A question framed around local infrastructure was heard instead as a warning about cost, competence and control. The dominant No case was not simply hostility to tourism charges: it was that an uncapped power gave mayors too much room to damage an already expensive, uncompetitive market.
The floor’s strongest No voice began with distrust of the office itself: “I'm thinking of one absolute disastrous mayor that is in our capital. Absolutely no.” The most-respected economic argument called the policy “an economic own goal”, while another voter distilled the broader tax fatigue into “we need less taxes no more”.
Yes voters did offer a case, but it was conditional and lightly supported. One asked whether devolution should encourage “national competition and trials”, while another said visitor-heavy areas should be able to “derive revenue from that”; neither could match the No side’s insistence that hotels, contractors and conference organisers would bear the cost.
The debate also exposed a narrower, more credible objection than outright opposition to local taxation. One No voter said, “I believe in devolution to an extent”, but drew the line at an uncapped power — a position that sits alongside warnings about family affordability, tourism-dependent places such as Cornwall, and the administrative burden of varying local rates.
The floor did not reject local revenue in every form; it rejected giving mayors a blank cheque, with the winning side sounding more specific, more anxious and far more organised than its opponents.
16 Opinions
I'm thinking of one absolute disastrous mayor that is in our capital. Absolutely no.
Giving mayors a blank cheque to slap uncapped taxes on hotel beds is an economic own goal. Business travel isn't a luxury holiday.... it's engineers, contractors, and field staff travelling to do real graft across the country.
How many times, we need less taxes no more. Placing tax on something means limiting it. And as always it will hit families closer to poverty most, no holidays for you poor people you cannot afford to go abroad and now you also cannot afford to go on hols domestically. Stay and live in your 15 min. cities.
The idea sounds good in principle, but UK accommodation is already absurdly expensive and uncompetitive. We shouldn’t give mayors an uncapped power to make staying in our cities even more expensive, especially for business travel and conferences.
We cannot apply a tax to everything. Not the way forward at all. Typical Labour in my humble opinion.
They shouldn’t have the ability to levy them at all.
The only industry in Cornwall and other remote parts is tourism. Well done for killing it to pay for SEN.
Do not need > Politicians imposing > taxes for even > spurious reasons. We also don’t need Mayors as it’s part of a scheme championed by Sadiq Khan to gerrymander voting in Labour’s interests & roll out the ‘Smart Cities’ initiative funded by Bloomberg et al as part of UNs Agenda 2030 - you know the one, no ICE cars, meat, travel outside 15 minutes, holidays by air, only 3 UK airports, limit on new clothes CBDC Digital ID. Not about a w/e away, slavery!
No way! All mayoral roles should just be symbolic. Look at how bad khan & Burnhams were as mayors. Khan will be chsrging 15% or more to find his brothers & sisters.
No one should be charged a tourist tax for staying in a hotel it’s just another tax we can’t afford.