The Newshound

Labour MPs warn 'mansion tax' threshold cut to £1.5m would be a 'catastrophic electoral own goal'

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026.

John Healey, whose October 28 Budget could see the mansion tax threshold cut to £1.5m, catching an estimated 271,000 London homes under the levy.
John Healey, whose October 28 Budget could see the mansion tax threshold cut to £1.5m, catching an estimated 271,000 London homes under the levy.
For Sale boards outside a row of terraced houses like those in Hackney and Wandsworth, where the number of homeowners liable for the mansion tax could nearly triple if John Healey cuts the threshold to £1.5m.
For Sale boards outside a row of terraced houses like those in Hackney and Wandsworth, where the number of homeowners liable for the mansion tax could nearly triple if John Healey cuts the threshold to £1.5m.

Chancellor John Healey is weighing plans to slash the mansion tax threshold from £2m to £1.5m ahead of his October 28 Budget, sparking a full-scale revolt among Labour's own MPs. The move would catch roughly twice as many London homes under the levy — rising from 134,000 to 271,000 properties. One London Labour MP called it a "catastrophic electoral own goal" while even left-wing MPs fear it will hammer ordinary families in the capital.

Labour holds 58 of London's 75 parliamentary seats and is already fighting to keep Starmer's old Holborn and St Pancras seat from the Greens.

Hackney and Wandsworth are among the suburban boroughs where the number of homeowners liable for the tax could nearly triple if the threshold falls.

Experts warn the change could depress property sales and ultimately raise less revenue than the Treasury expects.

MoreiNewsLabour split over £1.5m mansion tax as MPs fear ‘ordinary families’ will sufferThe TimesMansion tax could depress sales and reduce revenue, say expertsCity A.M.How mansion tax changes could triple the number of payers in suburban LondonThe TimesAndy Burnham weighs up capital gains tax raid - The Times
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