Wandsworth Council has announced that taxes will rise by 94% for several residents. This decision follows local leaders' criticism of the government for cutting funding by £84m a year.
The local authority, historically known for its low council tax levels, will require Band D council taxpayers to pay an additional £958 from next year. The Conservative-run council stated it had to address a spending gap of approximately £1,434 for average households, with government funding cuts accounting for over a third of this total. The remaining costs are attributed to inflation and plans inherited from the previous Labour administration.
A Tory source within the council indicated that the authority faced a choice between balancing its books through tax rises or bankruptcy. Deputy leader Peter Graham stated that council members "do not want this" and "do not take this decision lightly," arguing that residents should not bear the cost of an "unfair funding system."
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has implemented a plan to update formulas for distributing local government funding grants, redistributing funds from London to regions in the North of England. Rayner argued that the previous system was "unfair" for deprived councils. Wandsworth was among a few areas permitted to raise taxes significantly, with its funding cut by about 40%.
Labour MPs in the area, including Marsha De Cordova, Rosena Allin-Khan, and Fleur Anderson, have opposed the council's request for more funding. They stated they could not "support a narrative that seeks to rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council or shift responsibility for damaging choices that are being made by the current Conservative administration."