Mandelson attacks mansion tax: well he would, wouldn’t he?
More important to Miliband, Ukip leader Nigel Farage has risked bringing up NHS privatisation again
Lord Mandelson, one of the architects of New Labour, has warned Labour leader Ed Miliband that he won't win the election by "clobbering" the wealthy a “crude, short-term” mansion tax.
Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Mandelson supported instead a Lib-Dem plan to increase the council tax bands to raise the tax on homes worth more than £2 million. "It will be more effective and efficient in the long term,” he said.
It's not the first time Mandelson has complained about the mansion tax on Newsnight and he's not the first senior Labour figure to oppose it: a string of London mayoral candidates including Blairite Tessa Jowell and leftie Diane Abbott have also criticised what is seen as a "London tax" because of the high property values in the capital.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, a recent YouGov poll suggested they are out of step with public opinion: 72 per cent of all voters support the mansion tax and among Labour voters support is up to 85 per cent compared with only eight per cent against. Even Tory voters support it by 58 per cent for to 35 per cent against.
But it's Mandelson's critique that Miliband can't win by "clobbering" the rich alone that will strike a chord with former New Labour MPs who never voted for Ed as party leader.
Privately, they grumble that while Labour could still win the election “by default”, Miliband has failed to fire up the electorate. Ditching New Labour's appeal to middle-class voters – which saw Blair win three successive elections – is a strategic error, they believe.
Mandelson cautioned Miliband against ideologically-based rhetoric. “I don't think it leads to good policy. It doesn't help you get elected.”
And in a withering attack on Labour’s lack of a coherent economic strategy, he added: “I think people are entitled to expect thought-through, sophisticated responses to serious problems.”
Ed Miliband’s team will doubtless write off Mandelson’s complaint as “same old, same old Mandy”. They will be more excited this morning by the admission by Nigel Farage that the NHS may have to be replaced by a system under which everyone but the very poor takes out private health insurance as they do in the United States.
Farage had to beat a hasty retreat in November after a leaked film showed him raising the idea of replacing the NHS with private health insurance.
Now the Ukip leader has revived the idea, saying his party will have to “return” to it after the May general election.
In an interview with BBC political editor Nick Robinson to be broadcast today, he said: “I triggered a debate within Ukip that was outright rejected by my colleagues, so I have to accept that. As time goes on, this is a debate that we’re all going to have to return to.”
As Lord Lawson, the former Tory Chancellor, once said, the NHS is the nearest thing we have in Britain to a religion. Anyone suggesting it is replaced by private insurance will be regarded as the anti-Christ.
Given the cash crisis facing the NHS, Farage may argue he is being realistic. But it could be just the break that Labour need to explode Ukip's hopes of winning enough seats to hold the balance of power if the election produces a hung parliament.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
How will honeytrap scandal change Westminster?
Today's Big Question Security procedures laid bare by spear phishing attack as focus shifts to 'political insider' being responsible
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
Liz Truss and her bid to woo the American far-right
Why Everyone's Talking About Former PM pitching herself as 'bridge in transatlantic conservative movement'
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published