Advertisement

Ed Balls: Mansion Tax Will Save The NHS

Ed Balls has defended his party's plans for a mansion tax, saying people with the "broadest shoulders" should be asked to pay their fair share "so we can save the NHS".

The shadow chancellor said many of the high-value properties were owned by international investors and that provision had been made in the plans to make sure those who had low incomes but had benefited from house-price rises were not unfairly penalised.

He said the measure was absolutely necessary at a time when the health service was going backwards because of under-funding.

Mr Balls said he was committed to staying in the EU and that Britain could be influential in Europe and change the way things were working.

The Labour man added that having a referendum on the EU and leaving within five years would be a "disaster" and that it was "really, really risky for our country".

Mr Balls said the UK did not need to be a part of the Euro to be influential in Europe and that a Government should not play politics with Britain's membership.

On the subject of house building, Mr Balls said Labour did not build enough homes when it was in power but instead concentrated on repairing dilapidated housing.

He said the Labour party was now committed to building 200,000 more homes by 2020, adding it was a tough target but he believed they could deliver.

He said: "Unless you get the supply of houses up... it's going to be very hard for people to buy."

The shadow chancellor was accused of "tinkering around the edges" when it came to reducing the deficit and was asked: "When are you going to do the big stuff?"

He said Labour would have a "more careful and balanced plan" to reduce the deficit and that there were plans to put the top rate of income tax back up to 50p.

Mr Balls was answering questions at Sky News' Ask The Chancellors event at Facebook's London offices.

George Osborne faced questions from the same audience earlier .

Driving home the Conservative message to voters to stay on the right track, the Chancellor said his job turning around the economy was "not yet finished" and there was more to be done.

The event follows on from similar question and answer sessions for party leaders including David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

The clash comes at a crucial time, with the latest Sky News projection of seat numbers in the House of Commons suggesting both main parties are well short of the 326 seats they need for an overall majority.

Ahead of the showdown, political insiders revealed Mr Osborne and Mr Balls "get on" well, despite their very public political clashes.

Conservative activist and commentator Tim Montgomerie told Sky News that the men have a "good private relationship", while Damian McBride, who once worked with Mr Balls in the Treasury, said they like each other on a "personal level".

Mr McBride revealed the two men's private relationship to the Murnaghan show. He later added that there was common ground because both men have so many interests and hobbies outside of politics.

He said: "It is very rare that you meet politicians with so many outside interests that don't want to talk about politics all the time. (Ed Balls) would rather be talking about football or the theatre or what he watched on TV last night, so he is that kind of personality and I think that is why he gets on with George Osborne."