“Scaremongering” accusation by Labour

Kerb appeal

It would appear that Sadiq Khan from the Labour party  has attacked Knight Frank, a firm of estate agents, for apparently sending out printed material to homeowners, highlighting the “threat” of a mansion tax before the election, the shadow London minister and shadow justice secretary  accused the firm of  “scaremongering”, arguing that it was an attempt by a private company to influence the results of the election.

There has been a pre election pledge by Labour to impose a levy on all homes worth more than £2m to raise cash for the NHS,  conservatives are opposed to any higher value property tax.  It has been reported that the letter sent out by Knght Frank does not urge voters to choose any particular party but suggests people may be thinking about their financial position with the election coming up, and includes a report setting out the possible implications for high-value house prices.

Sadiq Khan a possible  frontrunner to be Labour’s London mayoral candidate, was also reported as saying  “Estate agents are one of few professions trusted less than politicians, and I am shocked that Knight Frank think it is acceptable to scaremonger like this.”

Knight Frank replied to the comments by saying they were simply providing voters with a factual assessment of what the mansion tax would do, they went on to say
there had been lots of inquiries from clients and members of the public about what the mansion tax might mean for them, they said “What we’ve put together is a document that tries to understand what the tax is and how it might work.” He also went on to say it was not a political campaign and the estate agent was neutral on the idea of a proposed tax”

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

What Every Estate Agent Should Tell Clients Before Moving Day

For most estate agents, the job is done once contracts are exchanged, completion takes place, and the keys are handed over. For your client, however, that’s when one of the biggest challenges begins. Moving day has the power to turn months of excitement into an incredibly stressful experience, or a smooth finish to what has…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 9/7/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   PropTech is evolving but WhatsApp is still winning the Property transaction battle A home-moving process that a decade of PropTech failed to fix   Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There are a particular series of messages, somewhere in every property chain, that decides whether…
Read More
Breaking News

Heatwaves haven’t diminished love for south-facing gardens

The latest research from Yopa reveals that despite 81% of people saying they have been avoiding their garden during the recent heatwaves, south-facing gardens continue to be the preferred orientation of choice for UK homeowners, attracting house price premiums of over £20,000 on average. However, the insight from Yopa also suggests that should heatwaves become…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove extends conversational search experience to property listings 

Rightmove is launching the next stage of its conversational search experience for home-movers, bringing the innovative new capability to its property listings. The move is part of Rightmove’s approach to ensure that ‘However you discover, we have you covered’. The ‘Ask Rightmove’ conversational search experience launched on its home page earlier this year, bringing a more personalised and interactive way to search…
Read More
Breaking News

Homebuyer demand slips in Q2 2026

Buyer demand slips in Q2 2026, with North and Midlands continuing to outperform southern markets The latest sales demand data from eXp UK has revealed that homebuyer demand in England slipped by -1.1% in Q2 2026. The analysis also reveals a continued regional divide, with a number of counties in the North and Midlands recording…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

International buyer slowdown one of Prime London’s biggest challenges

The latest survey of UK prime residential agents by AgentWise has found that many believe a slowdown in international buyer activity to be one of the biggest challenges facing the market today, whilst many have also noted an increase in the number of clients looking to explore property opportunities overseas rather than the UK. AgentWise…
Read More