When companies and the mega rich do not pay their fair share, then it is the rest of us...

When companies and the mega rich do not pay their fair share, then it is the rest of us who pick up the bill. This week we are seeing Reform and the Conservatives punch down at those who receive various forms of state welfare, whilst ignoring those who squirrel profits abroad.

The TUC has highlighted Starbucks as a case in point. Despite operating in the UK since 1998 and regularly describing the UK market as profitable to investors, Starbucks paid corporation tax here only once across its first fifteen years of trading. Profits are shifted through subsidiaries in low-tax jurisdictions, leaving the UK with almost nothing.

This is the real welfare scandal. Not the person claiming Universal Credit. Not the disabled worker on PIP. It is the billion-pound corporation using an army of accountants to make sure profits vanish before they can be taxed. While our schools, hospitals and public services are stretched to breaking point, multinationals like Starbucks are laughing all the way to the bank.

Reform and the Tories want you looking the other way. Don't let them.