𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A borough is reportedly preparing the largest ever council tax rise in England. Wandsworth Council’s tax hike might be as much as 160%.

This would mean the council tax levy for a Band D property in the south London borough would rise from £1,020.35 to a staggering £2,652.91. Reports of the proposed increase come as Wandsworth claims the Labour Government is slashing its funding by 40%.

PoliticsHome, which first reported claims of the rise, said it understands there is an expectation the hike will be introduced in April next year.

If accurate, Wandsworth’s 160% rise would dwarf the 8.99% increase imposed by Newham Council, North Somerset Council, Shropshire Council and Worcestershire County Council this year.

Wandsworth told the Evening Standard that on top of the 40% cut in funding from central government, it also has the highest planned borrowing costs in its history and reserves set to run out within three years unless “urgent action” is taken.

Simon Hogg, leader of Wandsworth Labour, posted on X: “The Conservatives are pretending the council has run out of money so they can bring in austerity policies.

“They’ve already cut domestic abuse services, scrapped the youth bus and axed new council homes for 400 local people. They now intend to massively increase your council tax.

“It beggars belief that Wandsworth Conservatives are planning Britain’s biggest ever council tax increase.”

A Wandsworth Tory spokesman told the Standard: “The Labour Government is slashing 40% of Wandsworth Council’s funding, leaving us with the worst cash loss of any council in the country.

“At the same time, the last Labour administration in Wandsworth had spending plans that would have used all our reserves and bankrupted the borough within 18 months – leaving us with a staggering budget gap of £137 million.

“We are undertaking a full spending review, which will be completed in September. The Wandsworth Conservatives will do what is necessary to clear up the mess left by Labour. We will protect core services and deliver value for money for residents.”

The council was left in no overall control at the Local Elections in May. It is currently being led as a minority administration by the Conservatives.

Wandsworth is not the only cash-strapped council where there are reports of large council tax increases. Westminster has warned its residents that Government cuts to its funding would mean council tax would need to rise by 200% to plug a budget shortfall unless the local authority took action.