Wandsworth Council, an inner-London borough, has confirmed plans for a 94% council tax rise — the largest proposed increase in English history — that would push the typical Band D bill up by £958 a year from April 2027, according to The Mirror. Wandsworth currently charges England’s lowest council tax, at £1,020 a year for a Band D property, against a national average of £2,392, The Mirror reported.
If approved, the rise would fall directly on Wandsworth’s roughly 327,500 residents (2021 census), per Joe.co.uk. Its relevance reaches further, though: the government has granted the same power to raise tax beyond the standard cap to five other authorities — Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, the City of London, and Windsor and Maidenhead — according to The Mirror. These six boroughs are among the most concentrated addresses for overseas-owned London property, so owners of higher-band homes across this wider group, not only in Wandsworth, sit closest to the exposure, even though only Wandsworth’s rise has been confirmed so far.
Wandsworth’s Conservative-led administration says the increase is a response to the government’s “Fair Funding” reform, which shifts local-government grants away from London toward other regions; the council projects an £84 million annual funding loss building up by 2030, according to Joe.co.uk and the Daily Express. Most English councils are capped at a 5% annual rise without a local referendum, but Wandsworth, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Richmond intend to challenge the government’s funding proposals, The Mirror reported. Conservative Cabinet Member for Finance Peter Graham said the rise “will need” to go ahead “unless Government thinks again,” while Labour’s local leader, Simon Hogg, called it “cruel and unnecessary” and accused the council of timing the increase for political reasons. Separately, the Daily Express reported that Shadow Housing Secretary Katie Lam used the news to attack Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, a Labour figure with no role in Wandsworth’s decision, over his own 127% council tax rise in Greater Manchester during an earlier, unrelated period — a comparison raised as political criticism, not a claim that Burnham is behind Wandsworth’s increase.
The Mirror reported that a final decision on Wandsworth’s proposal will not be made until early next year, following a public consultation. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the Mirror that councils “should put taxpayers first” and that the funding overhaul is meant to direct resources to areas of greatest need while “protecting councils through the transition.”
References
The Mirror – Wandsworth council tax bills set to rise by 94% with residents paying £958 more / Daily Express – Andy Burnham savaged as council forced to hike tax by staggering 94% / Joe.co.uk – UK council confirms plan to hike council tax by ‘outrageous’ 94%
