Labour seeks probe into leader Polanski over houseboat tax

Council tax is a local levy on domestic properties. Government guidance states that a boat can be liable if it is a person’s sole or main residence. Polanski lived on a houseboat moored in east London until recently. His party previously said he rented a room elsewhere where tax was included in the rent and stayed on the boat only occasionally. The boat’s sale advertisement, placed by his partner, indicated they were moving to a house.

Anna Turley, chair of the Labour party, wrote to the monitoring officer of the Greater London Authority urging an investigation under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. That rule requires GLA members who are two months or more in arrears on council tax to declare the fact at meetings considering financial matters and bars them from voting on such items. Turley also cited possible breaches of the GLA code of conduct and the Nolan principles—honesty, integrity, accountability and openness. A Green party spokesperson confirmed Polanski lived on the boat until recently, has taken steps to pay any owed tax, and apologised for the unintentional mistake. Tax lawyer Dan Neidle said that if the boat was Polanski’s main home, he and his partner should have registered and paid council tax for three years.

The request puts pressure on Polanski, whose party recently celebrated electoral gains at Labour’s expense. If the assembly finds he failed to declare arrears, he could face sanctions ranging from a formal reprimand to suspension from voting on finance‑related matters. The episode also fuels broader debate about how elected officials treat local tax obligations, especially amid rising cost‑of‑living concerns. Labour’s move may be seen as leveraging the issue to weaken a rival that has made inroads in London.

The London assembly’s monitoring officer will decide whether to launch a formal inquiry; any findings could trigger a vote on Polanski’s eligibility to participate in financial debates, with a statement expected within weeks.