Chancellor Rachel Reeves sought to woo big business at Davos on 20 December. She pointed to a £5bn investment in science and research talent to help boost the UK development and innovation.
While the UK should be investing in tech and science, this is essentially a corporate handout because the government is not taking a stake in the companies it’s investing in. This leaves UK citizens paying twice: once to publicly fund the research ,and a second time to foot the bill for a privatised product.
“Drive greater growth”
At Davos, a Swiss city where global elites gather for the World Economic Forum, Reeves said:
In a volatile world Britain stands out. This government is making sure Britain is home to the stability, talent and capital that businesses and investors want and that drive greater growth.
But the UK has had stagnant growth since the 2008 financial crash and increasingly less growth for decades before. That’s because economic inequality has vastly increased leaving citizens with little purchasing power, driving down demand.
Oxfam recently found that just 56 billionaires in the UK have a total wealth greater than 39% of the population (27 million people). In fact, Oxfam reported that
The average UK billionaire will gain more wealth than the value of the UK’s average annual salary in less time than it takes to watch a premier league football match
The cost of Davos
But apparently super rich elites in Davos, who Reeves is trying to win over, are going to sort out all the world’s problems. Even though they are driving the world’s problems through hoarding the productive capacities of the world.
Multinational corporations, usually with a turnover of at least five billion dollars, fund the World Economic Forum as members at a fee of £52,000. Unless your a member, costs of attendance for those invited can exceed £250,000 with items like a hot dog costing $43. Sprialling inequality will not be solved in a Swiss ski resort where only the vastly wealthy have a seat at the table.
Yet Reeves is there offering corporate handouts to the already rich. It shows her priorities are all over the place.
Featured image via the Canary
By James Wright
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