Speaking on LBC earlier this week, Westminster Conservative Councillor Tony Devenish argues that Andy Burnham’s tax-reform suggestions add to an already excessive tax burden, noting that London boroughs have recently faced large central grant cuts that force councils to choose between slashing services or raising council tax sharply. 

Tony stresses that residents, especially in central London, are “already rather fed up with tax increases” under successive governments and warns that further hikes risk driving wealth creators out of the country. Devenish illustrates this with an anecdote about a very wealthy businessman who says most of his peers have already left his area, implying a broader flight of high-net-worth individuals. He also highlights the specific impact on older homeowners whose properties have risen from tens or low hundreds of thousands to several million pounds, saying they would be “absolutely damaged” by a land-value or revalued property tax without long transitional protections. 

Overall, his position is that more tax rises are neither economically necessary nor politically sustainable, and that the focus should be on managing existing pressures rather than adding new levies.

Find out more about the Labour goverment cuts to Westminster Council's funding here: www.westm.news/bc