Patriotic Millionaires UK, led by the former City trader Gary Stevenson and endorsed by Gary Lineker, has ‘100-plus’ members but claims to speak for ‘the majority of UK millionaires’ – doubtful, given that 150,000 homeowners in the south-east of England notionally fall into the seven-digit category. Under the slogan ‘Tax us, we’re proud to pay and here to stay’, the two Garys have offered Andy Burnham a ten-point plan to raise ‘over £50 billion in a single year’. Top of the list, at £24 billion, is a 2 per cent tax on assets over £10 million that has been dismissed by tax experts as one of the fastest ways to drive wealth out of the country, confirmed by news that Scotland’s 48p top rate of income tax (compared with 45p in England), enacted in 2024, resulted in a drop in tax collected.

Among their other ideas, ‘tax private jets more’ and ‘close the carried interest loophole so private equity bosses pay their fair share’ might well win public approval. But overall, the exercise does a disservice to already tax-burdened fellow citizens by encouraging Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to believe higher taxes generally and wealth taxes in particular, with celebrity endorsements, can fund profligate public spending.

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So let me offer the self-styled patriots my own multi-point plan to direct their fortunes........

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