Communities

Background

Our communities are being forever changed, sometimes with irreversible consequences.

Those who have wealth are able to obtain more wealth, more easily. One way which blights many communities is the issue of ‘second homes’. This inflates house prices, often making it impossible for local people to buy their own home. ‘Airbnbs’ are another that have a similar effect.

On the face of it, this may not seem like an important issue, after all, people can just move to a cheaper location and buy there. It is precisely this which destroys communities. Welsh, Scottish and Cornish communities, where they spoke their own language have become lost as locals, forced to move away, scatter around to other locations.

Proposal

We propose to implement a 300% council tax increase on people’s second homes.

Homes should not be seen as investments, but rather as places for families to be nurtured and for communities to grow. Bearing this in mind there will be progressive taxation on additional homes.

1^st home – Standard council tax

2^nd home – 300% council tax*

Additional 100% increase on council tax per additional home*

*Exemption for landlords renting out to low-income people.

‘use it or lose it’

According to Crisis and Shelter, there are over 200,000 homeless people in the UK.

Government figures in 2021 state that there are 238,306 homes just in England that are classed as long-term empty homes.

We suggest a system whereby landlords will not be allowed to sit on empty properties year after year.

Landlords will be warned after 12 months that if their property continues to remain empty for a further 12 months then it will be repossessed by the local authority.