Election fever has hit Brighton – but it’s not just party political canvassers on the campaign trail.
On Saturday, a band of merry Brightonians dressed as Robin Hood to take part in a multimedia treasure hunt around the city to raise awareness of radical tax campaign.
Organised by Oxfam, the event was part of the Robin Hood Tax campaign which aims to put a tiny tax on banks to raise billions for poverty in the UK and abroad.
The winning team received tickets to The Secret Garden Party festival, which Gorillaz are headlining.
Miriam Nicholson from Seven Dials was one of the 20 people who took part. She said “It was a really fun day, the sun shone and the treasure map took us to different locations in the city. Everyone we spoke to thought that the Robin Hood Tax is a good idea and backed the campaign.”
The treasure hunt began from the Robin Hood pub and teams came back throughout the day to upload their results. Clues and tasks included going to the Oxfam shop in North Street to borrow clothes to dress as a Banker and finding financial landmarks in the city to take holiday snaps outside.
Lisa Rutherford, Oxfam Campaigner from Hove said “Already, over 150,000 people on Facebook in the UK have said that they support the idea of a Robin Hood Tax.
“It’s a fantastic idea with the possibility of raising £250 billion every year, with over £40billion for the UK to spend on poverty at home and abroad.
“Brighton has so many distinctive landmarks, from the Royal Pavillion to the Lanes and the pier, it was the perfect location for a treasure hunt”.
The campaign was launched in February and proposes for a 0.05% tax to be levied between bank to bank transactions.
Countries would keep 50% of the proceeds to address domestic poverty, with the other 50% split between helping countries abroad reduce poverty and adapt to the effects of climate change.
In the UK, the money could be used to avoid cuts to vital public services and for a range of good causes such as meeting the government’s target to halve child poverty and protecting schools and hospitals.
Outside of the UK, the money could help achieve the Millennium Development Goals; cutting child deaths by two-thirds, reducing the numbers of women dying in childbirth and helping countries such as Bangladesh adapt to deal with extreme flooding.
