Labour losing touch with its roots, MP
Labour should impose a 'wealth tax' of £1,000 a year on well-heeled members, a prominent backbench MP has said.
Bassetlaw MP John Mann said that the levy - many times the £46.50 annual membership fee or the £3 payment to vote in the recent leadership election - should be paid by any members living in homes worth more than £1 million, with extra charges for those with more than one property.
As well as solving a funding crisis which has left the party facing “bankruptcy”, Mr Mann said the move would address a “big political problem” that the “overwhelming” majority of new members recruited since Jeremy Corbyn stood for the leadership are middle-class people from wealthy areas.
“One street in Islington North, with owner-occupiers living in multimillion-pound properties, had 40 people over a 12-week period join the party,” said Mr Mann.