Fair Penny Campaign launched
Wanstead Friends launch campaign
Wanstead Quakers have launched The Fair Penny Campaign in response to a Friend’s concern about inequality. The campaign encourages the public to pledge their willingness to pay an extra penny per pound in income tax to protect the most vulnerable from austerity cuts.
Kate Green, from Wanstead Meeting, said: ‘For some time I’ve felt profound shock at the priorities of the present government, whose policies penalise the most vulnerable while the gap expands between rich and poor. Like so many others, these policies outrage my sense of fairness…
‘Then, at Britain Yearly Meeting in May, someone commented in the Meeting for Sufferings special interest meeting, “Of course we’d all give a penny in the pound more tax to help prevent the worst of it …” The next day, he didn’t even remember that he’d said it, but the remark lodged deep within me. I thought it would make a great campaign on the internet – like the one to get Jane Austen’s face onto the banknotes. Gradually, I began to understand what I might try and do.’
Wanstead Meeting decided to back the plan for an internet campaign after two discussions and local Friends have contributed their time and skills to get the project off the ground. The campaign seeks not only to build support for paying more tax to help the most vulnerable, but also to highlight the issue of fairness in public debate. It is based on the principles of the right of all citizens to a fair share; the responsibility of all citizens to contribute a fair share; and the duty of government to ensure fair shares, especially for those most in need.
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