Wandsworth Council has been granted permission to raise council tax by up to 160 per cent, potentially resulting in the biggest council tax increase in England’s history.
The increase comes after the council was told it would face a significant reduction in central government funding, as part of a wider plan to redistribute money towards more deprived areas.
Around 327,500 people live in Wandsworth, according to the 2021 Census. After 44 years of Conservative Party control, Labour won the council in 2022.
At this year’s local elections the council went under no overall control, but the Tories became the largest party by one seat and Wandsworth is therefore run by a minority Tory administration.
Wandsworth is projected to receive around 40 per cent less funding, amounting to an £84 million reduction compared with previous allocations. The cut is expected to be phased in up to 2030.
If approved, the increase would come into effect from April 2027, the Mirror reports.
‘Britain’s biggest ever council tax increase’
Simon Hogg, Wandsworth Labour leader, said the borough had previously had “the lowest council tax in the country” when Labour was in control.
He also pointed to the council’s financial position under the last Labour administration, claiming it had “the highest reserves of any neighbouring borough and no external debt”.
Hogg accused the Conservative administration of creating “chaos” and said it was using the council’s financial situation to justify cuts to services.
“The Conservatives are pretending the council has run out of money so they can bring in austerity policies,” he said.
“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 council tax. It beggars belief that Wandsworth Conservatives are planning Britain’s biggest ever council tax increase.”
Under normal rules, councils cannot increase council tax by more than 5 per cent without holding a referendum. However, the government can grant individual councils permission to increase bills beyond that limit in exceptional circumstances.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the additional flexibility granted to Wandsworth was time-limited.
A spokesperson said: “The flexibility given to Wandsworth Council is time limited and we’re making £278 million available for them by 2028-29.”
The proposed increase is therefore not yet the final amount residents will pay, with the council still required to formally approve its council tax plans ahead of the 2027-28 financial year.