Vast majority of public say “we’re not in this together” and Tory donations help banks escape paying their fair share
More than three-quarters (77%) of the British public think the Government has not done enough to ensure we are “all in this together” with a large majority saying that banks and the richest have not been asked to make a fair contribution, according to a survey published today.
The survey of more than 1,000 people across England, Scotland and Wales carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Robin Hood Tax campaign found that two-thirds (68%) of adults thought the extent of funding of the Conservative Party by individuals and companies involved in the financial sector would bias Government decisions with regard to regulation and taxation of the City of London, a great deal or a fair amount.
71 per cent of those adults who believed the government had not done enough; thought banks and the financial sector are “not being asked to pay their fair share”. By comparison 67% felt that high income earners were not paying their fair share.
David Hillman, Robin Hood Tax campaign spokesperson, said: “This is the clearest evidence yet that the public is tired of the Government’s failure to make banks pay their fair share to society. People are tired of seeing their schools and hospitals cut while a sector that relied on taxpayers money to survive gives lottery-sized bonuses to bankers whatever their performance.
“It is time the Government acted in the interests of the whole country not just one square mile. The City may give the Conservatives half their funds but it accounts for just 10 per cent of the UK economy.”
The survey shows the public have clearly identified the banks and the financial sector and high earners above other groups as not paying their fair share. Only 5 per cent of those that thought the Government has not done enough to ensure we’re all in this together cited low and middle income earners. Public sector workers and business were cited by only 7 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Of the two-thirds of people who said the fact the Conservatives receive more than 50 per cent of funding from individuals and companies involved in the financial sector would lead to bias, 27 per cent said it would make a great deal of difference and 41 per cent a fair amount. 17 per cent said it would make not very much difference but only 3 per cent said it would not affect decisions about regulation and tax at all.
The Robin Hood Tax campaign is calling on the Government to back international moves in Europe and beyond for a financial transaction tax (FTT). Extending the UK’s current tax on share transactions to bonds, currencies and derivatives could raise an additional £20bn to tackle poverty at home and abroad and fight climate change.
The campaign has won the support of Bill Gates, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Vatican, the first ministers of Scotland and Wales and more than a thousand economists. At the G20 summit in November, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina backed an FTT and a proposal for an EU-wide FTT is currently being championed by the European Commission.
Contact: Jon Slater 07876 476403
The research was conducted using a Face to Face omnibus, between Friday 13th April and Thursday 19th April 2012. Questions were asked of 1,047 adults aged between 15+ across Great Britain. The survey data were weighted by age, gender, region, social grade and working status to be nationally representative of GB adults aged 15+. Full data tables are available upon request. Where percentages do not add up to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of don’t know categories. All figures are percentages based on the total sample (1047) unless otherwise stated.