Up next in 10
James O’Brien takes aim at anti-wealth tax sentiment | LBC
0 views
Jul 9, 2025
After former Labour leader Neil Kinnock says Labour should consider a wealth tax, James O'Brien explains how 'a tiny nibble at the largest fortunes in the land would benefit everybody else'. James O'Brien traced it back to the days of the 2008 financial crash, followed by austerity, then Brexit, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss - to explain the country's fiscal story leading up to today's discussion. He also took aim at sections of the media who oppose the wealth tax, saying: 'These are the same people who told you Brexit would be brilliant'. Labour ministers have so far refused to confirm or deny reports that the government is considering implementing one. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #lbc #jamesobrien #wealth #tax #rich #keirstarmer #chancellor #government #economy #ukpolitics LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
View Video Transcript
0:00
It's a funny one, isn't it? Does the dam ever break, do you think
0:04
I do catch myself sometimes wondering whether the needle is stuck when I list the litany of wrongdoing that we as residents of this fine land
0:14
have suffered in recent years. I'd probably go back to 2010 and begin with austerity
0:20
nation-crippling cuts, the cost of which we continue to pay today. And, of course, the poorer you are, the higher the price
0:26
the more likely you are to rely upon public intervention or public service when you need it
0:32
But you wonder sometimes when the dam breaks. People generally don't thank you for pointing out the mistakes that they've made
0:42
So if I make that little list and start with austerity, I don't know if you remember people genuinely with a straight face claiming
0:50
that you can't blame the bankers for a global international crisis caused entirely by irresponsible bankers
0:55
and deregulation of financial markets. American subprime mortgages being an enormous rock
1:01
tossed into the pond of international economics. The ripples from which continue to lap up on shores all over the world
1:10
But you could find people in the right-wing media who'd say, oh, don't blame the bankers. So who should you
1:15
Gordon Brown, you should blame Gordon Brown for it, of course, despite the fact that almost everybody outside this country
1:20
recognises that him and Alistair Darling did more than any other politicians on the planet
1:24
to steer global economies or certainly Western economies out of those unprecedentedly choppy waters
1:31
So you start with austerity. A terrible lie inflicted upon this country
1:36
by ideologues, actually, who just believe that the best way to refresh economies
1:44
or vitalise economies, if that's even a word, is to give people with money everything they want
1:50
And then it trickles down. I'm going to just be quiet for a moment now. I bet that comes as an enormous relief to you
1:56
And we're just going to listen together to the sound of money trickling down from the richest people in the world to the rest of us, okay
2:06
And did you get any? Have you got any? Have you got any
2:12
Did we trigger an emergency tape then? Did the silence cause any problems? Did it trigger any technological responses
2:18
did you get engineering phone up and the alarm went off so they couldn't hear any of the trickling down either
2:25
and yet open most right-wing newspapers, turn on most right-wing broadcasters, consult most right-wing politicians this morning
2:32
and they will be united, united in their explanations that you don't use tax to redistribute wealth
2:40
you just wait for it all to triple down to gardeners. Just wait for the gardeners to get their Christmas bonus
2:45
That's how you revitalize an economy. Wait until the chauffeurs get their wages
2:52
That's how it works. So you start with austerity. You move on to Boris Johnson
3:02
Exactly the same people telling you exactly the same thing. Boris Johnson would be brilliant
3:07
He's a wonderful lightning rod for public opinion. He's a wonderful bloke
3:13
he'll be superb don't you worry at all about his life uh don't don't look at his life as a guide
3:20
as an indicator of what he might be like as a prime minister look over there at something like
3:25
an unbuilt bridge or an unknown number of children just just just don't don't look at his life and
3:31
so the same people exactly the same people and then you come to probably liz trust i don't know
3:38
Can you bear that? I think it's an anniversary today of Boris Johnson's defenestration
3:44
I don't know. Even that was disgraceful. Not the kind of people in favour of austerity and who described Liz Truss
3:52
Luigi's been in touch. He said, I'm not sure anyone thought Liz Truss would be brilliant. And he's even put one of those gnashing teeth emojis next to it
4:00
That's how quickly we forget. Luigi, the Daily Mail put it on their front page how brilliant it was
4:05
same people of course who greeted Theresa May's arrival with the front page headline
4:10
um uh uh what was it the steal of the new iron lady the daily mail were adamant it was going to
4:17
finally they said a true Tory budget a daily telegraph couldn contain itself people who still get paid to write economic ysis in the Daily Telegraph ran out of superlatives to describe how brilliant Liz Truss was going to be
4:29
The Institute of Economic Affairs that claimed credit for it before the wheels, well they didn't just fall off did they
4:35
They sort of disappeared mid-journey. They still get paid, still get invited onto radio and television programmes or to write articles for newspapers
4:44
because it's quite extraordinary. It'd be a bit like inviting Gerald Ratner
4:48
to conduct masterclasses on how to run successful businesses, how to build upon inheritance to create massive success
4:57
Look it up. It's like, look at Google him. Google him, all right? So all of that's still there
5:03
And then you've got, so you've got the Brexit, you've got the Boris Johnson, you've got the austerity
5:08
you've got Liz Truss, and you point out, as I do, sometimes perhaps a little bit repetitiously, repetitively
5:18
you point out how badly that has gone. All of that. And people don't thank you for it
5:26
People still, when you say, are you going to listen to these people now when they start using exactly the same tactics
5:34
exactly the same dodgy statistics, exactly the same nonsenses, don't look over here
5:39
at all the people whose wealth oddly isn't trickling down to the rest of us, look over there at some desperate
5:44
people on boats and you want to fall for it again, people want
5:48
to fall, it's a bit that you never quite understand unless you're part of it you never quite understand
5:54
the um the eagerness with which people swallow this bilge, and how do you
6:04
do it, oh James O'Brien he's so condescending well the fact of fact it didn't go well i mean i i took you have to try very hard not to tell the
6:12
people who voted for it the first time that they did something stupid the people who went for it
6:17
the second time so you fell for austerity that's fair enough and that even though it was going to
6:22
hurt you much more than it was going to hurt the people that introduced it or the people that told you it was brilliant and necessary you wave goodbye to your sure start center or your library
6:30
or your local police officer yeah we've got to do that we've all got to do our bit in order to
6:34
I'm not quite sure what it is in order to do, but we've all got to do it because the Daily Mail told me
6:39
So you don't want to be rude about the people who fell for it the first time
6:44
and then they fell for Boris Johnson. You don't really want to be rude about people who fell for Boris Johnson
6:49
because he was very easy to fall for, certainly in the very early days
6:53
But by the time the truth emerged, you're still shilling for him, you're still sticking up for him
6:57
Can we call you stupid yet? No, you mustn't call people stupid. Liz Truss is going to be brilliant
7:01
It's the finest Tory budget of my life, said Nigel Farage, or something similar
7:05
displaying an understanding of economics that is, well, I don't know that the words exist to describe how wrong it is
7:12
And we did a poll on this radio station last week that says people trust him more with the economy than they do Rachel Reeves
7:18
How does that happen? It happens because people love to swallow the bilge
7:24
They literally, well, no, it doesn't. It's because most people don't get offered anything else
7:29
it's like going into a restaurant and being offered bilge bilge bilge bilge bilge and chips or bilge
7:34
and you have to eat so i'm going to eat bilge and uh i haven't missed lockdown off my list
7:40
i filed that under boris johnson mate the disastrous handling of the covid epidemic
7:46
was all on johnson but the idea that you would vote for austerity or support austerity
7:53
you would support boris johnson you'd greet liz truss as if she was some sort of genius you'd
7:58
think that Brexit, at what point are you allowed to say, hey lads, um, not allowed to say that
8:07
anymore by the way, hey lads, do you think maybe you should give us, give your head a
8:12
wobble and start listening to other people? Start, stop trusting these, don't, no, stop
8:17
it, look over there, small boats, sorry, I just got distracted for a minute, I don't
8:22
know, um, the problem is of course that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, I did
8:26
a sum yesterday and I did it, I wonder if you noticed, were you listening closely enough
8:30
to notice that I didn't, I did it wrong. So I had the number in front of me and I did
8:38
it and I thought that can't be right, I better do it again and then I sort of pretended that
8:42
I changed my mind and I was going to do something else instead So if you had million of assets right and the thing that Neil Kinnick talked about earlier in the week bringing in some sort of 2 levy on everything in excess of million
8:55
what do you think you'd pay? I've got to get this right
8:59
Can someone else do the sum? I'm going to sit and wait for you to text it in. So I'm 99.9% sure that I got it right
9:06
but obviously if I got it wrong, it would undermine everything that follows. It would put me up there with Nigel Farage and the Daily Telegraph
9:11
in the Daily Mail as an observer of matters mathematical or as an observer
9:15
So it's basically 2% of £2 million. People talking today as if we were about to introduce
9:22
four horsemen of the apocalypse are going to come marching down the M6
9:25
to rinse everybody wealthy of every hard-earned penny that they've ever had
9:30
It would be 2% of... I know what the answer is. It's theatre, Keith
9:36
I'm just building up a little bit of... I'm not. I'm not really. I'm double-checking
9:41
£40,000 on a £12 million liquid asset. Oh, it's outrageous. I'm going to leave the country
9:48
Are you? £40,000 out of £12 million spondulics. Where are you going to go
9:55
£40,000. So I don't know whether people even bother. Do you bother
10:00
Do they bother doing this? It's outrageous. Over there, small boats. £40,000 on £12 million
10:06
So what would it be on, I don't know, £200 million? that it would be, proportionately speaking
10:12
a similarly sized drop in the ocean. Do you know what's depressing
10:20
It'll work. That's the point of the litany. That's the point of the list
10:24
I list these things to hopefully wobble some heads, but it doesn't work
10:31
People don't thank you for it. People who haven't got a pot to pee in
10:34
will be absolutely convinced that this is communism that you'll list 40 grand out of 12 million pounds, whatever next
10:42
Whatever next. And it will work. I can see it. I can see the tanks arriving on your lawn
10:49
If I said to you that this statistic that's been bouncing around Britain
10:54
for the, it even appears in the Daily Mail today, this statistic that's been bouncing around Britain
10:59
about the number of millionaires that have left the country, have you any idea how that's calculated
11:04
Is it peer-reviewed? I mean, if I said to you that it is information
11:10
and I use the word very loosely, injected into the public sphere exclusively by a company that makes all of its money
11:17
from helping people buy citizenship in other countries that may have more, quotes
11:23
favourable, end quotes, tax regimes than the one they want to leave
11:27
If I said that to you, would you still trust the figures? Would you still trust the people telling you these numbers
11:32
Oh, 65,000, 6 million, billion, silly. They were all leaving the... Same people who told you Brexit would be brilliant
11:38
Liz Truss was an economic genius. Boris Johnson could be trusted and austerity was necessary
11:41
and you mustn't blame the bankers for an international banking crisis. They don't... I don't know why
11:47
They don't thank you for it. If you had... If you had £22 million in the bank
11:56
you'd be paying about... What, it'd be 204... I won't do any more sums. Don't send me numbers on the screen
12:02
And that's what's so fascinating about this rhetorically, isn't it? That's what's so fascinating about this philosophically, economically
12:10
I never quite know what question to ask you. Listen, if you want to ring in and say things like
12:16
oh, no, all the wealth creators will leave, what are the other lines that you might use
12:21
Something about gardeners and chauffeurs. All the wealth creators will leave. You don't understand, James
12:27
£40,000 out of £12 million is a lot bigger sum than you..
12:30
I don't know what... I mean, there are loads of radio programmes you can ring
12:34
to sort of swap bilge, like a French kiss of bilge. You've both got mouths full of bilge
12:40
You can just swap bilge with each other. There's loads of places in the UK media
12:44
where you can exchange bilge. 2% of £2 million. And I don't know that the stuff that interests me about this
12:56
is the stuff that interests you. I don't know if it interests anybody else. I kind of find myself returning again and again and again and again to the simple question of what motivates people who would object to this Even if you affected by it
13:19
Even if you are affected by it. What possible problem would there be
13:25
What if we called it a patriot tax? We call it a patriot tax
13:29
Cover it in flags? And this is what you do? The bigger patriot you are
13:35
the richer patriot you are, the more, I don't know, it just strikes me as extraordinary that we live in a country now
13:43
And that's why we're talking about it today, because you can see it happening again. That's why I start with the list
13:48
Doing the list. Some days I do the weave today. I'm doing the list. Austerity, Brexit, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss
13:56
Crikey. You do the list and you see that you live in a country
14:01
where our collective brains have been boiled to the point where the facts just don't matter
14:07
where the record doesn't matter, where the same people, the same jobs
14:11
doing the same thing with the same lines. And now they're telling you that a wealth tax is a really bad idea
14:18
How does it work psychologically? 0345 6060973. And what do they need the extra money for
14:32
Will we ever understand it? Will we ever understand it? Alan Sugar, who is a flawed character, as indeed we all are
14:41
but I remember he once posted a picture of his income tax check on social media
14:45
And it was an eye-wateringly large sum of money. And I thought that more people should do that, but they probably can't
14:53
Because if you knew what someone was worth and you saw what they were paying in income tax
14:58
there'd probably be a revolution. Sugar being one of the people, according to my memory, who wouldn't
15:04
Again, it's 2% of £2 million. So if they're putting a tax on something over £10 million
15:13
your asset's over £10 million and you've got £12 million, 2% of £2 million is £40,000
15:20
But I've got Brexiters queuing up now to tell me that I can't do something. Imagine that. Imagine voting for Brexit, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Brexit
15:27
and thinking that you're the clever one. That's the problem we've got as a country
15:32
you think you're the clever because people keep telling you that you are
15:36
Andrew Neil in the Daily Mail today you're the clever ones by the way here's some statistics from a company
15:42
that I won't mention where these statistics come from I'll just reprint them as if they're gospel
15:47
I'll just repeat them on the radio it's not remotely possible that they're just using changed biographical details
15:54
on LinkedIn profiles to count the number of millionaires leaving the country is it that would be ridiculous and if it was true of course we'd tell you
16:01
Of course we tell you. 90 minutes after 10 is the time
16:07
I don't think I'm going to get anybody affected by this. Well, maybe. Yeah, of course I will
16:11
Everyone rings in eventually. Norway's got a wealth tax. Spain's got a wealth tax
16:16
Switzerland's got a wealth tax. Why would people who would never be affected..
16:24
How do you end up believing the propaganda that is issued in..
16:27
How does it work? All right? How does it work? How does this work when you persuade people
16:35
who haven't got a pot to mictuate in that they should be in favour of protecting the epic, unfair
16:40
unequally distributed wealth of people who inhabit a universe that you're not even allowed to visit
16:47
0345 6060 973. How does it work? That's what I want to know
16:52
How does it work? How did it work on you? How is it working on you? How are you persuaded that you should be opposed to a tiny, tiny nibble
17:01
at the largest fortunes in the land to the benefit of everybody else
17:06
How does it work? 0345 6060 973 is the number that you need
17:12
That's what I want to know. How does it work? The largest fortunes in the land, nibbled at the edges
17:19
in an almost unnoticeable way to help the entire country, and it has become public enemy number one
17:26
in the minds of the people that brought you all together now. Brexit, Boris Johnson, austerity and Liz Truss
17:33
How do we keep getting fooled again
#Law & Government
#news
#Politics