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Labour should impose a 'wealth tax' on the Party's 'middle class' members, says MP
Labour MP John Mann has suggested his Party should introduce a "socialist" tax of £1,000 a year on "middle class" members who live in homes valued at more than £1 million
Labour should impose a "wealth tax" of £1,000 a year on "middle class" members who live in homes valued at more than £1 million, an MP has suggested.
John Mann, the MP for Bassetlaw, has said the "socialist" tax would address the "big political problem" caused by the fact the "overwhelming" majority of new members who have joined up since Jeremy Corbyn ran for the leadership, are middle-class people living in wealthy areas.
He complained that on one street in Islington, where many live in multimillion-pound properties, 40 people joined the party over a 12-week period.
But the proposal, which is similar to the Paty's manifesto pledge of a 'mansion tax', might not be welcomed by some of the MPs colleagues who live in properties worth well over Mr Mann's suggested threshold.
Diane Abbott, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, lives in a £1 million house in Hackney, whilst Emily Thornberry, the new shadow defence secretary, lives in a property valued at £3 million.
The Labour Leader himself would escape the tax, as his own home in Islington is is estimated at just under £650,000.
Mr Mann said that when the Labour's membership was last this high in 1997, there was a "very different picture with a good mix of members coming from all backgrounds and classes."
His comments come after Lord Watts, the former chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, warned that the leadership should pay less attention to a "London-centric hard-left political class who sit around in their £1 million mansions eating their croissants at breakfast and seeking to lay the foundations for a socialist revolution".
Writing on his website, the MP said: "It is time for a Labour wealth tax.
"It will raise significant money and it is entirely Socialist in its approach.
"Those members with properties valued at over a million pounds should be expected to pay a Labour wealth tax of £1,000 a year to be a Labour Party member. It will raise significant money and it is entirely Socialist in its approach.
"To consolidate these Socialist principles, the Labour wealth tax should be based on the total number of properties owned, so that those with second homes and property empires have the opportunity to make a more egalitarian contribution."
The current cost of becoming a member is £46.50 a year and Mr Mann said he will propose that this change takes place with a rule change at the Labour Party conference later this year.