Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

I welcome this opportunity to speak about council tax, because the issue is causing immense concern in my constituency. I speak for many Basingstoke families and pensioners who face staggering increases in council tax as a result of the actions of this Government. Those families and pensioners would face almost untenable costs if the Government implemented their intention to revalue, so I support scrapping revaluation in its entirety. We are told that the proposal is revenue-neutral, but the actions towards householders in many other aspects of our lives suggest that the cynicism expressed from Opposition Members may be justified. If I may, I shall look at this issue from a slightly different angle—from that of our constituents. A house is a home where we raise our families and live our lives. If we are fortunate enough to own our own home, our families are offered a certain level of security. This Government are using our homes as another way to punish hard-working families for doing the best for their children and to punish pensioners in their retirement. House-price inflation does not deliver an additional income to householders. It does not put an additional pressure on local services, and as we have heard today the relative level of house prices has not changed regionally for a decade. Under this Government, house-price inflation has been seen as an opportunity for an additional back-door tax on pensioners and hard-working families. Council tax revaluation is just the latest in a long line of such measures. The Government are happy to recognise an increase in property values when it comes to council tax, but not when it comes to inheritance tax. They have continually failed to raise inheritance tax thresholds to reflect house price increases, and in the process have added about a £1 billion tax take to the Chancellor’s coffers. Under Labour, stamp duty has tripled in my constituency, with the stamp duty bill for an average detached house being almost £4,000. In Basingstoke, stamp duty is slapped on even the average flat that would be within reach of a first-time buyer. One in three children aged 10 today will be able to own their own home in the future. Contrast that with the last Conservative Government, who helped 2 million people get on the housing ladder under right to buy. The Government have declared war on our home owners of the present and the future. Delaying revaluation will leave the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of pensioners and families who have already been penalised enough for doing the right thing, working hard to provide a safe and secure environment for themselves and their families. The Government have tried to paint a different picture and claim that revaluation will be revenue neutral, but that assertion has been blown out of the water by what has happened in Wales, as we have heard today.