Labour was accused of pursuing the policies of Venezuela last night as it unveiled plans for a tax raid on middle-class homeowners and powers to force landlords to sell on the cheap.
A report, called Land for the Many, said council tax should be replaced with a new 'progressive' levy targeting larger homes with gardens.
And it suggested scrapping the single person discount – which gives widows and others 25 per cent off their bill. The blueprint, commissioned by Labour, also put forward radical reforms such as taxing land owned by foreigners and building thousands of council houses on public land.
Labour was accused of pursuing the policies of Venezuela last night as it unveiled plans for a tax raid on middle-class homeowners and powers to force landlords to sell on the cheap. Pictured: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
And it called for Britons to be forced to attend town hall planning meetings in the same way they have to go on jury service.
Labour frontbencher Jon Trickett said he would consider the proposals, which he said would tackle the 'concentration of land in the hands of the few'.
However, Tory MP Priti Patel accused the party of 'state-sponsored theft'. The former Cabinet minister said: 'This is confirmation that Labour would bring the policies of Venezuela to Britain.
'These are the policies of a banana republic with a disregard for property rights.'
Venezuela's economy has been driven into political and economic crisis by hard-Left policies admired by Jeremy Corbyn.
The report, written by academics and economists, was commissioned by Labour to address 'the problems and injustices of British society'.
It said the 'regressive and unpopular' council tax should be replaced by a new progressive property tax based on regularly updated property values that would hit the top 40 per cent of property by value. Rates would be set nationally rather than by local councils, meaning regular inspections by state officials.
The report accused the single person discount of encouraging the 'over-consumption of housing'.
It also called for town halls to make more use of compulsory purchase orders on land needed for building – and said they should be allowed to buy the land at a much cheaper price than at present.
David Prescott, 49, (right, left, his father John) a close aide to Mr Corbyn, was allegedly accused by a young female Labour MP of making 'unwanted sexual advances' in November 2017.
More than 100 Labour staffers wrote to Jeremy Corbyn yesterday to demand that he get the party's 'house in order' over sexual harassment.
They demanded action after claims that the Labour leader's office blocked the suspension of former deputy prime minister John Prescott's son following a complaint of alleged sexual harassment.
David Prescott, 49, a close aide to Mr Corbyn, was allegedly accused by a young female Labour MP of making 'unwanted sexual advances' in November 2017.
According to reports, Mr Corbyn's chief of staff, Karie Murphy, intervened to overturn a recommendation that he should be suspended from Labour membership.
David Prescott has strenuously denied the allegations. No formal complaint was pursued and he returned to his role in the Labour leader's office.
Yesterday, Labour staffers wrote to Mr Corbyn asking him to overhaul the party's system for handling complaints.
The party has said it does not comment on individual staffing matters, but takes all complaints 'extremely seriously'.
Councils would be given the power to require land that has been left vacant or derelict for a defined period to be sold at public auction. Changes to existing laws would enable them to buy at prices closer to its current use value, rather than potential future residential value.
In order to ensure poorer families have a voice in the process, it said everyone should be eligible for jury service-style attendance at planning meetings. Among the other policies, a 'community right to buy' would make it easier for residents to band together to purchase land. Firms based abroad who own land in the UK would face a new offshore company property tax.
Mr Trickett, Labour's spokesman for the Cabinet Office, said: 'For too long, people across the country have had little or no say over the decisions that affect their communities and the places in which they live. So much of this can be traced back to the broken system of land ownership. Concentration of land in the hands of a few has led to unwanted developments, unaffordable house prices, financial crises and environmental degradation.
'Labour is committed to tackling these head on and delivering a fundamental shift in wealth and power from the few to the many.'
Housing
