Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash says 'We need a tax system which people can see is fair'

Council tax is not fair. It is not modern. And it is not fit for purpose.

It is frozen in time, based on property values from 1991.

We are still using a system designed for a housing market that no longer exists, ignoring 35 years of change.

And it does not reflect what people can afford.

That hits towns like Hartlepool hard.

We have modest homes, mostly Band A to C terraced streets, and lower house prices than much of the country.

But because the system is outdated, people here pay a far higher share of their home’s value in tax than those in wealthier areas.

That is not fairness. It is structural injustice.

There is a better way.

The Fairer Share proposal for a Proportional Property Tax would replace council tax and stamp duty with one simple charge: a small percentage of a home’s current value, around 0.48%.

Nationally, around three-quarters of households would pay less, with average savings of about £556 a year.

In places like Hartlepool, where house prices are below average, the benefits would be widespread.

A typical £120,000 home would pay around £575 a year compared to £1,500–£2,000 for many Band A–C properties today.

That is hundreds of pounds back into working households and our economy.

Council tax also fails on fairness. It relies on 1991 bands that are increasingly arbitrary. Two similar homes can pay very different amounts based on outdated valuations.

That is not a system. It is a relic.

We also need honesty about local government. It is overloaded and pulled away from what people actually judge it on: clean streets, bin collections, roads and basic services.

One major reason is social care. It is vital but it has overwhelmed council budgets and distracted local government from its core purpose.

We should be clear: social care is a national responsibility and should be funded properly at national level.

That reform would allow councils to get back to basics and rebuild trust through visible, everyday services.

A modern Labour Government should not defend this system. It should replace it.

Hartlepool does not need sticking plaster reform. It needs fairness built in.