London's hopes of gaining control of property tax revenues have been dented after a minister indicated that the Government was unwilling to hand them over.
Cities minister Greg Clark — who announced new powers for Manchester this week including over its budgets and services — was speaking at the London Conference at Royal Festival Hall last night.
Mr Clark said he expected talks with London’s leaders to begin immediately but, when asked if tax powers were on the table, he urged them to ensure any case they made for devolution focused on a broader range of issues.
Pressed to be more specific, he said: “The Chancellor said [the Manchester deal] is open to other cities — that does not involve the devolution of property taxes.” His words came as a blow to campaigners calling for devolution of stamp duty revenue.
Ben Rogers, director of the Centre for London think tank which was behind the conference, said: “It does disappoint me. We stand to lose our ability to secure the investment London desperately needs in infrastructure and housing.”
Earlier, Boris Johnson admitted his drive to wrestle control of tax powers from the Treasury was “not going brilliantly”. The Mayor suggested that the Conservatives were lagging behind the Lib-Dems and Labour on devolution for London.
Sadiq Khan, shadow minister for the capital, today launched a public campaign and website called “Let Londoners Run London”. He wants the Government to give London more control over public services and let it keep more of the benefits of its growth.
