News from Nottingham Labour

Nottingham Labour Leader backs PM’s ‘Tobin Tax’ call

Councillor Jon Collins, Labour Leader of Nottingham City Council, has written to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to welcome his proposal of a levy on financial transactions.

Councillor Collins told Labour Matters:

“Over the last 18 months the global economy has endured a great shock which brought many financial institutions to the brink. The Government, led by Gordon Brown, took swift measures to step in saving our banking system and as a result protecting hard-working people’s money. I wrote to the Prime Minister to let him know that the Nottingham Labour Group supports his idea of a transaction tax and to urge him to once more show global leadership in persuading the rest of the world to sign up too.”

In his letter Cllr Collins outlined four key uses for funds raised by this tax:

* To reduce the national debt and provide essential public spending, the sorts of spending that has improved Nottingham schools, transport and hospitals beyond recognition.

* To invest in technology which will tackle climate change. This would support people in British Science Cities, such as Nottingham where we aspire to create 20,000 jobs in science-related employment by 2020.

* To support third world development which could also create markets for British firms.

* To create an international bail-out fund for banks that run into difficulty in the future, so taxpayers are not forced to underwrite the excesses of a small minority.