Anyone else in the South East worried about Andy Burnham bringing in a land tax?

[Beachbooks]

With it looking likely that Andy Burnhan will be the next PM, I was interested to see if anyone else in London / the south east were worried about potential tax raises specifically around the land tax rather than stamp duty ?

A lot of my friends who live locally are worrying that he will make the land tax for the South East so high in proportion to other areas of the UK that it will be financially very difficult to afford but then also extremely difficult to sell!!

BTW we have very standard house and garden but we live in an expensive area

Other cities are available

I live in an expensive Northern area, my house was 700k but i would still be better off with the new land tax than current council tax so i am not buying it that its unfair on Londoners.

“We”? Are you the CEO of HSBC or something?

Rich London businesses generate the income, not you. And as I said up thread, London generates 25% of the national revenue. Whilst that is a marginal per capita amount than other cities owing to its size, it is a greater amount overall. 75p in every pound comes from outside London. You are not single-handedly supporting the entire nation.

at least with introduction of LVT Labour will be wiped out of London and many areas of SE.

The top 10 cheapest councils in the UK for council tax are:

Wandsworth
Westminster
City of London
Hammersmith & Fulham
Kensington & Chelsea
Tower Hamlets
Southwark
Newham
Hackney
Lambeth

The top 4 all have Band A council tax less than £1200 and the top two have Band B less than £1200.

The split of the right did not matter. AB got over 54% of the vote, more than all the other candidates combined.

Exactly

Have you got any evidence to justify your claim that Burnham 'hates the South'?

It's really hard isn't it.

For transparency I am from Merseyside and live in Manchester now.

You do pay for better amenities... whatever part of the country you're in. So a south Manchester leafy suburb with decent transport connections is way above national house prices. You could pay 500k for a decent 3 bed terraced with no garden to speak of.
An equivalent area near Liverpool would be a bit cheaper... Maybe 320k for a terrace in the leafy south Liverpool suburbs, but as lovely a city as it is there are far more work opportunities in Manchester.

The South East (London accessible) has better work opportunities again.

So on a transactional level it's fair.

However that does not take into account the fact that many people live in a particular area because their is where their family, friends and support network are. And to be penalised because that support network happens to me in a more expensive area doesn't feel fair.

I manage a team of people who earn 50-65k... So good salaries in many part of the country but not in London with a family. 5 of my team members are from London and live in various parts of the country (we're a remote team) because they just couldn't afford the life you would expect as a professional in London e.g. a 3 bed house, some outside space proximity to a school they like. All say they would move back if it were affordable as they are constantly travelling to see family, look after elderly parents etc.

It's a complex issue, trying to create policy where people across the country can afford a home near work/family etc whilst ensuring fair taxation in assets (that could be realised at any time).

I'm not sure there is any solution that could keep everyone happy.

I was referring to where he studied rather than what he studied and it was a sarcastic reference to the fact that very few PMs didn’t attend Oxford or Cambridge. Even Starmer spent a year at Oxford.

Just because he’s a northerner doesn’t mean he hates southerners.

sounds like your friends are scared of the left. I don’t think anyone needs to panic (well not yet anyway)

Sounds like DS, not even a local bus service! People in Westminster pay just over £2k agains parts of the North paying almost £5k, both band H. Seems ludicrous.

When you say you're not receiving services, sure, but other people around you are. The cost of taxis to school for remote areas is higher, so you're paying more for that. And you can't use parking fines to offset it.

It feels a bit as though the South hates Burnham!

If you've never taken part in a "catch the lard-smeared whippet" competition in an abandoned steelworks you've missed out on one of life's great adventures

I'm in the South and I don't hate Burnham or the concept of a LVT. The current system is an absolute mess. As with all things there are upsides and downsides of an LVT but on balance I think in the long-term it will be simpler to administer than the carnage that goes on at the moment.

Like many people, I am deeply concerned about how my DC will ever be able to afford property - probably more of an issue in London and the South than anywhere else. LVT might be one way to encourage developers not to hold on to land but to use it or sell it on. It might also knock some of the insane pricing in the South down a bit, which might also help get the market moving and make places more affordable again. Getting rid of stamp duty would also help encourage people to move house and it would remove the crazy politicisation of council tax rates. It is an absurd situation that depending on the political leaning of your local council you can live a street away from someone else in the same sized house and be paying vastly different council tax rates.

Oldest DGC was at a selective state 6th form college, the connecting bus cost £1k+ for the year. Paid upfront. I assume low income families got help. Parents had to drive to the bus pick up point.

He repeatedly told that he's a Notherner guy and won't tolerate "London elites"

I assume that's not for SEND kids though? Not all children can tolerate bus trips.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/31/soaring-costs-trigger-calls-to-address-transport-for-send-pupils-in-england

These costs have to be covered by everyone in the council area. It's just there's more 'everyone' in high density cities and the south.

Not SEND kids.

Actually no.
Council Tax funds LOCAL services.
Why are you expecting someone who lives in a house in Westminster to fund services elsewhere? Council tax is collected from a higher density of housing in Westminster along with huge business rates from all the businesses there.
Now we can talk about changes but that is a different premise to Council Tax at present.
Which would be pretty galling for me as I have moved in the last year and paid stamp duty.

AB has gone on record with his belief that the Labour party is too ‘London centric’, most recently last month.

Large swathes of the South might agree.

He is on record over time as one of the more anti-elitist politicians of any stripe. Unlike Farage, he both walks the walk and talks the talk.

None of this suggests that he dislikes ordinary Southerners, Londoners or reporters.

What’s wrong with taking pride in your background, whether you are from Taunton or Kensington or Alderley Edge or Liverpool? Or indeed Blackpool?

It is going to be interesting. He has been very open to private investment in Manchester from both UK and foreign investors. I wonder if he will bring that approach to Downing Street too, or if he will feel more constrained.

I don't even know who or what the 'London elites' are these days (and I say that as someone who works in the corporate world in central London). What is the current definition of a London elite?

I'm in the north west and worried about it. We have high earners on this estate who are part time because they lose to much if they earn over £100k (Dr) and people on part benefits who work part time because it's made up by housing benefits. It's crazy no one has an insentive to work full time.

Well you are a socialist obviously and would say that.
Many have mortgages that they would not be able to afford and have to sell and move as the repayments would become unmanageable. I have worked very hard and saved all
my life. I am 84 and live in a four bed house so my grandchildren can stay and other friends from abroad. Instead of spending on flashy stuff I have driven an old Honda and bought clothes secondhand. And saved and invested. Now I have to give it to someone else. I am going to be taxed out now of my home and families and “hardworking people” can live here. I should be in a modest one bed somewhere. Wish I had spent every penny I earned and then I would be given a council flat and loads of freebies.
The hateful remarks I get from some is dreadful. Saying I should move out to a little flat. If I had a husband then it would be regarded as OK probably. Nobody would tell a couple they have to sell up.