LAST week, the Scottish TUC published a very brief report titled Behind the rich list: Scotland’s wealth gap.

This report, based on the Sunday Times Rich List, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and HMRC RTI data, serves as a short analysis of Scotland’s ever growing “wealth gap” between the 10 richest people in Scotland and the average income.

It showed that the 10 richest in Scotland, since 1996, had increased their wealth by over 800 per cent.

Brian Souter and Ann Gloag, The Thomson family, Arnold Clark and Sir Ian Wood all remain as sadly familiar faces on the 2026 list, as does Tom Hunter (businessman, “philanthropist,” and infamous advocate for cutting taxes on business and the rich).

In stark contrast, full-time average weekly earnings have risen from £329 in 1999 to £784 now. A 138 per cent increase in nominal terms, in real term a mere 22 per cent.

The STUC’s report touches lightly on policies to address this extreme economic inequality, recognising that major reforms — such as UK-wide wealth and corporate taxation, corporate governance and a lot of business regulation — rest at the puppet show of Westminster. However, there are things that the Scottish Parliament can do, and has done.

In previous years, the Scottish Parliament has made “progressive” income tax changes. Yet the unbalanced-by-design council tax (a significant component to Scotland’s wealth) remains in place. Land reform has been embarrassingly shy, and the Establishment parties continue to pursue policies aimed at supporting business.

It is clear to us all that there is an unwillingness to challenge this extreme inequality. As noted in the STUC’s report, “the Scottish Parliament must do more to redistribute income and wealth, including through wealth taxes as advocated by leading economists and groups such as Tax Justice Scotland.”

However, the advancement of history has shown us that the splashing of mere handouts and concessions by the Scottish government will not be enough. A major change in tackling the policies designed for the richest in this nation has to be constructed in a Scottish Parliament shaped for the redistribution of power — a Scottish Parliament that’s even half of the vision of Mick McGahey. The need for empowering trade unions who, despite decline in recent years, represent a vast number of workers in the very sectors that these top 10 richest “people” exploit and profit in has never been greater.

What is missing from the STUC’s short report is the backdrop of Britain’s, and indeed Scotland’s, growing austerity and the building of the global war economy that continues to see public money siphoned off to private enterprise.

In the building of the war economy we’ve seen the British government continue its trend of slashing public spending, whilst announcing yearly increases for so called “defence,” amplified and steeped in red scare propaganda against the People’s Republic of China — war hawks attempting to paint the image of China infiltrating and taking over Britain. Maybe if they did HS2 would be complete in months rather than decades.

Trade unions have a share of the blame — their failure (or better yet, unwillingness) to formulate a socialist solution to Britian’s economic catastrophes over the past five decades has resulted in the very decline in living standards and workers’ rights they oppose.

Instead, they have towed the government’s imperialist line that war is good, and peace is not profitable — the very slogan that acts as the foundation for the shaping of our new war economy. The workers of Barrow-in-Furness have seen this impact first-hand, where the town’s economy is centred around BAE Systems. Nearly one in three working-age residents in the town is employed either directly by BAE or through its supply chain, making these workers dependent on British imperialism — all thanks to the British government and those in the union movement who have, and continue to, advocate for increased military spending and the expansion of the war economy.

With the prospect of a world war being ramped up, the likelihood of Glasgow and Edinburgh being similarly militarised seems more real. After all, it has already happened to Helensburgh and its surrounding towns.

The decision before us is clear — will we organise and fight for a better future for Scotland, a socialist future?

Or will we allow our class to be shackled and beg for charity from the ever-growing rich listees who continue to drive us closer to war and deeper into poverty?

I choose to fight, what about you?