London’s twelve most central local authorities are demanding the ability to tax every overnight hotel stay at a rate of at least 3%. They say in a release today that this ‘could raise £352 million per year.’ You can see the massive pound signs in their eyes…
Central London Forward has commissioned the research – it represents Camden, the City of London, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, and Westminster. It is still not clear where revenue from Tourist Taxes will go in London. Boroughs want at least half of the cash for themselves. Labour has pushed the powers through in a devastating blow to the overnight industry…
According to House of Commons research the average length of visit was 7.4 nights in 2024. In London the most recently reported average daily rates (ADR) sit at £260.10 for occupied hotel rooms. A 3% Tourist Tax charged on that rate over eight nights adds up to a whopping £62.42. The tax will also hit AirBnBs. Want to visit London on a budget under Labour – don’t bother, you can’t…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”