A growing group of Labour MPs is urging the Government to launch a fundamental overhaul of England’s property tax system, arguing that council tax has become one of the country’s most unfair and outdated taxes.
Led by Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash, Labour parliamentarians from across the North, Midlands and Red Wall seats are calling for ministers to replace the current council tax system—still based on 1991 property valuations—with a fairer model that reflects today’s housing market.
Many are backing the campaign by Fairer Share, which proposes replacing both council tax and Stamp Duty with a Proportional Property Tax (PPT) based on the current market value of properties. Campaigners argue the change would reduce bills for millions of households while creating a fairer and more transparent property tax system. The figures cited are based on Fairer Share’s own modelling.
“Council tax is broken”
Jonathan Brash, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Council Tax Reform, has emerged as Parliament’s leading advocate for reform.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on council tax reform, he described the current system as fundamentally unjust.
“Council tax is the most unfair, regressive and punitive taxation system in this country.”
Brash highlighted the stark inequalities created by valuations frozen in 1991, telling MPs:
“Someone can live in a multimillion-pound property in London and still pay less council tax than someone in a terraced house in Hartlepool. It is not right. It is not fair. It must change.”
He argued that households in many northern communities pay a far greater proportion of their income towards council tax than homeowners in some of the country’s wealthiest areas.
“There are alternatives,” Brash told Parliament, pointing to Fairer Share’s proposal for a proportional property tax. He argued that many households in the North East would be better off under such a system while wealthier property owners would contribute more fairly.
Growing support among Labour MPs
The campaign has gathered momentum well beyond Hartlepool.
Jonathan Hinder, Labour MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, believes reform represents both good economics and good politics.
He said:
“A Proportional Property Tax would reaffirm to ordinary people that Labour’s on their side, putting pounds in their pockets without costing government a penny. Stamp duty and council tax are unpopular and broken, and there’s a credible alternative ready to go. A PPT could redistribute to lower-income and ordinary families within Labour’s fiscal rules. It’s an idea whose time has come.”
During the Commons debate, Hinder added:
“A reformed system would reduce the cost of living for ordinary people and… actually increase revenues for the Government to spend on better public services.”
Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, also backed the proposals, saying:
“Andy is right – the council tax system is outdated and disproportionately burdens those who pay outside of London and the South East. Replacing council tax, stamp duty and bedroom tax with a much fairer proportional property tax would make over 18 million households better off.”
Northern Labour voices call for bold action
Support is continuing to spread across Labour’s parliamentary ranks.
Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, argued that modest reforms would not go far enough.
“The government’s current proposal… is a start, but we need to go further. A system this flawed doesn’t need tinkering, it needs transforming. A proportional property tax would be a fairer system that eases pressure on households who are being squeezed by rising living costs.”
Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, said:
“Council tax is regressive and needs reform. My constituents pay a higher rate than some of the richest people in the UK thanks to an outdated and broken system.”
Meanwhile Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Southport, argued that families in his constituency are unfairly penalised.
“People in Southport know the council tax system is unfair because they feel it in their pockets every year… Families here work hard and shouldn’t be asked to shoulder a bigger burden than wealthier parts of the country.”
Jo White among Labour supporters
The campaign has also attracted backing from Jo White MP, who chairs Labour’s Red Wall Group, alongside other Labour MPs including Louise Haigh, Paula Barker, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Kim Johnson, Rachael Maskell, Andy McDonald, Dan Carden, Navendu Mishra, Liam Byrne and Grahame Morris, all of whom are listed by Fairer Share as supporters of reform. While not all have issued detailed public statements on the proposal, their support reflects growing interest within the Parliamentary Labour Party for a review of property taxation.
Letter to the Chancellor
Last year, a group of Labour MPs led by Jonathan Brash wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves urging the Government to launch a comprehensive review of property taxation.
The MPs argued that if Labour wants to rebuild support in working-class communities and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, reforming council tax should be a priority.
The letter described council tax as “outdated, deeply regressive and increasingly indefensible”, arguing that families in many northern communities pay significantly more relative to the value of their homes than households in some of London’s wealthiest boroughs.
A growing debate
The APPG on Council Tax Reform, established in December 2025, is examining proposals for wider reform of council tax, property taxation and local government finance.
Supporters argue that replacing council tax and Stamp Duty with a proportional property tax would modernise a system that has remained largely unchanged for more than three decades.
Campaigners say the reform could reduce bills for the majority of households while improving fairness between regions, although critics note that any major overhaul would inevitably create both winners and losers and would require careful transitional protections.
With pressure growing from Labour backbenchers, think tanks and campaign groups, property tax reform is becoming an increasingly prominent issue within the wider debate on how Labour can ease the cost-of-living pressures facing households while delivering a fairer tax system.
Whether ministers decide to grasp the nettle remains to be seen, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: calls to replace England’s 1991-based council tax system are becoming harder to ignore.
