Blame the rich: Greens must hammer home this message
The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away. If you read the newspapers or watch the TV, you might think that the biggest problem Britain faces is a few small boats landing on shores. The truth is, families in the UK are still struggling. Utility bills are sky high. Weekly shops are still vastly more expensive than they should be. Benefits are being reduced, withheld, even scrapped by the Labour government.
Who is to blame for the problems facing our country, then? The poor people on boats who just this second turned up? Obviously not, and yet, nobody is pointing fingers at the real culprits. Labour, Reform and the Conservative Party are all on an anti-immigrant, anti-trans, anti-poor, anti-disabled rampage. Blaming as many minorities and vulnerable groups as they possibly can. To protect these people, to direct the blame to where it is truly deserved, and to win over the public, the Green Party must adopt a radical narrative of The People vs. The Profiteers.
The Cost of Profit Crisis
The cost of living crisis – rumbling on now for at least five years – has always been framed as an unavoidable consequence of external factors. First Covid, then the war in Ukraine, now Gaza and of course, if you’re Reform UK, “Net Zero”. Of course the truth is, the cost of living crisis is caused purely by private profits. An upward redistribution of wealth from the People to the Profiteers. Private companies and their shareholders are draining money out of the pockets of ordinary people, out of the British economy, and into their already-bloated bank accounts.
Take supermarkets, for example. I’m personally still struggling with shopping bills significantly higher than they used to be, I’m sure you are too. If this was caused by external factors we might expect to see a dent in the supermarkets profits, but do we? No. Last year, 2024, Tesco made £2.8 billion in profit, Waitrose £1.1 billion, Sainsbury’s £1 billion, ASDA upwards of £1 billion (2023) and M&S £620 million. This is profit – money earned after expenses. After paying staff. Pure profit.
These supermarkets could be paying their staff more, or charging their customers less, and they choose not to.
What about utility bills? Surely gas & electricity companies have been badly hit by instability in Ukraine and the middle east? Of course not. Last year, Centrica (the owners of British Gas) made £1.5 billion in profit. In 2023, EDF Energy’s French Parent Company made €39.9 billion in profit. In 2022, E.ON SE made €2.2 billion in profit.
Again this is all pure profit, after expenses. These companies can absolutely afford to lower our bills or pay their staff more and they don’t. If we nationalised gas & electricity in the UK, those profits could indeed be used to lower rates, invest in infrastructure, or pay for day to day government spending.
The list of companies and individuals earning extreme profits at the public expense goes on and on.
An Opportunity for The Greens
The Green Party already knows all of this. We already have the policies that would correct the problem. Renationalisation of key industries, wealth taxes on the super rich, a universal basic income. So why not start shouting from the rooftops about it?
The Green Party has professionalised its image over the last few years, which has helped us to win more council seats and four members of parliament. But we now need radical action to tackle the real problems Britain faces, and to protect the vulnerable communities being used as scapegoats by the far-right.
We know Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK won’t stand up to the Profiteers. The Liberal Democrats and the SNP, while commendable for their relative civility, are ultimately parties of capital, with donors who expect them to toe the line. Only The Green Party is in a position to go to bat for The People against The Profiteers. It’s time we accepted that role and got far more radical with our messaging.
That’s why I’m standing the Green Party’s elections to become External Communications Co-ordinator. It’s time for the Greens to adopt a bolder narrative, on social media, on TV, in newspapers and on the doorstep. Only by filling the vacuum of ideas on the left can we grow as a movement and fix Britain’s problems at the same time.
(Promoted and produced by Daniel Johnston as part of his campaign for election to the post of External Communications Co-ordinator. This is not an official communication from the Green Party of England and Wales.)
