When William the Conqueror seized England, he carved up the land among his loyal barons who had fought alongside him at the Battle of Hastings. The Crown, the Church, and aristocratic families built vast fortunes through centuries of exploitation, not just of British people but also of African, Asian people and those from other parts of the world through slavery and colonialism.
The Norman system was designed for permanent inequality. William declared all land his own, then granted it to loyal barons. Male primogeniture meant estates passed intact to eldest sons, keeping wealth concentrated in the same families for generations. This is one reason why less than 1% of the population still owns around 70% of England’s land, much of it traceable to Norman land grants and, more recently, industrialist wealth.
The Harrying of the North between 1069 and 1070 remains one of English history’s most brutal episodes. Northern villages were burned, crops destroyed, and entire communities starved into submission. The Domesday Book recorded vast areas of the north as “waste”: a deliberate devastation that echoes today.
While Scotland avoided direct conquest and Wales suffered resource extraction, the north of England bore the worst of it. Northern English people were the backbone of the Industrial Revolution, digging coal, forging steel, doing Britain’s dirtiest and most dangerous work. They powered the British Empire yet were cast aside when London’s elite turned to financial services.
New money follows old patterns
The Norman system didn’t just preserve old money; it provided the framework for new money to join the elite. As Britain developed economically, those who made fortunes from scratch bought country estates, sent children to elite schools, and married into aristocratic families. From medieval merchants to modern hedge fund managers, the path to lasting power has remained the same, with London as the established centre of wealth.
Today’s financial sector, with its astronomical bonuses concentrated in London’s narrow elite, perpetuates the same inequalities that began with Norman land grants. High-earning positions, driven more by connections than merit, keep the same families and regions dominant.
The numbers tell the story
Londoners and those living in the south-east receive substantially more infrastructure investment per capita compared to residents of northern and other regions. Projects like the Elizabeth Line (£19bn), HS2 estimated to cost £80bn, and the Oxford-Cambridge East-West rail cost many billions while the north struggles for basic connectivity. People struggle to get to work, college, or hospital appointments. That’s not just a transport issue – it’s an economic barrier.
London’s GDP per capita is 85% higher than Manchester’s and even higher than other northern cities. This isn’t natural, it’s the result of policies that consistently draw investment, talent, and opportunity away from the north.
Scotland and Wales have parliaments with real power. Northern regions in England remain governed by Westminster, with token devolution and no control over funding, transport, or economic policy. They’re treated as subordinate regions, reliant on a distant elite’s whims.
The working poor in the north of England bear the real cost of this wealth concentration. Across northern regions, one in three children lives below the poverty line. Life expectancy is up to 10 years shorter than in the south-east. Families in insecure rented homes face constant eviction fears, making life intolerable. These are nurses, shop workers, cleaners, hardworking people whose labour powers the nation yet leaves them in constant worry about paying bills or feeding children.
The need for ethical taxation
Introducing a wealth tax in the UK would face serious challenges, not because it’s impossible but because the financial elite wield significant influence over the system itself. The City of London, a global financial hub, is structured to minimise taxation for high-net-worth individuals, ensuring that London remains attractive for business and investment.
With its deep-rooted tradition of free trade and finance, the UK has consistently resisted measures like an exit tax, arguing that such policies would discourage foreign investment and undermine competitiveness. As a result, without the cooperation of the ultra-wealthy, any attempt at redistribution faces strong resistance.
Given this reality, moral leadership could play a crucial role. The Crown and the Church of England, as historic institutions with vast wealth, could set an example, urging Britain’s wealthiest families to voluntarily engage in designing a fair, ethical wealth tax to support struggling communities. Some citizens face hardship through no fault of their own, and a system that rewards wealth without responsibility risks deepening inequalities.
A series of direct challenges
To the Crown:
Your £15.6bn estate stems from conquest that impoverished millions. Your promise of public service rings hollow while the north suffers. Will you perpetuate southern dominance or lead by redistributing wealth to regions you claim to serve?
The royal family should pay income tax on all private revenue, including untaxed profits from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, currently exempt from corporation and capital gains tax. The “sovereign-to-sovereign” inheritance tax exemption should end and royal assets should face the same death duties as any citizen’s estate.
To the Church of England:
The Church, under the Normans, gained control of a substantial portion of land, sometimes at the expense of the poor, who were increasingly denied access to resources. Perhaps it is time to stand up and lead the fight, with the Crown, to seek justice for the poor.
To the ultra-wealthy 1%:
Your fortunes are hoarded in gated estates from Mayfair to Surrey, while entire regions are left behind. This isn’t just unfair, it’s unsustainable. The bonus culture in finance and utilities rewards executives while prices soar, showing a complete moral disconnect. Will you retreat to tax havens, or invest in a fairer Britain?
Ancient aristocratic families still profit from estates granted for supporting William’s invasion. Modern concentrations of wealth follow the same patterns, with London’s financial sector hoarding opportunity within a narrow social and geographic elite.
To the multinationals:
You pay minimal corporate taxes through complex offshore structures while the communities generating your wealth struggle with underfunded services. Will you pay fair corporate taxes that reflect your true profits from British operations? Will you participate in a plan of regeneration or be remembered as modern inheritors of exploitation?
Recalibrating the wealth imbalance
Britain needs systemic wealth transfer that recognises historical theft and begins restoring what was taken. A regional wealth fund isn’t charity; it’s restitution for centuries of extraction.
Britain must reckon with its legacy of inherited privilege. Vast fortunes built on colonialism, slavery, and the seizure of common land still shape our economy and our society today. It is time for the Crown, the Church of England, the landed elite, the government, the Bank of England and other financial institutions, multinationals, and the top accountancy firms to come together, openly and urgently, to confront this imbalance.
Only they have the means to deliver meaningful reform. If they choose not to act fairly – if they avoid tax, protect the status quo, or threaten to take their wealth elsewhere – then the country should see that for what it is: a refusal to play by the same rules as everyone else. Without their cooperation, nothing will change. And if nothing changes, then they own the consequences.
Every government pound must reflect the whole country’s needs, not just London and the south-east. Northern regions must receive a legally guaranteed share of national investment, proportionate to their population and historical contribution to Britain’s wealth.
Regional investment banks, owned locally and free from the short-term priorities of London’s financial markets, would be able to fund local businesses, infrastructure, housing, and clean energy projects across the north. This would ensure prosperity flows to these communities rather than distant shareholders.
A question of morality
The Crown and Church of England, as the country’s most symbolic landowners, could set the tone and take the lead for national change. If they led by acknowledging historic inequality and proposing ways to reinvest in deprived regions, others would follow. Such leadership could mark a turning point in reshaping how power and opportunity are shared.
This isn’t about jealousy, punishing success, or stifling enterprise. It’s about acknowledging that vast inherited wealth carries moral debts that must be repaid.
The Norman model of centralised power has run its course. The highly centralised British state no longer serves most of its people: it has failed the nation. Across the country, underfunded regions endure systemic poverty, leaving communities struggling to survive, while London and parts of the south-east have become enclaves for the ultra-wealthy. It’s time to rethink how land, power, and prosperity are distributed and begin building a fairer future from the ground up.
The north of England asks for no special treatment, only the same powers, respect, and opportunities that other devolved nations enjoy. The working poor in the north aren’t statistics, they’re families in insecure homes, with shorter lives and constant fear. How can the elite justify their wealth while northern working families face despair?
Fairness is not radicalism
The north of England will lead the way, not just in fighting for its future but in setting an example for all Britain’s neglected regions, such as the south-west. These communities can show that genuine justice and fair prosperity remain achievable, not impossible dreams, when funded through proper wealth redistribution from London’s financial elite.
The call for northern devolution isn’t radical, it’s common sense and long-overdue fairness. The wealth tax plan targeting London’s elite provides the mechanism to fund this transformation, creating a blueprint for regional regeneration across England.
The national debt, much of which has grown due to economic mismanagement, crises, and policy decisions places a disproportionate burden on lower-income households. As calls for devolution and regional empowerment grow, it is time to reconsider how land, power and prosperity are distributed to work towards a fairer, more inclusive future for all.
The choice facing the Crown, the Church of England, the financial institutions (including the Bank of England), the multinationals and Britain’s elite is simple: act now as stewards who choose justice over privilege. Support the wealth tax plan that redirects London’s concentrated wealth to deprived northern regions. Only by working together can you break the system that has enriched you for centuries. Or let history remember you as those who hoarded wealth while the nation fractured around you.
