Labour or the Conservatives could triumph in next month’s local elections by pledging to overhaul council tax, new polling indicates.

With households across the UK still reeling from the latest council tax hikes, the nationwide polling suggests that millions of votes are potentially up for grabs on 6th May. It found that:

> Four out of ten people (40%) across the UK would consider switching their vote to a party backing a fairer property tax system with lower bills for most people and local services maintained at the same level.

> In the ‘red wall’, almost five out of ten people (49%) would consider switching their vote on this basis.

As politicians hit the campaign trail, the polling makes clear that people are more likely to vote on ‘kitchen table’ issues than ‘culture war’ issues:

> Across the UK, 76% of people chose either council tax, investment in local services, supporting local shops or local transport improvements as the issue that would most influence their vote in the local elections. Just 7% of people chose seeing the Union Jack flown on local public buildings as influential.

> In the ‘red wall’, 80% of people chose council tax, investment in local services, supporting local shops or local transport improvements. Nobody chose seeing the Union Jack flown on local public buildings.

Action on council tax could have a major impact on next month’s local elections as a number of tightly contested councils are home to people who get an especially bad deal on council tax. These include Hartlepool, Burnley and Pendle where there is no party in overall control and where voters must pay out a high proportion of their home’s value in council tax every year.

Labour and the Conservatives have also been advised that adopting a position on killing off council tax could swing the Hartlepool by-election. 

As a parliamentary constituency, Hartlepool gets a worse deal than almost anywhere else in the country on council tax. Meanwhile the polling suggests that in the north east, more than five out of ten people (51%) would consider switching their vote to a party backing a fairer property tax system.

Andrew Dixon, chair of Fairer Share, said:

“Voters know that council tax is not fit for purpose. We urgently need a fairer system such as a simple proportional property tax that would lower bills for 76% of households across the country.
“Instead of a political tit-for-tat where council tax rises are inevitably blamed on the local party in power, our politicians should seize the initiative and make a proposition that voters can’t refuse.
“We can see that whichever party steps up on council tax reform will see a massive dividend in the local elections. All of the signs are that killing off council tax could also be the secret weapon that will help Labour or the Conservatives to win the Hartlepool by-election.”

Currently, the North East Party is the only party in the Hartlepool by-election actively campaigning to reform council tax.

Hilton Dawson, former Labour MP and North East Party candidate for Hartlepool, said:

“Boris Johnson’s government talk of levelling up the north. However, so far, despite some pressure from some Conservative & Labour MPs they have failed to consider a big idea which could change everything.
“Scrapping council tax and charging each homeowner 0.48% of the value of their property would raise the same amount for public services as the current system. A fair property tax to replace council tax would also bring huge beneficial change to Hartlepool. Everyone in Hartlepool would benefit.”

 

To join our campaign to #TaxHomesFairly, visit: https://fairershare.org.uk/petition/