A call has been launched to scrap council tax and replace it with a more modern system – and Carlisle’s MP has said that Red Wall seats depend on it.
Carlisle MP John Stevenson has joined a cross-party call to scrap the current council tax system.
Fairer Share, a campaign group calling for a new Proportional Property Tax, has revealed the results of its poll in the fallout from Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement.
A poll was conducted with 4,000 northerners by JL Partners for the Fairer Share campaign group and it found that voters in Red Wall seats were in favour of the change 9:1.
The campaign group says that replacing council tax and Stamp Duty with a proportional property tax would mean calculating based on current property value levels.
They claim that the current model calculates homeowners’ council tax on 1991 property values.
The group believes that levying taxes in this way could lead to a fall in costs for 77 per cent of households in England with the average homeowner could be £556 a year better off.
Mr Stevenson, who is deputy chairman of the Northern Research Group, said: “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.”
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.
“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.”
