Tories declare Starmer will improve council tax on properties with gardens

Labour has been accused of plans to hike up council tax on homes with larger gardens by using satellites to snoop on the size of their properties if the party is elected.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party has dismissed the claims as ‘fantasy’, but Housing Secretary Michael Gove is standing firm that Labour will ‘hammer’ families if the party wins the General Election. 

Mr Gove recently accused Labour of ‘using Big Brother tactics’ after it emerged the Labour-run Welsh Government was using satellites to spy on homeowners living in properties with large gardens or that have undergone renovations and extensions.

As well as aerial and street view photography, data from planning applications, information about energy efficiency and statistics on school performance and crime rates are also being assessed as part of an overhaul of council tax bands being drawn up by the Senedd.

It means families who live in bigger, better insulated homes, in areas with good schools or lower incidence of crime, could be hit with higher council tax bills.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is standing firm that Labour will ‘hammer’ families if the party wins the General Election and claims it plans to hike up council tax on homes with larger gardens by using satellites to snoop on the size of their properties

Mr Gove recently accused Labour of ‘using Big Brother tactics’ after it emerged the Labour-run Welsh Government was using satellites to spy on homeowners living in properties with large gardens or that have undergone renovations and extensions (file pic)

Although Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that a Labour government will not raise taxes, he has also described the Welsh Government as a ‘blueprint’ for ‘what Labour can do across the UK’.  

Mr Gove said he believes Labour is looking with interest at the Welsh initiative, which has been postponed until 2028, to ‘road test’ a similar system in England. 

Moving homes up by even one band could seriously hit homeowners’ finances.

Bumping a Band D home in England, for example, which currently pays £2,171 a year council tax, into the next Band E, would amount to nearly £500 more a year. 

He said: ‘Straight from the same old Labour playbook, these Big Brother tactics will punish families with higher bills simply for having good schools or lower crime.’

In May, it was reported in the Sunday Telegraph that the Valuation Office, an agency of HMRC, has been commissioned to build an ‘automated valuation model’ to update the value of the 1.5 million homes in Wales.

The Welsh Government say higher council tax bands are needed to address ‘property wealth’ and ‘rebalance’ the current system.

Jim McMahon, Sir Keir’s shadow local government minister, has also spoken previously about the need to modernise council tax, describing the current valuation system as ‘unfair.’

But any attempt to change council tax bands in England and Scotland, where valuations have not been updated for 33 years, would be hugely controversial as millions of homeowners would end up paying more.

Although Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that a Labour government will not raise taxes, he has also described the Welsh Government as a ‘blueprint’ for ‘what Labour can do across the UK’

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph about the plans, Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘A Labour government would hammer family homes with higher council tax, just like Labour have done in Wales.

‘Keir Starmer is being far from candid with voters about the taxes he would increase to fill his £38.5billion black hole, but given that the Labour government in Wales is his ‘blueprint’ for Britain, family homes across the country are clearly in the crosshairs.’

A Labour Party spokesman dismissed the ‘fantasy’ claims from the Conservatives and said: ‘Having pent 14 years making promises they could not deliver, this desperate Tory Party is now reduced every day to making up a new Labour plan that does not exist, instead of answering the questions about the massive holes in their own plans, which will lead to a £4,800 hike in family mortgages.’ 

The Valuation Office Agency denied that ‘Big Brother’ tactics are being employed.

A spokesman said: ‘We are simply accessing freely available information so that any new valuations are based on the most up-to-date information.

‘The valuation methods we are using are internationally recognised as best practice.’

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: ‘We are listening to communities while considering options for reform of council tax in Wales. 

‘We are acutely aware of the financial pressures people are facing due to the cost-of-living crisis and the UK Government’s mismanagement of the economy, and this will be at the forefront of our considerations.’