Since Labour conference, the majority of Labour’s potential London mayoral candidates have been critical of the party’s Mansion Tax proposals. However one presumptive candidate has been consistently positive about the plans – Sadiq Khan. That’s understandable and expected, as he’s a Shadow Cabinet member and a Miliband loyalist.
But Khan has now launched a public defence of the tax (calling it “absolutely fair”) and a broadside against critics, asking them “why they are opposed to hiring thousands more nurses and doctors to help save London’s NHS”. He said:
“The Mansion Tax is absolutely fair: asking the very wealthiest to contribute a tiny bit more to help us save London’s NHS. It’s a crucial part of Labour’s plan to tackle the growing gap between the rich and poor which Londoners overwhelmingly support. We are clear that more modest properties will never be bought into the scope of the tax, that people who are ‘asset rich but cash poor’ won’t have to pay until the property changes hands and the tax will be progressive – £2 million and £3milllion properties will pay much less than those worth over £10 million. Those who have opposed the Mansion Tax have to explain to hard working Londoners why they think it’s unfair to ask the very wealthiest to contribute just a little bit more, and why they are opposed to hiring thousands more nurses and doctors to help save London’s NHS, which has reached crisis point under this Government. For me it’s an issue of basic fairness and equality.”
In a move that is presumably not entirely co-incidental, Khan yesterday launched a London-wide NHS campaign…
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