British Inequality

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan officially left their roles as working royals in April this year. They subsequently signed a deal with Netflix to become producers that would see their wealth skyrocket.

At the time that Harry and Megan were working royals they were granted £2.4 million to renovate Frogmore Cottage; so that five small cottages could become one country home. The money they received to renovate Frogmore Cottage came from the Sovereign grant, which is paid for by the taxpayer.

Essentially the monarchy lives off a large government benefit. Although the average household might get up to £20,000 a year in benefits depending on their circumstances, the Windsor Royal Family received £84 million this year from the sovereign grant. Is this promoting fairness and equality?

To be eligible to receive money from the grant the royal family does not receive income from the crown estate, which instead goes to the government. The Royal Family instead received about 25% of the money from the crown estate.

This might appear to be a bonus for the taxpayer as we receive more than we pay out but i would argue that because the Windsor Royal Family are not subject to income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance then the British taxpayer are getting a bad deal. The Windsor Royal Family are worth $88 billion dollars according to Forbes in 2017 and the Queen is worth about £500 million pounds. If they were subject to the same taxes as every other family in Britain then the British taxpayer would be better off for it.

It isn’t fair that Britain since 2010 has been living through different governments that have been forcing austerity and cuts upon the British public. Yet, the royal family have not been paying their fair share of tax that would have helped contribute for schools, hospitals and helping the vulnerable.

Through the ages people have fought and died for equality and democracy. Our current system of the monarchy does not promote fairness. Every person who lives in Britain should be subject to the laws and taxes of the land.

Meanwhile low income families are living off food banks and struggling to heat their homes. The inequality in Britain is prevalent for all to see.

A conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake said in a twitter dispute between himself and Marcus Rashford that ‘it was a parent’s job to feed their children’. Rashford has been campaigning for free school meals for children at schools to be extended through the school holidays to ensure children do not go hungry. Have politicians got their priorities all wrong? The MP seems to have taken offence to the government helping families to feed their children but he doesn’t take offence to the fact that the richest family in Britain live off benefits of millions of pounds a year.