‘To win support in places like Makerfield we need to abolish Council Tax’

You don’t need me to tell you that the results of the local elections were tough for Labour this year. We lost a great number of hardworking Labour councillors and control of many councils – , to both the right and the left – through no fault of those local Labour groups.

Facing up to an unprecedented challenge from both sides and loss of trust among many voters who supported us in 2024 requires bold ideas, a new strategy, and an agenda that unmistakably puts hard working people first.

We can do that while being proud of our record in office up until now. Labour has grown the economy and started to turn our public finances around. We have increased rights for working people and for renters, cut NHS waiting times, and increased defence spending.

But we cannot ever stop being a party with justice at its heart, and we lost voters trust by choosing to try to raise money in an unfair way, without fixing the broken unjust system we have first.

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Across Makerfield, Greater Manchester and many of our Labour heartlands there is a huge injustice in the tax system that sees hardworking people in poor areas paying more tax than those in some of the most prosperous in the country, an issue rightly raised by Andy Burnham on the campaign trail. People have seen their councils severely cut back since the Coalition government but are paying more, not just on council tax, but since the beginning of the Iran War, on energy and the weekly shop too.

What’s even worse is that, thanks to Council Tax bands being based on 1991 prices, voters in poorer areas pay a substantially larger proportion of the value of their home on council tax than those living in mansions in Westminster.

When voters see a family in a modest terrace paying a higher effective property tax rate than the owner of a multimillion-pound London mansion, they conclude the system is rigged. If Labour does not address this injustice, others will exploit it.

We are already taking action to begin to address this. In the last budget Labour announced a consultation on the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, or ‘mansion tax’, which kicked off last month. This involves reevaluating the most valuable homes and introducing new tax rates to ensure some of the wealthiest people pay a fairer share, a policy which gives us a strong base to build on. But we need to go further to address the inequality at the other end of the council tax system.

Labour needs to reach for bold solutions to address the core problems society faces, and all parts of the Labour movement should be taking note.

By abolishing Council Tax and Stamp Duty and replacing them with a progressive property tax (PPT), we can end this inequality, putting hundreds of pounds back into the pockets of voters. According to data from the Fairer Share campaign for a PPT, in my constituency of Manchester Rusholme the average household would save £500, with 92% of households benefitting. In Makerfield, the average saving is also £500 but that percentage of households benefitting rises to 98%. In many constituencies across our heartlands we have lost the trust of, these figures are even higher.

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What’s more, according to polling (also from Fairer Share),  the policy is popular across the political spectrum of voters we need to win back. When asked whether they would support the notion that property taxes should be based on the current market value of each property, 75% of Labour voters, 62% of Reform voters, and 72% of Green voters strongly or somewhat agree.

In a country where we feel more divided than ever before, and where Labour is being pincered by the Greens and Reform UK, there are very few issues which unite voters as much as this. By doing this,  we can carve out a platform that wins over voters and stay true to our values at the same time.

Of course, for some properties, the change would mean property taxes could go up. However, this can be mitigated through proposals such as capping the tax increases each year, deferral of payments, and targeted support. But notably, MRP polling indicates that areas that benefit less still support the measure, with every constituency net in favour. This is not about raising taxes overall, but making the burden fall in a fairer way. It is right that Labour lead the debate from the front.

As the party rebuilds after the local elections and comes together to get Andy Burnham elected in Makerfield, we need to refocus on issues of economic justice and show voters we are fighting for them in order to win back their trust. Burnham is right to make council tax a centrepiece of his campaign, and we need more bold thinking if Labour are to win again in 2029.

People in places like Makerfield are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for fair treatment.

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