Kemi Badenoch says that she has instructed lawyers to see whether it can block the government funding cut that Tory-run Wandsworth blames for a proposed 94% council tax rise.
The Conservative leader said the increase in the affluent south-west London borough was “outrageous” but that “they’re not doing it because they want to”.
Wandsworth says it stands to lose £84m a year in funding by the end of the next three years, and the council confirmed its plan to raise council tax by 94% at a meeting on Tuesday.
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Wandsworth, which previously had one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, is looking at a £958 rise on the current average Band D property currently paying just over £1,000.
Comparing with an increasing number of London boroughs paying above £2,000, the tax starts to make more sense.
The planned tax rise would nearly double what Wandsworth is paying, with half of it set by the council and the other half by the mayor of London.
A final decision on the tax hike is due early next year.
The government has said the local funding cuts are part of efforts to redistribute money to areas where it is required most and fix the “outdated” council funding system.
Commenting on the row for the first time in her interview with BBC Newsnight, Badenoch accused ministers of seemingly “taking money from areas that don’t vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour”.
“I think it is outrageous that Wandsworth Council is having to put up council tax,” said the Conservative leader.
“But they’re not doing it because they want to. It is because the government has taken away 40% of their funding.
“So we have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision.”