UPDATE: UK political party supports Robin Hood Tax
LONDON: Robin Hood delivered for the world’s poor this week thanks to the support of the UK political party, the Liberal Democrats.
In its manifesto for the upcoming British elections on May 6, the party announced it is committed to working with other countries to raise money to tackle global poverty through a financial transaction tax.
It also, like its election rivals Labour and the Conservatives, supports a levy on UK banks.
An update on the UK Robin Hood website reads: “This is a really important first step for the Liberal Democrats BUT we do hope their promise to ‘bring forward urgent proposals for a financial transaction tax’ means moving ahead with like-minded countries without waiting for the rest of the world, or even going it alone.”
The Robin Hood team are not the only ones excited by the Liberal Democrats’ outright support for a Robin Hood Tax.
Writing in The Independent on Tuesday, Economics Editor Sean O’Grady anticipated the announcement a day early, predicting: “The move would align the party with a campaign that has attracted high profile showbiz supporters, including Bill Nighy and Sir Ben Kingsley, who have both made videos promoting the idea.”
“Although the Liberal Democrats Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, has already come out in favour of a 10 per cent levy on bank profits, this will be the first time a mainstream political party has embraced the idea of a small tax on the trillions of pounds of inter-bank financial transactions.”
Want to ask Australian politicians to get behind this tax? Look out for tomorrow’s Robin Hood Australia newsletter which includes your opportunity to have your say.
