Taylor Scott International News
With the general election campaign now underway in the UK research has found that Labour leader Ed Miliband lives in the most expensive house of all the main political party leaders. Labour want to introduce a new mansion tax if it wins the election in May and it has defined a mansion as being a property worth over £2 million. Yet it is only Miliband who lives in such a home. According to research by property website Zoopla, Miliband’s North London home is now worth £2.73 million, more than three times the average in the area. Conservative leader David Cameron’s West London home and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg’s South London homes fall just short of the threshold applicable to the new proposed tax. Cameron’s home in West London is valued at £1.97 million while Clegg’s family home in South West London is valued at £1.89 million. UKIP chief Nigel Farage’s Kent home is currently valued at a more modest £550,000. However, each leader has seen the value of their home grow substantially since the last election, like most home owners across the country. Miliband has seen the value of his home increase by £1 million since the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition came to power, despite his apparent distaste for their economic policies. Cameron’s home has risen by £671,000 in value and Clegg’s by £573,000 during the same period. As things currently stand, Miliband would be the only current party leader required to pay the annual Mansion Tax mooted by the Labour party on properties worth in excess of £2 million, although house price rises could also soon nudge Cameron and Clegg into this territory. ‘Miliband’s home is in a desirable part of London and is now worth a lot more than he paid for it before the last election. If Labour comes to power as his property tax bill is likely to rise by at least £3,000 per year,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
