An Englishman's Home

'An Englishman's home is his castle', so they say, and in the case of Westminster's political leaders Ed Miliband knocks his two rivals, David Cameron and Nick Clegg into a cocked hat.

Ironically, the leader of the People's Party has a much more expensive 'gaff' than his Tory and Lib Dem colleagues which speaks volumes about:

a) London property prices

b) The nature of politics at Westminster 

Mansions or castles, take your pick, but no Westminster party has come up with a credible, lasting housing policy for the last 40 years and that's possibly because none of them, on their own, has a convincing answer.

Ed Miliband: My £2.7m home isn't a mansion

Labour leader says he would happily pay £3,000 annual mansion tax out of he and his wife's spare income

Ed Miliband's London home has two kitchens.



By Emily Gosden - The Telegraph

Ed Miliband has claimed his £2.7 million home does not feel like a mansion - but admitted he and his wife could happily afford to pay Labour's proposed £3,000 annual mansion tax.

Mr Miliband said he did not know the exact value of the Kentish Town home he shares with wife Justine Thornton but said he believed it was “somewhere between 2 and 3 [million pounds]".

Experts estimate the home, which has two kitchens, is worth as much as £2.7 million - significantly more than David Cameron and Nick Clegg's London homes, which are valued at £1.97m and £1.89m respectively.

Discussing the mansion tax with Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2, Mr Miliband confirmed: “I am pretty sure I am going to be paying it."

Asked “you don’t feel like you’re in a mansion, do you?” the Labour leader responded: “No, but that’s just a term that’s used.

"It’s a really important point this: this is about a tax system where those with the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden.”



Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton in one of their kitchens

He said he was “absolutely” happy to pay the levy “because the NHS needs the resources”.

“Where am I going to get the cash from? I’ll get it from my income, myself and Justine," he said.

Mr Miliband earns £139,000 as leader of the Opposition while his wife, a barrister, is estimated to earn close to £200,000.

Mr Miliband acknowledged that some people who were “income poor and asset rich” could become liable to pay the tax but said those who were basic rate taxpayers would be able to defer paying the charge.

The Labour leader refused to say what the annual tax charges would be for properties worth more than £3 million.

Mr Vine suggested that properties worth more than £3 million would have to pay £36,000 each on average in order to raise Labour's intended income from the tax.

But Mr Miliband disputed his numbers and said: "I don't think the averages make sense."

He added: "It depends on the value of your house; higher value houses will pay more. We have also said we will look at the possibility of having a higher charge on thoae from overseas who own their homes in the UK."

The charges for properties worth more than £3 million would be decided once in Government, he said.

Nigel Adams, Conservative candidate for Selby and Ainsty, said: “Ed Miliband’s desperate to come across like the man of the people – but these comments are yet more proof he’s completely out of touch with ordinary people.

“Is it any wonder Ed’s happy to slap a homes’ tax on hardworking families while at the same time hiding his nanny in the downstairs kitchen?

“If Ed Miliband gets into no 10, propped up by the SNP, that will mean more borrowing, higher taxes and unlimited welfare – utter chaos, and you will pay the price.”