Secretary of Unison union, which represents over 1.3million workers, said the message from the public in recent polling was clear: “It’s time to tax the rich”.
In an interview with The Mirror, she said Andy Burnham and his Chancellor must be “bold” at next week’s Budget with announcements to ease the cost-of-living pain.
Ms Egan said Labour affiliated union general secretaries had given a clear message during recent meetings with the PM and Mr Healey: “You cannot take any more money from working people. They have paid the price for the bankers’ crash in 2008. They’ve paid decades on this chosen austerity programme.
“And what we’ve not seen, and what needs to happen, is the direction turns and they start to tax those that can afford it. So, you know, the wealthy, they can start taxing the banks, they can get some capital gains. It will be a mistake if they do not do that.”
While the Treasury is said to preparing to hike a levy on the big banks’ bumper profits, an increase in capital gains appears to have been ruled out at next week’s Budget.
Several prominent Labour figures, including the Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, previously called for a rise in the levy, which applies to the profit made from selling off assets like a house or shares.
Pressed on whether it was a mistake to rule out a hike increase in capital gains, she replied: “I think it’s a big mistake. The polls are out there and the results are people want to see the wealthy paying their fair share.”
Ms Egan highlighted recent research by YouGov for Unison union which found nearly seven in 10 people – or 69% – supported hiking taxes on the wealthiest to fund public services. She added: “I like Andy Burnham and John Healey’s analysis of the financial state of the country.
“My message is that you know you have to be bold, you’ve acknowledged public services need funding and we also need to see wages increasing – restoring wages. We also need to see a much wider insourcing programme because public money is there and we’ve got to stop waste with these private profiteers.
“Finally what we need to see is a wealth tax, a banking tax and capital gains tax because we need the money to pay for fractured services and working-class people can’t pay anymore.”
Critics have claimed it would lead to an exodus of wealthy people and last month the BBC reported hedge-fund billionaire Chris Rokos – one of the UK’s richest taxpayers – had decided to leave the country for Greece.
But pressed on the prospect of wealthy people fleeing the country, Ms Egan replied: “Well, I feel very sorry for the members at the minute that go to work, earn their salary, and they can’t pay their, you know, their rents, and they can’t afford to live. That’s my main concern.”
Ms Egan praised Mr Burnham’s first months in power and for bringing back “honest politics that has been missing” and his ability to create a connection with voters.
But she made clear the stakes are high for the first Budget of a Burnham premiership. She said: “This is his first budget, and so he has to be bold enough that gives my members and the communities in which we serve the confidence that he really is heading in the right direction.”
Ms Egan has also been a vocal opponent of Shabana Mahmood’s controversial reforms to make it harder for foreign workers – including care workers – to claim permanent residence in Britain. She said she was “really disappointed” in the Home Secretary, warning: “You can’t out Reform, Reform”.
The union chief is due to meet Ms Mahmood over the proposals amid mounting speculation a plan to increase the five-year wait for claiming indefinite leave to remain by up to 10 years for foreign care workers could be watered down to avoid a Labour rebellion.
Ms Egan, who was expelled from Labour in 2022, said she would not attempt to rejoin the party “while they are treating migrant workers as they are”. But if the Home Secretary’s proposals are dropped, the Unison general secretary said she would be “happy to consider” rejoining Labour’s ranks.
