Meet the furious Gen Z protesters who want the super-rich to pay their fair share: 'We have a voice'

Last week, MPs donned purple, white and green sashes to mark 97 years of women’s suffrage – honouring a protest movement that once bombed Westminster Abbey.

That same day, the UK government proscribed Palestine Action under terrorism laws. The group’s crime? Spraying paint on RAF planes to protest Britain’s arms role in Israel’s war on Gaza. Wearing a Palestine Action t-shirt could now land you six months in prison.

This is just the latest sign of Britain’s growing hostility to protest. Since the Public Order Act 2023, international watchdogs have condemned the UK’s “increasingly authoritarian” crackdown on dissent.

Two days later, on Friday (4 July), Big Issue joined Green New Deal Rising (GNDR) for a National Day of Protest. The youth-led group, though unaffiliated, expressed “deep solidarity” with Palestine Action.

Their campaign, PAY UP, targets the UK’s super-rich. The 50 wealthiest families now hold more wealth than the poorest half of the country. Taxation, GNDR rising urges, could rectify this imbalance.

Across the UK, more than 200 young people staged 20 coordinated actions, targeting billionaire and multi-millionaire bosses like Jim Ratcliffe (INEOS), Denise Coates (BET365), and James Watt (BrewDog). Here are dispatches from three of them:

8am: Reform UK HQ, London

Activists stormed Reform UK’s HQ dressed “like billionaires”, unrolling a red carpet and parking up in reception. Staff locked the doors as protesters gathered outside.

The hour-long protest targeted Nigel Farage’s proposed tax regime, including a “Britannia card” that would let the wealthy opt out of tax on international earnings and inheritance.

“Reform is backed by billionaires like Nick Candy,” said GNDR co-founder and organiser Hannah Martin. “We pay our fair share, but Reform are promising tax breaks to the very, very richest.”

Inside, another protester Ellen Gibson coordinated with security. “We wanted to stay during the morning rush. Some people were trying to chat to us and crack their jokes – but the joke’s on them, after all, they work for Reform.”

Lizzie Rose, a 25-year-old member of GNDR, said the timing – one year after Labour’s election – was deliberate: “It felt like day after day of just the government letting us down.” Working three jobs, she’s taken part in five actions this week.

“I don’t think the youth are apathetic. I think people care, but the government is making protest harder. And the legacy media – owned by about five billionaires – say protest doesn’t work. If you don’t think it works, why would you do it? The thing is, it does work. That’s why they try to shut it down.”

12.30pm: Harrods, Knightsbridge

Outside Harrods, protestors in 1970s outfits staged a satirical game show, quizzing passers by. Who’s worth more: INEOs owner Jim Ratcliffe or 25 countries? (Spoiler: Ratcliffe, whose £17 billion fortune has dipped a quarter since buying Manchester United, still wins.)

“A year into this government, and it just feels like Tory austerity,” said protester Laura Hannah, 26. “Instead of cutting welfare, they could tax the ultra-rich.”

Ben, 16 (not his real name), is a Labour member but feels let down: “We’re seeing the consequences of austerity, welfare cuts, lack of infrastructure. The only real solution is raising taxes – and I don’t see that from any major party.”

Protest, he said, gives him hope. “I have strong convictions, and I was fed up with not living up to them.”

5pm: BrewDog, Cambridge

Outside Cambridge’s BrewDog, activists called out co-founder James Watt – worth £262 million – over underpaid staff (BrewDog refuses to pay staff the real Living Wage). Now a non-executive director of BrewDog, he publicly considered delaying his marriage to take advantage of tax relief benefits.

“Today marks a year of the Labour government, and they haven’t delivered,” said organiser Zak Karimjee. “They don’t need to cut disability benefits or winter fuel allowance. The money is there – it’s just being hoarded by the super-rich.

“Watt’s net worth could plug Cambridge’s funding gap over 20 times. We won’t stand by and watch our communities crumble.”

UN experts, lawyers, civil liberties groups and artists have condemned the PA ban as draconian, warning it conflates protest with terrorism.

But Green New Deal Rising isn’t going anywhere. 

“I think it’s extremely dangerous to our democracy if that form of protest, non-violent direct action, is criminalised to the extent that the home secretary is trying to criminalise it,” Martin said. 

“There are lots of marches and other types of actions where you can show we’re on the streets, we’re here, and we have a voice.”

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