Sir – The rich are getting even richer and the poor poorer, in the UK as elsewhere. The top one-per-cent control 46 per cent of the world’s assets — and 86 per cent of global wealth is owned by the richest ten-per-cent. Yet two-thirds of the world’s adults have wealth of less than £6,250 (US$10,000 — figures from the latest Credit Suisse World Wealth Report).

Thanks to dynastic capitalism, there is vast inequality of opportunity in each new generation. What is to be done? The long-term answer to Lenin’s famous question is neither communism nor state socialism but social liberal popular capitalism, with national universal inheritance schemes. In the UK, gradually introduce a UK Universal Inheritance for all UK-born UK citizens at the age of 25. Start with £1,000 and increase it by £1,000 annually for ten years or more, up to ten per cent of average wealth or beyond. Finance it with two taxes; firstly a ten per cent flat tax on all capital gifts and bequests; secondly a progressive tax on all larger cumulative unearned lifetime fortunes received, including the universal inheritance, thereby clawing it back. Abolish unjustified unlimited exemptions from tax on transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.

This is UK Liberal Party (not Liberal Democratic Party) policy — see www.liberal.org.uk Over the years, social liberals in the Liberal Party have helped to change our country for the better, with ideas that seemed novel at first. Free education. Free health at the point of need. Old age pensions. Unemployment benefit.

UK Universal Inheritance is a new way towards a better UK, with a gradually wider spread of the private ownership of wealth and of opportunity of all kinds, reducing financial and social exclusion and young adult poverty while helping business start-ups, home ownership and repayment of student tuition and living cost loans.

Dane Clouston, Oxfordshire Liberal Party, Stadhampton