In his weekly column for Sussex newspapers, Arundel and South Downs MP Andrew Griffith argues that Britain's economic challenges cannot be solved by penalising homeowners in the South East.
Andrew Griffith MP says that making the South poorer is no way to make the North richer, warning that if what he describes as "Manchesterism" amounts to little more than higher taxes, Sir Andy Burnham risks following the same political trajectory as Labour's shortest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
His comments follow reports that a Burnham-led Labour Government could expand its proposed mansion tax by lowering the threshold to include homes valued at £1.5 million. While those reports have not been denied by people close to Sir Andy, Mr Griffith warns that such a move would draw thousands more middle-income homeowners in West Sussex into a costly new tax regime.
He argues that many properties in Council Tax Bands F, G and H could become liable for additional charges following revaluations, with concerns that remote assessments, including aerial imagery and other digital valuation techniques, could be used to estimate the value of homes, gardens and outbuildings.
Mr Griffith says such a policy would be particularly unfair for residents in West Sussex, where higher property values reflect regional housing pressures rather than greater personal wealth. House prices across much of the South East, he argues, have been driven by London's chronic failure to build enough homes.
Under the leadership of Mayor Sadiq Khan, private housebuilding in London has fallen dramatically. Citing Molior London data, Mr Griffith notes that annual private housing starts declined from around 33,800 in 2015 to approximately 5,500 by 2025 — a fall of more than 80 per cent. Because today's housing starts determine tomorrow's completions, he argues that the shortage is likely to persist for years to come.
The consequence, he says, is continued pressure on neighbouring counties such as West Sussex, where homes are being built at a far higher rate per head of population than in Greater London.
Mr Griffith concludes that the South East faces a different challenge from much of the country. As one of England's most water-stressed regions, with droughts and hosepipe bans becoming increasingly frequent, he believes the case for pausing large-scale housing developments — particularly proposals for new towns — deserves far greater attention than further tax rises on homeowners.
