Key facts
- Kemi Badenoch is instructing lawyers to challenge the government over local funding cuts.
- Wandsworth Council has proposed a 94% council tax hike.
- Wandsworth Council blames the tax increase on an £84 million annual government funding cut.
- The proposed Wandsworth council tax hike would add £958 to the annual bill for a Band D property.
- Other London councils are considering similar challenges to government funding cuts.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has instructed lawyers to potentially challenge the government over local funding cuts, following a proposed 94% council tax increase in Wandsworth, a flagship Tory-run local authority.
Badenoch described the proposed hike as "outrageous" and stated that the Conservative Party had "instructed lawyers" to examine if an £84 million annual government funding cut, which Wandsworth Council has cited as the reason for the increase, can be legally blocked. The government, however, maintains it is "fixing an outdated funding system so funding goes where need is greatest."
Wandsworth Council currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, with an average Band D property paying just over £1,000 annually. The proposed increase would add £958, nearly doubling the bill. The council stated that changes to the funding formula will result in a loss of £84 million annually by 2027.
Badenoch accused ministers of redistributing funds from areas that do not vote Labour to those that do. She argued that even with the proposed increase, Wandsworth's council tax would remain lower than many other London boroughs, but acknowledged that a nearly 100% rise would still be a significant concern for families.
Other London councils, including Westminster, Richmond, and Kensington and Chelsea, are also considering using the Sustainable Communities Act to challenge government funding cuts. The lifting of the usual 5% annual council tax rise cap for these councils and Windsor and Maidenhead is a result of these central government cuts.
Labour councillor Simon Hogg, leader of the opposition in Wandsworth, called the increase "outrageous" and "unnecessary." However, three Labour MPs representing Wandsworth constituencies have reportedly declined to support the council's appeal, citing the council's strong financial position before the current Conservative leadership.