Protesters dump horse manure next to Ritz’s Christmas tree in wealth inequality protest
New campaign group Take Back Power said three supporters emptied bags of manure next to the 25ft tree in the hotel’s lobby on Wednesday afternoon
Protesters have dumped horse manure beside the Ritz Hotel’s Christmas tree in a demonstration against wealth inequality.
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New campaign group Take Back Power said three supporters emptied bags of manure next to the 25ft tree in the hotel’s lobby on Wednesday afternoon.
They were seen in footage posted on social media being swiftly removed by staff before sitting outside the hotel with signs reading “Inequality is sh*t. Tax the rich”.
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Ellen Redwood-Brown, 23, an NHS worker involved in the action, said: “The billionaires, corporations, and corrupt politicians running Britain don’t care about us.
"While working in the NHS, I’ve seen people dying because they couldn’t get appointments whilst doctors are working 15 hour shifts.
“The UK has 156 billionaires. We could take away 75 per cent of that wealth to fix Britain and we’d still have 156 billionaires. We must let ordinary people decide how to tax the rich.”
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports of criminal damage at the five-star hotel in Mayfair.
No arrests have been made and inquiries continue.
Tom Barber, 65, a former doctor, journalist and community worker from Nottingham, who also took part in the action said: “Power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of obscenely wealthy and ruthless individuals.
"They are hell-bent on enriching themselves, forcing the gap between the haves and the have-nots ever wider.
“Everyday people must take back power, compelling our government to create a permanent citizens’ assembly- a House of the People. Only then can we start making decisions for everyone’s benefit- taxing the rich, creating a fairer society and restoring our faith in our democracy.”
A Take Back Power spokesperson said: “The super-rich have more than doubled their wealth since the pandemic, while this Christmas, a third of UK children suffer and grow up in poverty.
"It’s time ordinary people- those most affected by inequality, get a say in deciding how to tax wealth through the means of a legally binding citizen’s assembly- a House of the People.”