Budget: Almost all Labour members back levies on gambling and banking sector

Labour members would almost unanimously back increased taxes on the gambling and banking sector in the Budget, along with a shake-up of council tax thresholds.

An exclusive poll for LabourList, conducted by Survation, found that a staggering 97% of Labour members would support Rachel Reeves hiking taxes on the gambling industry – a move advocated by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Some 93% said they would back increasing levies on the profits of the banking industry, with 82% supportive of granting regional mayors powers to levy a tourist tax on hotel stays and Airbnb-style rentals.

With some Labour MPs hoping the Chancellor will review council tax thresholds to reflect current house prices, more than three-quarters of party members (76%) said they would back such a policy, with only 11% opposed.

Members who earn more than £40,000 were most likely to support the measure, being backed by 80%, compared to those earning less than £20,000, with 64% supporting such a move.

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Some 93% backed an increased council tax threshold for homes worth over £2 million, with two percent opposed.

The Times has reported that the Chancellor intends to raise up to £500 million from revaluing properties in bands F, G and H, which the newspaper claims would affect around 100,000 homes.

While changes to income tax and National Insurance have been all but ruled out by the government after initial media speculation, more than two-thirds of Labour members (69%) did indicate they would support extending National Insurance to landlords, with eight percent opposed.

Rental income is currently exempt from National Insurance, but media reports in August suggested the Treasury was considering widening the tax to raise around £2 billion.

Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “Labour members tend to see taxation not just as a way or raising vital income for public services, but also to reflect both moral ‘goods’ and ‘bads’. They see gambling as a harmful activity in itself and believe that the damage it does to individuals and society should be raked back in tax receipts. 

“More fundamentally, members see the whole system as being somewhat broken. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the mess that is Council Tax. A system that was bodged together over 30 years ago after the failure of Thatcher’s poll tax should never have lasted this long.

“That it has not only lasted, but been preserved based on house prices that were set when the Soviet Union still existed, before we had mobile phones or the internet, is ludicrous and Labour members recognise it as such.”

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Damian Lyons Lowe, CEO of Survation said: “Whether it’s taxing gambling and banking, updating council tax bands, giving mayors more powers or ending exemptions for landlords, Labour members are consistent with what they want from the budget: a fairer system that reflects traditional Labour values.  With support for some measures running as high as 97%, they clearly believe those who can afford more should pay more.”

Rachel Reeves will deliver her Budget in an address to the House of Commons on Wednesday (November 26).

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