Millionaire urges Lib Dems to back wealth tax as party weighs economic plan

An influential campaign by a self-described patriotic millionaire is placing renewed pressure on the Liberal Democrats to back a wealth tax as the party maps its economic position ahead of a general election. Mark Robinson, who has joked that he is 'the most left-wing man in commercial real estate', told a fringe event at the Lib Dem autumn conference in Bournemouth that the party should embrace a broader tax on wealth rather than relying on a windfall levy on banks alone.

Robinson's remarks come as his Patriotic Millionaires UK group continues a tour of autumn conferences to advocate higher taxes on the wealthy. The British offshoot of a U.S. organization says its goal is clear: push policymakers to adopt a 2% tax on assets over £10 million and to raise capital gains taxes to align with top rates of income tax. He argued that the bank windfall tax, projected to raise about £7 billion a year, is only a 'drop in the ocean' compared with what a more comprehensive wealth tax could deliver.

The Lib Dems are wrestling with how to position themselves on taxation as they refresh their economic stance. They last fought an election with a manifesto pledge to raise capital gains tax and to reverse Conservative-era cuts to the bank levy. Since then, the party has signaled openness to targeting wealth more broadly, including consideration of inheritance tax changes that would raise revenue while trying to shield those inheriting modest family homes. Key to the party's approach is avoiding a perception that any new levy will disproportionately hurt middle- or lower-income households.

During the fringe session, Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean cautioned that major tax announcements typically surface in the run-up to a general election, and that a broader package may resonate more with voters. He said the party is already thinking about how to build on its previous policies and to link wealth taxation more directly to overall economic performance. 'The tax system right now is messy,' Dean said, 'incentives are all over the place.' He suggested that a wealth tax debate will need to be framed in the context of growth, productivity and fairness rather than as an abstract levy.

Another Lib Dem MP, Andrew George, acknowledged the political sensitivity of the issue. He said the wealth-tax question could become especially challenging for a party whose core vote has shifted up the social ladder in recent years. He warned that the term 'wealth tax' had begun to feel almost taboo within the party and floated the idea of reframing it—perhaps with a different label—while insisting the underlying policy aim was to curb widening inequality.

Analysts and party insiders say the policy debate now extends beyond internal party lines. The autumn conferences are seen as a proving ground for whether the Lib Dems can offer credible, costed proposals that appeal to voters who are wary of high taxes but concerned about inequality. The timing matters: Chancellor Rachel Reeves, expected to maintain fiscal rules, is widely anticipated to raise taxes again in the autumn or in the Budget in November. The political pressure also comes from the left of Labour and from unions keen to see richer sections contribute more to public finances.

In the broader context, the Patriotic Millionaires' UK division argues that broad wealth taxation would be a more progressive approach than narrow windfalls. The group has emphasized the alignment of capital gains with income tax rates and the addition of taxes on very large fortunes to address wealth concentration. Robinson said he would continue to press the Lib Dems and other parties to make room for such measures ahead of the next general election, arguing that refusing to tackle wealth inequality only defers the problem.

As the economic debate unfolds, Lib Dem figures say the party must present a coherent package that voters can understand and that can be explained in terms of improving living standards and long-term growth. The party's working group has been set up to gather evidence from experts on how far a wealth-tax approach could be taken without harming investment or entrepreneurship. The discussion signals a shift from a focus on particular levies to a broader statement about how taxation, growth and fairness fit together in a modern economy.