TAX the rich to pay for public services, Unison general secretary Christina McAnea told the union’s annual conference today.

Ms McAnea also hit back at accusations that her union is too close to the Labour Party.

She said: “Our role as a trade union is to hold them to account, to make sure they do what they said they’d do.

“I’m not here to tell them they’re doing a good job — I’m here to tell them to do their job better.

“Just as we did when they attacked benefits — we were one of the first unions to come out against the cut to the winter fuel allowance.

“But I want Labour to do more to show it values our public services, and the people who deliver them — our members.

“And how do I think they should pay for this?

“Not by taking money away from those least able to afford it, but by taking it from those with the deepest pockets.”

Ms McAnea pointed out that Britain’s “richest family has a fortune of over £35 billion. You can’t even imagine what that would be like.

“If they decided, out of the goodness of their hearts, to pay for the winter fuel allowance for the rest of this parliament, do you know what it would do to their ranking in the top 100 richest list?

“Absolutely nothing — they would still be top of the list of richest people in Britain.”

“So if the government can change their minds on so many issues, I say change it on taxation!

“Tax wealth and profits and raise the money needed to fix our country. That’s the message I’ll continue to take to the government.”