The Fairer Share Team

Local Campaigning Pack | Working Together To Support UK Households

As we begin our third year of campaigning for fairer property taxes, much has changed. We began by campaigning a Boris Johnson-led Government with a gigantic majority that represented constituencies that had not voted Conservative in generations. We now have a new Government that is just about hanging in there while Labour surge in the polls and a general election on the horizon in 2024.

This means we need to alter our approach too. The power to create change is no longer held solely by Conservative MPs. Ahead of the next election, we must create a consensus that Council Tax is unfair and needs to be urgently replaced before millions more are plunged into debt as they seek to manage rising prices and household bills.

To do this, we’ve launched our Local Campaigning Pack - a guide for local residents, Councillors, MPs and parliamentary candidates, outlining how they can create local groups to push for a fairer system that benefits the majority, not millionaires and billionaires in London.

What does the pack include?

For local residents:

• How to set-up a local Fairer Share campaign group
• Tool to write to your MP
• Example social media posts

For Councillors:

• How to set-up a local Fairer Share campaign group
• Submitting a motion at a council meeting
• Announcing support for Fairer Share and the Proportional Property Tax
• Example social media posts and support cards

For MPs and candidates:

• Announcing support for Fairer Share and the Proportional Property Tax
• Example social media posts and support cards
• Contacting Fairer Share for support

We’ve already seen the success local campaign groups can have, such as in Hartlepool where local Fairer Share campaigners managed to gain the support of the local Council and the local MP, Jill Mortimer.

If this can be replicated, then together, we can build the type of momentum political parties cannot ignore heading into a General Election. But we need your help! 

Download our local campaigner pack today and find out how you can help! < [CLICK HERE]

by The Fairer Share Team

Grahame Morris MP | Fairer Share’s plan sets out how we can reform our punitive council tax system

This article first appeared in Labour List on the 22nd June 2022, written by Grahame Morris, Member of Parliament for Easington.

Council tax is broken. Local authorities, MPs, think tanks, economists and households understand this. It is fundamentally a regressive tax based on inaccurate valuations conducted more than 30 years ago, which distorts housing markets and drives millions into poverty annually. The government knows this. Indeed, the Chancellor recognised it when he looked to alleviate our present cost-of-living crisis by providing modest council tax relief back in February. However, successive governments have been pussyfooting around the problem for decades.

The latest example of this is the recent consultation conducted by the levelling up, housing and communities committee into council tax collection. The issue here is a tough one. If councils collect the tax they are owed, people will be forced into poverty. If they do not enforce collection, councils will be unable to provide the services that they are obliged to provide. This has been worsened in the past ten years by government intervention and the decision to replace the council tax benefit (CTB) with local council tax support, which resulted in councils now only receiving 90% of their previously forecast CTB budgets. This amounts to a £15bn cut in government support to councils between 2010 and 2019.

Compounding the issue, many individuals are not even aware of the reliefs that might be available, and councils across the country do not always have the resources and inclination to help households, simply rushing to enforcement when payment is not made. Indeed, a survey conducted by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute revealed that 34% of individuals who are eligible for discounts on their council tax bill are not aware of them and 82% were not provided this information by the council in their standard communications.

To make matters worse, economising will not be sufficient. Citizens Advice has recently revealed that 53% of the people that they help with their council tax bills have a deficit budget. This means that their income is not sufficient to meet the basic costs of living.

These problems are very real and should be taken seriously. However, all of them could also be addressed by reforming the root of the problem – council tax itself. As Dukes Bailiffs admitted in their submission to the committee, council tax is regressive. Households are not taxed based on their ability to pay, but on the 1991 value of their home and on the area in which they live. This means that local authorities need to impose tax levels on their residents to cover important services, such as adult social care, regardless of the wealth within those communities. For this reason, an £8m townhouse in Westminster ends up paying less council tax each year than a £150,000 home in my constituency of Easington in County Durham. Inevitably, this results in many struggling to pay their bills. This is part of the reason why council tax arrears grew by 51% (more than £1.2bn) between April 2013 and March 2020 in England alone.

Maintaining this heinous system is particularly frustrating given that solutions are being offered that are fully costed, hold bipartisan support and would provide massive relief for the vast majority of individuals across the country. One such policy that meets these requirements is the proportional property tax designed by Fairer Share. Rather than relying on local discretion based on outdated property values, this would tax all households a flat 0.48% rate on up-to-date values. 77% of households across the country would enjoy an average annual tax cut of £556.

However, it is particularly beneficial for those suffering most. Research by Landman Economics found that the vast majority of the least well-off in every region of England would benefit from this reform. Consequently, they estimate that this reform alone would immediately lower poverty by 0.8% across the United Kingdom.

Of course, with any reform there are winners and losers, but Fairer Share’s plan does a good job of ensuring that the impact on those who may pay more is minimised. Any increase is capped at £1,200 a year – a manageable £100 a month – and households are allowed to defer payment until they are in a position to pay or have sold their house.

Moreover, it is much fairer than the current system that mandates that anyone in arrears must pay the entirety of their debts or face potential prison sentences. Indeed, in 2017-18, more than 300 people were imprisoned for non-payment of council taxes, with another 6,278 receiving suspended sentences. It is widely believed that the days of debtors’ prisons are gone, but that is far from the case.

Whilst it is encouraging that collection reform is being considered by the levelling up committee, this simply is not enough. Council tax is a fundamentally punitive tax that hurts families across the country for no good reason. It is essential that the government stops tweaking and looks at fundamental reform. Fairer Share’s plan would be a great place to start.

by The Fairer Share Team

WATCH | Widespread Support For A Proportional Property Tax at Bright Blue Event

At a panel event hosted by Bright Blue, there was widespread support for replacing Council Tax with a Proportional Property Tax. Dame Margaret Hodge (MP for Barking), Arun Advani (Assistant Professor of Economics) and Sam Robinson (Senior Researcher, Bright Blue) all spoke in support of the Fairer Share campaign. Scroll down to watch the full event.

Sam Robinson - "Moving to a Proportional Property Tax would just make so much more sense. It also makes the tax easier to get behind, understand and explain. And it makes sure we are taxing housing wealth better and more progressively."

Arun Advani - "It would make much more sense to have a Proportional Property Tax. it benefits most people in the country - it's just a much more rationale system."

Margaret Hodge MP - "If we really want to tax wealth, you need to tax the asset most people have [a home] in a much more equitable and fairer way, so the people of Halifax aren't paying much much more than those in nKensington and Chelsea. Our inability to tackle that is outrageous."

Watch the full event below:

by The Fairer Share Team

Council Tax in Your Area | 2022/2023

You can check the Band D Council Tax in your area and the yearly increase via our interactive map below (search option included):

by The Fairer Share Team

New Polling | Scrapping Council Tax key to winning ‘Red Wall’ seats

Extensive new polling of constituencies up and down the UK indicates that overhauling how our homes are taxed “holds the key” to the Conservatives or Labour winning over ‘Red Wall’ seats at the next election.

A poll of 4,000 people conducted by JL Partners for the Fairer Share campaign group reveals widespread support for replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty with a Proportional Property Tax (PPT) which would be levied on the current value of properties rather than on 1991 levels. Such a move could lead to bills falling for 77% of the country, with the average household likely to be £556 a year better off.  

The polling, which included MRP modelling, looked at the impact the policy could have on vote share in every single constituency in the UK. The results show how, with all things being equal, a Proportional Property Tax could be a ‘game changer’ at the next election.

Key findings include:

• Were Labour to introduce a PPT, the policy could help the party gain as many as 52 seats including 43 in the so called ‘Red Wall’. They could also make gains in Scotland and would see their vote share increase among swing voters by net 15%.
• Were the Conservatives to back the policy, their share of swing voters would increase markedly with 41% of undecideds more likely to lend their support to the party. Replacing Council Tax could see them gain as many as 60 seats in the next general election compared to their current position and hold on to the majority of Red Wall seats they won in 2019.

Blue = Conservative Red = Labour Orange = Liberal Democrat Yellow = SNP

With Council Tax bills expected to rise across the country for many households from April, the research also highlights how reform of the way property is taxed is supported by every single constituency in England:

• Nationally, voters back the policy by over 3:1 (52% versus 17%). It is even more popular with voters in the North who support it by 9:1 (61% versus 7%).
• Support is highest among people living in lower value homes in the North and the Midlands who would benefit the most from significantly lower bills.
• The tipping point at which someone is likely to oppose the policy is when they live in a home worth £500,000 or more. Given the average house in the country costs £269,000 the policy is clearly popular across the board.
• Support falls to 41% in areas such as Islington where the average price of a home is £839,000. However, there is still net support for the introduction of a Proportional Property Tax.

Blue = Support Red = Oppose

Fairer Share argues that a Proportional Property Tax introduced at a flat rate of 0.48% on the value of a property would raise a surplus of £5.6billion for HM Treasury and is a way for the Government to overhaul a deeply regressive and unfair system. The policy also includes a surcharge for second homeowners and foreign owners of UK property, proceeds of which (£4.5 billion) have been used to lower bills for low and middle-income households up and down the country. 

Findings from the polling add to the growing pressure for change with leading politicians from across the political spectrum publicly supporting calls for change including a number of MPs in Red Wall seats.

What has been said about the research?

Andrew Dixon, Chairman of Fairer Share, said:

“People up and down the UK are sick to the back teeth of council tax. They overwhelmingly want a fairer system in its place that reflects the true value of their homes. Our polling shows just how strong that feeling is and how reforming our property taxes holds the key to success at the next general election.

“Were Labour to replace council tax they could gain millions of votes and potentially win over significant numbers of swing seats, most notably in Scotland and across the Red Wall. The Conservatives love to say they reflect the ‘will of the people’. Yet they appear to be tone deaf to the economic and political benefits of a proportional property tax. 

“The reality is that it is time to bring our property taxes into the 21st century and backing a system of proportional property tax should be a no brainer for both Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer. 

My question to both leaders is what other tax reform eases the cost-of-living crisis for hard-working families, provides a £5.6 billion surplus for HM Treasury and delivers countless key seats for Labour or the Conservatives at the next general election?”

James Johnson, founder of JL Partners and former head of polling at Downing Street said:

“Both parties currently sit in a quagmire. The Conservatives are falling behind Labour in the polls, while Labour is still not trusted enough to win convincingly. This research shows that a proportional property tax could well be the way for either party to convince the electorate they are the party for them.

Rarely do individual policies move the dial as much as this one does: it is highly popular with swing voters, and our modelling shows that it can bolster Conservative and Labour support – depending on who backed it – in the North and the Midlands but also across the country.”

John Stevenson, Deputy Chairman of the Northern Research Group and MP for Carlisle:

“If the Conservative Party wants to deliver for voters and retain the ‘red wall’ seats that we won at the last general election then making our property taxes fairer is one of the ways to do it.

We can now see clearly that voters in many marginal constituencies and others are overwhelmingly in favour of scrapping Council Tax. In its place they want a system of proportional property tax that would mean lower bills for the majority of households up and down the country.”

Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme:

“This polling confirms something that I have long suspected. Abolishing council tax and stamp duty and replacing them with a fairer property tax is the right thing to do for millions of people up and down the country. And, with voters across the UK backing a proportional property tax by over three to one, I believe it is also the right thing for the Conservative Party, helping secure for the long-term the support of those voters who switched to us in 2019.”

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow and Furness:

“Now we know that the majority of people in constituencies up and down the UK want a simpler and fairer property tax system, there is no excuse for politicians not to deliver. Rather than sticking with an unjust and outdated council tax system, my party should go into the next general election promising voters a modern and progressive proportional property tax.

This much-needed reform would lift a disproportionate burden from young people while delivering lower bills for millions of hard-pressed households across the country.”

Dame Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking:

“Our existing system of property taxation in the UK is deeply flawed and highly regressive. Now we can see that voters overwhelmingly want a fairer system, we urgently need to have serious debate about delivering exactly that. 

As the Government preside over a cost-of-living crisis and we head into a spring of tax hikes and soaring prices, there is a stronger case than ever for looking closely at a proportional property tax which would result in permanently lower bills for most households with no cost to taxpayers."

Dan Carden, MP for Liverpool Walton:

“Standing by an outdated and unfair system of property taxation is a betrayal to millions of households across the country. Regressive Council Tax hikes alongside a brutal cost of living crisis mean many across the country, especially the poorest households and people in the North, will suffer and struggle to make ends meet.

Not only would replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty with a more progressive system help struggling families in communities like mine, but it has the support of voters across the country who want to see change.”

Grahame Morris, MP for Easington:

“The Government must stop talking about levelling up and start acting. Council Tax is a grossly unfair and disproportionate tax holding back our regions. Proportional Property Tax is a simple, efficient, and effective means of generating revenues, supporting families, and easing the cost of living.

A Proportional Property Tax would help level up the UK and reduce the economic divide that has persisted in our country for generations. The policy has widespread public support and growing political support; it is time for change.”

by The Fairer Share Team

How killing off council tax would deliver for voters in the West Midlands and beyond

This article was published by the Centre for the New Midlands on the 7th March 2022, written by our Founder, Andrew Dixon.

It is no secret that our council tax system is broken. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has described council tax as “highly regressive” with respect to property value and “increasingly arbitrary and unfair”. The absurd nature of the current system is underlined by the fact that households in Birmingham must pay out 0.75% of their property value in tax whereas the average household in Battersea pays just 0.11%.

What is less well-known is that we could easily replace council tax with a system that would not cost the Exchequer a penny and would lead to lower bills for the majority of households in the UK, with some of the biggest savings going to people in the West Midlands.

The Fairer Share campaign that I chair is calling for council tax and stamp duty to be replaced with a simple proportional property tax set at a flat rate of 0.48% of a property’s value. Since we kicked off our campaign in 2020, we have seen growing signs of support in the House of Commons with MPs from both parties now backing the plan. Among those in favour of a proportional property tax are Aaron Bell, Conservative MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme. “Abolishing Council Tax and Stamp Duty and replacing them with a fairer property tax is the right thing to do for millions of people up and down the country. It is also the right thing for the Conservative Party to do if we are serious about delivering to those who voted Tory for the first time in a generation,” he has stated.

In March last year, Boris Johnson was asked at Prime Minister’s Questions to get behind a proportional property tax which “would create a transparent property taxation system, generate revenues that local government needs and ease the tax burden on hard-pressed families across the country”. We are still working on the Prime Minister but earlier this year the Government did make what looked like a small step in the right direction with council tax rebates given to households in bands A to D. However, the reality is that the one-off payment does not go anywhere near far enough and in many cases is misdirected, often towards people on high incomes living in Band D properties in trendy neighbourhoods where houses sell for millions of pounds.

At best the recent changes to council tax are merely tinkering around the edges of an unfair system that hits young people and households in the Midlands and north of England the hardest. To really deliver for voters in the red wall and beyond, the Prime Minister should act now to kill off council tax and stamp duty and bring in a proportional property tax that would mean lower bills for around 76% of households across England. Overall, £6.5 billion per year would be saved by council tax payers outside central London, representing a huge boost to countless communities and their local economies.

Admittedly, not everyone would be quids in. Some homeowners in London may see a small increase in their annual bills, reflecting the extreme rise in house prices over the past 30 years. But across the country renters would pay nothing and to ensure there are no ‘losers’ on day one of the policy being implemented our campaign is proposing a cap on the increase in tax of £100 per month, not far off the price of a daily cup of coffee.

Households in the West Midlands would be among the biggest winners under a proportional property tax. For example, in Bell’s Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, 97% of households would be better off with average savings of £600. In Birmingham Ladywood 98% of households would benefit with an average saving of £600. And in Walsall North 100% of households would reap the rewards with an average saving of £800.

Additional research has shown that replacing council tax and stamp duty with a proportional property tax could free up almost 600,000 homes within 5 years, with more than 50,000 of these in the West Midlands. The research by WPI Economics found that of a total of the 595,000 homes, 315,000 would be transactions for better space allocation and 135,000 would be second homes released as primary residences. The rest would be vacant homes released as primary residences and homes built due to previously uninitiated planning permission. This reform therefore, not only addresses the cost of living crisis but also addresses the challenges posed by the affordability and accessibility of housing.

This year we have also commissioned in-depth national polling to establish what voters make of proportional property tax. The findings, which will be published shortly, should make all MPs sit up and take note. In short, we found that voters in constituencies up and down the country have an appetite for a proportional property tax that could well translate into votes for whichever party takes action.

With council tax due to rise yet again in April and the cost-of-living crisis set to deepen, our message to the Government is clear. If they are serious about levelling up and delivering for voters who are struggling with their bills then a proportional property tax has to be part of the package. It is time for ministers to recognise that council tax is an outdated and unjust system that is hurting many middle and low incomes households in modest homes. In its place we should have a modern, simple, proportional property tax that would put more money in the pockets of people across the West Midlands, and up and down the country.

Andrew Dixon

Chairman & Founder

Fairer Share

by The Fairer Share Team

Jill Mortimer MP | The red wall deserves a fairer council tax system

This article first appeared in The Times on the 10th February 2022, written by Jill Mortimer, Member of Parliament for Hartlepool.

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper is a far-reaching plan to unlock the potential of people and places in every part of the country in the years ahead. But as the cost of living crisis bites, it’s clear that the levelling up agenda needs to work for people in the weeks and months ahead. Alongside long-term plans and medium-term missions, we need short-term solutions to put more money in peoples’ pockets.

I know that the Government gets this. The white paper recognises that certain communities and people need greater support in the more immediate term. The policies set out by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up will begin to have visible effects, on high streets and in local communities, in the next few years.

More immediately, action is being taken to limit the impact of soaring energy prices on poorer households. Under plans announced by the Chancellor last week, millions of people in council tax bands A to D will be given rebates on their bills worth hundreds of pounds. This will be a vital financial lifeline for many of my own constituents, who do not live in expensive homes yet have been facing council tax bills of more than £2,000 a year.

By focusing on these council tax bands, the Government is ensuring that a broad range of households in modest homes are supported, including the very poorest and thousands of middle-income families. By and large, this is a demographic that deserves to reap the biggest benefits from levelling up. But why stop at a one-off payment?

The Government could and should still go further to fix one of the most outdated and unjust of all the taxes we currently have in the UK and put more money in peoples’ pockets. The absurdity of the council tax system is such that households in my own constituency currently pay out an average 1.31 per cent of their property’s value every year, while for residents of Westminster the council tax burden stands at just 0.09 per cent. In other words, council tax rates in Hartlepool are higher than they are for comparative bands in many other, and often much more affluent, areas of the country.

Even with the rebates, council tax will still be a system that favours millionaires rather than the millions. By taking bolder action to minimise the pain caused by council tax, the Chancellor would be steering the levelling up agenda towards a place where it can make a real difference to voters’ wallets today rather than in a decade’s time.

To deliver for voters in the red wall and beyond, the Government could revisit the outdated council tax banding system, which is based on 1991 prices and favours taxpayers in those areas where house prices have surged the most. This would be a much-needed step in the right direction. We should look closely at killing off council tax and replacing it with a fairer system that works for Hartlepool and the majority of the country.

In April, households are expected to see gas and electricity bills rise by 50%. This comes to about £600 for an average bill and, just like with council tax, Britain’s poorest households are set to be hardest hit. According to the Resolution Foundation, the poorest will see their energy spend rise from 8.5% to 12% of their total household budget. This is three times the proportion for the richest.

It is essential therefore that action to put more money in peoples’ pockets is at the heart of the levelling up agenda. In constituencies such as mine, many voters cannot wait until 2030 to find out how they may be better off. They are looking for answers today and the levelling up agenda needs to urgently provide them.

by The Fairer Share Team