Letters: I’d be happy to pay a bit more tax if it fixed the country
One reader wishes Rachel Reeves had hiked income taxes as soon as she was in office
by: Letters
27 Oct 2025
An extra penny or two in the pound would go a long way to fix the mess we’re in, says a reader. Image: Steve Smith on Unsplash
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A reader says a tax hike is needed to fix the mess the country’s in – and he’s all for it.
Tell the truth about tax
Why are our politicians so scared of telling the truth about income tax? Do we want publicly owned social housing with affordable rents? Do we want our schools to be funded? The same question can be posed about health and social care, defence, roads and infrastructure, supporting key strategic industries like steel and energy. If we want all the things to build a better country, that has to be paid for.
If Reeves and her team put 1p on income tax on day one, based on the perfectly legitimate argument that the Tories had left the country up the spout, they would have got away with it. Sure there would have been howls about breaking manifesto pledges but that would have died away as the benefits came became apparent. The first of these could have been lifting the two-child benefit cap and disability payments.
Now to achieve the same result, making peoples’ lives better and making a start on balancing the books, the tax hike will have to be higher, maybe a 2p increase on the basic rate and more on higher incomes.
I and many millions of others like me who are fortunate enough to have enough income to live on will be quite happy to pay a bit more tax to sort out the Tory mess so long as those even more fortunate than us pay their fair share as well. So get on with it.
Joe (O Level Economics)
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Taken on trust
As always, a pleasure to read Big Issue. The Trust issue proves how public confidence has been eroded. The sad reality is politicians are completely out of touch. To represent a constituency is an honour, not a given. A weak and ineffectual democracy is a breeding ground for extremism. Richard Ellis’s article about the house of campaigns is a truly great idea.
AC Zacharski
Fight for your right
In response to Jason Arthur’s article on the urgent need for critical reform to the education system [on bigissue.com] these systemic shifts can take years if not decades to fully implement. With over 100 young people being excluded daily, we need to take action to ensure no young person is left behind.
At Fight for Peace, we are piloting an educational programme designed to re-engage young people aged 11–16 who are missing from mainstream education or at high risk of becoming so. It’s a stepping stone back into education, where the child receives personalised support and is re-engaged with learning through sport.
Programmes such as these are urgently needed, as the longer a young person remains out of education the greater the likelihood of negative mental and physical health. Grace Allison-Arnold, Fight for Peace
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Wondering if the other #NunsOfTwitter have seen this, by @PauldMcNamee and what unlikely books you have on your shelves? (No Jilly here, tho’ I do enjoy crime fiction and have read racy stuff.)
Silvana Dallanegra rscj, X
No Jilly here either. Recently I have been listening to Agatha Raisin books by MC Beaton. Currently enjoying DCI Ryan series by @LJRossAuthor.
Knitting Nun, X
I’ve a couple of issues with the article (eg. I’m enclosed but I hope that doesn’t make me judgemental!). I’ve not read Jilly Cooper – not because of the raciness but due to a disinterest in the wealthy lifestyle the novels depict. Enjoy murder mystery – Ian Rankin a fave.
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Sister Walburga, X
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Ian Rankin, X
I enjoyed the editor’s letter, especially the conclusion: “lines and pious guardrails … that only promote division”. Let’s celebrate diversity? Let’s not! Let’s celebrate what we have in common.
I saw a lecturing post in Oxford uni advertised three years ago. It was labelled part time, but when you dug into the description it was really a full-time post. As you’d expect, you needed a PhD, string of publications and strong academic record. The pay was just over £30k.
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Stephen Kenyon-Owen, Facebook
A medical lecturer hourly rate is £19.90 per hour and plumbers take £90.
Rosemeen Parkar, Facebook
Food is cheap enough. You need to shop around and budget for things that are essential. My grandma is 95 years old and even she said that they never had such a thing as food banks in London during the war.
Stephen Smith, Facebook
Your average four-bed house in Oxford is £4,000 a month to rent. Let that sink in before wittering about “no food banks in my day”. The wealth of a generation is disappearing into the pockets of a lucky few.
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Marina Organ Facebook
This isn’t new. It’s 10 years since an English university (I will spare their blushes) ran sessions for students on thrift shopping and dumpster diving, then discovered staff were following that advice.
Madeleine Laming, Facebook
Jeez have you ever parked in Oxford? I had to take out a second mortgage just to take the kids to the natural history museum for an hour.
