One hundred and twenty affluent Britons have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for a 2% tax on wealth above £10 million, according to the BBC (BBC News).

The letter, titled "Proud to Pay," was organised by the group Patriotic Millionaires and addresses Burnham as the "new prime minister." The BBC does not specify an exact date on which the letter was sent; its report was published on 23 July 2026 (BBC News).

Signatories include former footballer Gary Lineker, music producer Brian Eno and film director Richard Curtis (BBC News). The Telegraph published its own coverage of the story on the same date, 23 July 2026 (The Telegraph).

Patriotic Millionaires said its own polling showed a majority of millionaires supported higher taxation on themselves (BBC News). The BBC article does not attribute the story to an exclusive; the source of the material appears to be the Patriotic Millionaires group and the text of its open letter (BBC News).

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch responded directly. She said Lineker is "very welcome to pay more tax" and can "write a cheque to the treasury" (BBC News). The BBC article notes that individuals can already make voluntary donations of money or stocks to the Treasury through its existing donation facility (BBC News).

Badenoch's riposte is the standard counter-argument deployed whenever high-profile figures call for higher taxes on themselves: that the voluntary donation mechanism already exists, so the demand is really about compelling others to pay, not about the signatories' own willingness. It is a line that has appeared in Conservative responses to similar campaigns in previous parliaments and relies on the political traction of the distinction between personal action and policy advocacy.

The letter's framing, however, is explicitly structural. A 2% levy on wealth over £10 million is a policy proposal, not a personal donation. The signatories are asking the government to legislate, not merely to accept contributions. Whether the Treasury is considering such a measure is not addressed in the verified reporting.

The address to Burnham as "new prime minister" places the letter at the very start of his tenure, a moment when interest groups across the political spectrum typically press their cases before policy positions harden. The BBC report does not indicate whether Burnham or the Treasury has responded to the letter's specific proposals.

The participation of Lineker, Eno and Curtis gives the letter a level of public visibility that a backbench policy paper would not command. Lineker in particular has been a lightning rod in previous political controversies involving the BBC and government policy, which may shape how the letter is received in the press and among MPs.

Whether the "Proud to Pay" letter moves the dial on wealth taxation policy will depend on whether Burnham's government chooses to treat a 2% levy on assets over £10 million as a live option in its fiscal planning. The Treasury's existing donation facility remains available in the meantime.