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Lots of wholly justified reporting on the impacts of Sir Keir Starmer's punishing austerity policies, but I'm going to show you some figures that reveal just how much corporate welfare is set to benefit those at the top. Everything is sourced from the UK Govt's website Freeports: £8.5 billion in tax reliefs over 25 years, with £300 million annually for the next two decades. SEZs: A staggering £27.25 billion, including £15.36 billion for Investment Zones alone. The UK government has already shelled out £10.14 billion in tax breaks for Freeports and SEZs since 2012. That breaks down as: Freeports: £1.5 billion in tax reliefs, including exemptions on business rates and employer NICs, over just three years (2022-2024). SEZs: An estimated £8.64 billion in tax breaks, including enhanced capital allowances and business rates relief, over 12 years. Looking ahead, the government is on track to hand over £35.75 billion in total tax breaks by 2048: What do we get for this eye-watering sum? As of 2024, Freeports and SEZs have created just 22,067 genuinely new jobs—that’s after accounting for the fact that 66% of Freeport jobs and 80% of SEZ jobs are simply displaced from other areas, not new at all. That works out to a jaw-dropping £896,246 per job so far, rising to £936,693 per job if the 25-year targets are met. For context, the median UK salary is £34,963. That £896,246 could pay one worker’s salary for 25 years, or support 25 workers for a year. Instead, it’s being funnelled into corporate profits.