The Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham warned local government’s finances were on questionable ‘foundations’, and also urged the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider a wealth tax
Westminster has “completely failed” on social care and council tax, Andy Burnham has claimed.
The Greater Manchester Mayor warned local government’s finances were on questionable “foundations”, and also urged the Chancellor to consider a wealth tax. Speaking at an event at Tory party conference in Manchester, Mr Burnham also called for a tourist tax, to help cities fund the increase in transport costs caused by growth or visitors.
He said: “The big risk in devolution at the moment is local government finance. We’ve built these new combined authorities but on what foundations?
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“As somebody who used to be in Westminster, but is quite critical of it looking back, there’s two issues that Westminster has completely failed to address, that’s been a big driver of this.
“One is social care, and the ongoing nightmare that presents, but the second is council tax. How can it be justified that council tax has not been revalued since 1991?
“We think about what’s happened to property prices in this country since, it’s totally wrong. I think on average in the north east people pay about £500 a year more in council tax than they do in the southeast, and that is completely unfair.
“I think it does need to be revalued, and if that is perceived as a wealth tax by some people with very big, very expensive properties, who will have to pay more, I’m not going to shy away from saying that’s exactly what they should be doing. Council tax should be being constantly revalued.”
The Mirror ’s Fair Care for All campaign has long called for all older people to be treated with dignity and respect.
Our demands include the creation of a national care service to run alongside the NHS, the appointment of minister for the elderly and a properly-funded care system that works for everyone. The campaign also calls for a fair deal for care workers.
We are calling for carers to be paid the real Living Wage, an end to home visits of 15 minutes or less and an increase in the allowance for unpaid carers.
During the fringe, Mr Burnham also called for a tourist tax on visitors to Manchester. He said: “I do hope the Chancellor will listen not just to myself, but all the metro mayors, and consider a visitor levy or tourist tax.
“We are a growing city, more people have moved to work here, more people are visiting, there is therefore a call for more buses and a transport system to cope with that growth.
“If it all has to come from the council tax payers, I don’t think that’s fair. I do think we need to follow the model of France, Germany and Italy where a modest city tax is paid.”
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