Tourist tax row goes to heart of Rayner and Reeves power struggle
Ms Rayner is demanding that councils be allowed to levy a tourist tax on visitors as part of efforts to boost their budgets – anathema to the Treasury, which guards its control over the public finances jealously.
It might seem like an obscure dispute about devolution. But according to Labour sources, this is in fact at the heart of the policy difference between Ms Reeves and Ms Rayner that has dominated the headlines.
The Deputy Prime Minister is the most senior Left-wing voice in the Government, and those close to her say she has her own ideas about how Labour should govern. Ms Rayner believes councils are a genuine engine for growth.
Since before the election, she has championed a 'devolution revolution', modelled on the ideas of Gordon Brown during the New Labour years.
She thinks that allowing councils more power to decide their own fate will lead to better funding decisions, a more bespoke environment for businesses and plaudits for the Labour politicians running city councils and mayoral offices.
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