Andy Burnham signals higher homes tax for London in coming years to ensure ‘fairness’ in BritainExclusive: The Prime Minister tells The Standard: ‘I don’t want to see a situation where there’s resentment towards London’
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Nicholas Cecil, Chief Reporter @nicholascecil|Luke Reevey|Madelaine Dowds1 minute ago
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Andy Burnham has hinted that he may reform property tax later in his premiership in a move which threatens to hit London.
In an exclusive interview with The Standard, the Prime Minister stressed that he wanted to ensure “fairness” in the taxation of homes.
He previously backed replacing council tax and stamp duty with a new proportional property tax which could land London with a £7.5 billion additional bill.
A new property tax could particularly hit LondonGetty
Such a new property levy could lead to higher bills for many Londoners across the city, and lower payments for other households in the capital.
Since entering No10, Mr Burnham has made clear that he has no plans to embark on such a major reform imminently.
But he backed former Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ “mansion tax” on homes worth £2 million or more, the vast majority of which are in London or the South East.
The Labour government also slashed central funding for a string of local authorities mainly in London, including Westminster and Wandsworth, effectively forcing them to raise their low council tax levels or cut services.
Mr Burnham hinted that he may seek to bring in further reforms, possibly to raise tax on higher end properties, in later years.
Many Londoners have to take out large mortgages to buy a home given the high property pricesAFP/Getty
He told The Standard: “Moves were made in the Budget last year, council tax has got to be fair across the country, and I don’t have any further plans in that regard…in this moment.
“But it’s important that there’s a sense of fairness between all parts of the country.
“We’ve got to make sure that London isn’t seen from the outside as somewhere that gets different treatment.
“Obviously, different approaches apply in different places, but it’s just really important that when it comes to fairness, I don’t want to see a situation where there’s resentment towards London.”
Rebutting accusations of being “anti-London”, the PM added: “I wrote in my book with the Mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram. We wrote, we love London.
“We’re proud of London. It’s our capital city. We’re patriotic people. We want London to do well.
“But the best thing is that London doesn’t become different and remote from other parts of the country, and that’s really important.”
Former Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram wrote a book on reforming BritainPA Archive
However, Mr Burnham risks a backlash in London over plans to move thousands, if not tens of thousands, of jobs out of Whitehall in what he has hailed as the biggest “devolution of power in modern times”.
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Within weeks of entering No10, he is also facing a growing economic crisis as the cost of Government borrowing rises.
One of his key economic advisers, Lord O’Neill of Gatley, has warned homeowners that mortgage rates will rise unless the Government can get a grip on the increasing cost of borrowing.
The economic turbulence is a blow to Chancellor John Healey as he seeks to find funds in the Budget next month to pay for Mr Burnham’s radical reforms, while also boosting defence spending and tackling Britain’s social care crisis.
Former Goldman Sachs banker Lord O’Neill, who served as a Treasury minster in David Cameron’s administration, has suggested that the current Government needs to tackle politically difficult issues such as cutting the welfare bill and reforming the “triple lock” on the State pension.
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Andy BurnhamProperty TaxCouncil TaxPrime MinisterStamp dutyBudget