Gary Lineker, the former England footballer and sports pundit, has joined 120 UK-based millionaires in an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham demanding higher taxes on their wealth. “We can afford it,” the letter states, organised by the campaign group Patriotic Millionaires UK. “We’re not talking about higher taxes on those who get up and go to work for their income every day, but on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold.”
The letter, published on Thursday, argues that the money raised could reduce inequality, support public infrastructure and back small businesses. It proposes a 2% tax on wealth over £10m, which Patriotic Millionaires says could raise £24bn a year, and reforms to capital gains tax that could raise a further £12bn. The group also cites its own poll showing 80% of UK millionaires support the 2% levy.
“Gary Lineker and 120 millionaires urge PM Andy Burnham to tax their wealth, saying 'we can afford it'.”
Other signatories include screenwriter Richard Curtis, crime writer Val McDermid, musician Brian Eno, former Greggs chairman Ian Gregg, ex-City trader Gary Stevenson and investor Julia Davies. Lineker, worth a reported £30m, said: “Paying your fair share is a basic British value, but so many ordinary people are already paying more than they can afford. Our richest people can do more and most want to.”
Burnham, who took office on 20 July, has previously declined to rule out a wealth tax. Asked about it by Lineker days before becoming prime minister, he suggested he may have “to ask for a little more” tax at some point. But his government’s response has been cautious. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the offer but said any major tax changes would be announced at a budget. “I welcome the fact that people of good means are saying that they want to pay more. They can pay more,” she said, pointing to a Treasury donation link. She declined to say whether Burnham would heed the call.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the idea. “Gary Lineker is very welcome to pay more tax. He can write a cheque to the Treasury. No one is stopping him,” she said. “If we keep taxing the people who create jobs, who generate the growth, we’re not going to have any taxes at all.”
The pressure on Burnham to fund his policy blitz has mounted since Monday, when he announced a VAT cut on electricity bills. Darren Jones, a former ally of ex-PM Sir Keir Starmer who lost his cabinet post in Burnham’s reshuffle, branded the cut unfunded, pointing to an OBR report that noted “no specific funding” for the Digital ID programme that underpins the policy. Burnham’s first days have also seen him pledge a review of early prison release after it emerged killers of PC Andrew Harper could be freed early, a move his widow called “deplorable”.
The millionaires’ letter ends with a call for a “devolution of wealth and power from the very richest”. Whether Burnham, who has spoken of ending “factionalism” in Labour and restoring stability, will take that step remains to be seen.