Labour MP quits after ‘ letting cat out of bag’ on tax

A KEY ally of Jeremy Corbyn has quit Labour’s front bench after ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ on its plans for council tax.

Chris Williamson said on Wednesday he wanted to see bills on the typical family home rise by 20 per cent, or £350 – which would take them over £2,000 for the first time.

He added that under his plans for a ‘differential progressive council tax’, owners of the most expensive homes should pay twice as much.

But just hours after his intervention, it was announced that he had

Corbynista’s plot to hike average home’s council tax by £350 From yesterday’s Mail

left his job as fire and emergency services spokesman for commenting on policies outside his brief.

A Labour source said it was a ‘mutual decision’, while a spokesman said council tax rises were not party policy. But the Tories claimed Mr Williamson had effectively been forced to go for telling the truth about Labour’s plans.

Deputy chairman James Cleverly tweeted a picture of Mr Williamson along with the caption: ‘I want to double your council tax.’ He wrote: ‘Fired by Labour for letting the cat out of the bag.’

The Derby North MP has been a controversial figure since regaining his seat from the Tories in June.

One Labour MP said he should have been fired in the summer for suggesting Mr Corbyn’s opponents had made up accusations of antiSemitism against party figures.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews also called for him to be sacked after he claimed the accusations within the party were a ‘dirty lowdown trick’ for ‘political ends’.

He was criticised for condemning US sanctions on Venezuela as the Labour leader faced pressure to condemn socialist president Nicolas Maduro. Mr Corbyn also had to dismiss Mr Williamson’s suggestion for women-only carriages to tackle sexual violence on trains.

On Wednesday he revealed his tax plans, saying they had gained traction among party members. He said it was ‘redistributive’, adding: ‘It’s a response to a terrible situation.’

He wants council tax for homes in bands A to C to be frozen, with a progressive rise from band D up to a 100 per cent rise for band H.

But Labour disowned the policy on Wednesday, and said yesterday he would quit the front bench.