Robin Hood rocks the RSA

‘It’s a simple and beautiful idea that has found its time,’ said Bill Nighy as he introduced the Robin Hood Tax campaign film to the packed audience at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) this morning.

He went on to admit: ‘I’m not an economist, but I am wearing green tights under my trousers.’

A message to Robin Hood Tax supporters from Bill Nighy

Nighy was on top form as he joined fellow campaigner Richard Curtis, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, international economist and author of The End of Poverty, Major Ivor Teller, Assistant Secretary for Programme Salvation Arny, and Dr Clare Melamed, Head of Policy Co-ordination Action Aid, for a lively discussion on the Robin Hood Tax. Alan Beattie, World Trade editor at the Financial Times, chaired the event.

Missed the event? Watch it again on the RSA website >>

The session kicked off with an address by Jeffrey Sachs. Sachs is optimistic for the tax and sees it as a real opportunity to bring change on a global scale.

‘Something will happen if we are vigilant,’ he said. He referenced the historic moment five years ago at the Gleneagles G8 meeting when public support for the Make Poverty History campaign resulted in a pledge to increase aid by $50 billion.

That pledge is now $21 billion short and he argued that the Robin Hood Tax, in addition to supporting public services in the UK, could also be used to plug this gap in international aid. Sachs stressed the importance in honouring the life and death commitments made at Gleneagles.

‘The financial sector is undertaxed and out of control,’ he continued, talking about the banks bail out and recent bankers bonuses,’ he added, ‘We bailed them out and they put it in their pockets.’

Sachs argued that not only do the markets need to be regulated and taxed, but the campaign also needs to have a component that will hold the US to account.

As Sachs spoke the event was livecast across the web and the Robin Hood Tax became a trending topic on Twitter as questions were sent in for the panel.

‘This campaign is a glimpse of the future,’ said Richard Curtis, as he took to the podium to talk about his passion and support for the campaign. On the bankers he said: ‘There are brilliant and serious men who have applied their wit and brain power to making money. They now need to apply themselves to working out how they can say ‘yes’ to this.’

Curtis, director of films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually, was a big supporter of the Jubilee Debt campaign and believes in the power of the public to drive this campaign.

‘500,000 women still die in childbirth, and that has to be sorted out,’ he said,  ‘I’ve been surprised and delighted by the public response. Lets think, argue and see if we can make it happen.’

A lively debate followed, with one of the top questions being, will this cost be passed onto us, the banks customers?

Claire Melamed, Head of Policy at Action Aid tackled this by pointing to the large amount of research that has been done on what happens historically in the financial markets. She said: ‘It is a much fairer way of doing it, (raising revenue), much fairer than raising VAT which has the opposite effect.’

Reaction from participants and guests

Other questions posed included how can we manage transactions that are happening across the globe, how will that money will be controlled and allocated and how will we ensure that the money is used effectively. All the questions were answered by the panel and you will be able to watch or listen to the full debate a little later this week.

The Salvation Army, one of the charity coalition partners has seen first hand through their work how 1 in 5 currently live in poverty in the UK. ‘The moral argument is clear,’ said Major Ivor Telfer, Salvation Army, ‘The poor are getting poorer and the rich need to step in and give a hand up, not a hand out.’

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A message to Robin Hood Tax campaign supporters from Jeffrey Sachs after the RSA event

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