Billionaire wealth and democracy

That this House notes that billionaire wealth is at its highest recorded level, with the number of billionaires surpassing 3,000 for the first time, while one in four people globally face hunger and 14.1 million people in the UK experienced food insecurity last year; observes growing concern that extreme concentrations of wealth enable disproportionate influence over politics, society and the economy; recognises estimates from Oxfam that billionaires are at least 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people; acknowledges that a 2024 survey of over 2,300 millionaires across G20 countries found that more than half believe extreme wealth poses a threat to democracy; and calls on the Government to work internationally to reduce economic inequality, curb the political power of the super-rich including through effective taxation, and uphold democratic rights and freedoms, including defending the right to protest as a vital counterbalance that helps level the playing field between ordinary people and the powerful.