Andy Burnham today paved the way for a new tax grab on Middle England.
Millions of families could face soaring bills as the Labour leadership hopeful vowed to overhaul the council tax system and introduce a land value levy.
Painting next month’s Makerfield by-election as an effective battle for No 10, Mr Burnham said it was ‘not justifiable’ that council tax was kept lower based on old valuations.
He also demanded an annual duty on those holding assets, claiming land in the UK was ‘under-taxed’.
The stance raises the prospect of Labour targeting huge numbers of homes whose values have risen sharply.
Critics have warned such a move would hit families who have stretched themselves to buy a property and pensioners on fixed incomes. Landowners, such as farmers, would probably suffer too.
And Mr Burnham came under fire from all quarters last night for trying to increase the tax burden – already at its highest level for decades under Labour – yet further.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Andy Burnham cannot tell you what his council tax plan would cost, what would replace the current system or which households would foot the bill, because he does not know.
Millions of families could face soaring bills as Andy Burnham vows to overhaul the council tax system
‘But what we do know is that in Burnham’s Britain, taxes go up and up.
‘Families are already paying the price for Labour’s economic recklessness. Council tax is going through the roof, with bills rising well above inflation.
‘Burnham’s answer is simply a vaguer, bigger and more expensive version of the same punishment.’
Reform chairman Lee Anderson said: ‘He can don as many raincoats as he likes but he remains the ultimate Westminster suit whose plans will tax our green and pleasant lands into extinction.’
Crossbench peer Baroness Batters, a former president of the National Farmers’ Union, branded Mr Burnham’s plans ‘complete and utter madness’ and another ruse to ‘weaponise land by taxation’.
‘No country has ever taxed its way to prosperity,’ she said.
Julian Jessop, economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think-tank, added: ‘A land value tax is a good idea in principle and one that many economists would support.
‘But context is everything. Andy Burnham appears to see it as a way to increase the overall tax burden even further, rather than as part of a package of sensible reforms.’
Mr Burnham did not expand on what would take the place of council tax, with much of his ‘Manchesterism’ platform still remaining stubbornly vague.
However, previous proposals have included a percentage levy based on the value of a property.
In his launch speech, Mr Burnham painted Makerfield as an opportunity to get rid of Keir Starmer (pictured)
Chief whip Jonathan Reynolds was the only Cabinet minister at the launch this morning
Kicking off his campaign to be the new MP in Makerfield, just south of Wigan, he said: ‘I think land is under-taxed. I look at… swathes of Greater Manchester that is land that’s held, but there’s no charge in terms of redundant land, or land that’s not used.
‘I’ve long been persuaded of the argument for a land value tax.’
He added: ‘I’m personally keen to see reform of council tax. It’s a highly regressive tax, and I think it’s not justifiable based on those 1991 valuations, so I see a big case for land and property and business taxation to be changed.’
Should he win the seat at next month’s ballot, Mr Burnham is expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.
But despite unveiling his grand vision for a ‘changed’ Britain, the self-styled ‘King in the North’ yesterday offered little that was different to Sir Keir’s policies.
He boasted he would ‘change’ things for the better – repeating the word 21 times in his speech to MPs and Labour members – yet offered only more U-turns and tax rises. During his launch, he:
- Shifted from his previous call for self-identifying trans women to be able to use women’s toilets, saying new government guidance should be implemented;
- Committed to standing by Labour’s 2024 manifesto – which ruled out rises in income tax, National Insurance and VAT – despite saying in the past he wanted to increase the top rate of tax;
- Said he would keep Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules, and played down his comments last year dismissing the bond markets – which spooked investors;
- Restated previous support for scrapping inheritance tax in favour of a ‘social care levy’;
- Altered his position again on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s tough immigration crackdown, echoing Left-wing calls for a rethink on ‘retrospective’ rules;
- Insisted electoral reform should be in Labour’s next manifesto but declined to say what system he would favour.
Rival parties were quick to point out Mr Burnham’s hypocrisy in offering himself as a ‘change’ candidate capable of reversing Labour’s fortunes in government.
Mr Hollinrake said: ‘Labour’s “change” candidate has already changed his mind on Europe, changed his mind on the bond markets, changed his mind on immigration and changed his mind on trans rights… and the leadership race hasn’t even started yet.’
A Labour MP loyal to Sir Keir said: ‘His inconsistency is consistent. He was a successful Blairite minister in the last Labour Government but managed to float even during the (Jeremy) Corbyn years due to an enhanced self-preservation strategy.’
