Peter Mandelson has hit out at his former party’s ‘mansion tax’ plans calling them ‘crude’ and ‘short-termist.’
The mansion tax is a major part of Ed Miliband’s election manifesto ahead of the general election in May. The mansion tax will be brought in as soon as possible if Miliband wins the election, and would be used to help further fund the NHS.
However, Mandelson has hit out at the plans and reveals that he prefers the Liberal Democrats plans for higher council tax bands.
Speaking on Newsnight, Mandelson hit out at Miliband’s plan, saying: “I don’t happen to think that the mansion tax is the right policy response to that. I think it’s sort of crude, it’s sort of short-termist.
“What we need is what I think the Liberal Democrats are proposing and that is the introduction of further bands that relate to different values of property within the council tax system. That’s what I would like to see. It will take longer to introduce, that’s true, but it will be more effective and efficient in the longer term than simply clobbering people with a rather sort of crude short term mansion tax.”
A major part of Labour’s election pledges is to protect and fund the NHS. Should Labour win in May, they would pump a further £2.5 billion into the NHS, and would use to mansion tax to help fund these healthcare plans.
The mansion tax will introduce a tax in houses that are worth more than £2 billion and is designed to raise £1.2 billion to fund the ‘Time To Care’ scheme with the NHS. While the new plans have come under fire, Labour claim that this new tax would only impact 0.5 per cent of homes in the UK.
Mandelson has called on Labour to introduce a fairer tax system, saying: “You do need a fair, progressive taxation system where people who are earning the most and accumulating the most wealth pay the most. And for very many people they shouldn't pay anything at all, because they simply don' have the incomes, or the wealth, or the assets, to support that.”
This is not the first time that Miliband’s mansion tax plans have come under fire, as the Labour leader was left red faced on live television when his plan was torn apart by singer Myleene Klass.
This criticism comes just weeks after Tony Blair seemed to suggest that Ed Miliband might struggle to win the general election. He was forced to clarify comments he made to Economist magazine that suggested that it would be a Conservative win. Blair hit back saying he did think that Labour would win the 2015 general election.
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