Scandalous statistics
- 8 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Researchers at the STUC have drawn out the shocking facts behind the Sunday Times ‘rich list’ – which that rag presents as if we should be admiring and envious of the people who are on it. Cross-referencing to other data, the trade union movement’s researchers find that
The growth in wealth of Scotland’s ten richest people has outstripped worker’s wages more than sixfold since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999
The wealth of Scotland’s ten richest people is now more than £23 billion, nine times what it was in 1999
Even after accounting for inflation, the wealth of the richest has increased by 375% in that time
By contrast, real terms earnings for working people have increased by just 22%
Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the Scottish Trade Union Congress, has voiced real anger about this scandal: “People across Scotland are sick to death of communities struggling while those at the top of the rich list continue to accumulate extraordinary wealth”.
She calls on the Scottish Government to begin redistributing power, arguing for steps which “empower trade unions to collectively bargain for better pay, terms and conditions for Scotland’s workers. This Parliament must mark the beginning of a move away from a trickle-down economic model to one that challenges inequality, prioritises fairness and working-class people over the extremely wealthy”.
Policy documents and calls on our parliamentarians to shift priorities are important and valuable. They will become elements of real change only if (trigger warning: radical idea coming up …) we build a movement to ensure that Scotland’s economic arrangements are shaped so as to meet the needs of Scotland’s people.
Published 22 May 2026