Badenoch brings in lawyers after 94% Wandsworth Council tax hike

Pressed on how the rise will still mean Wandsworth’s council tax is lower than many councils across the country, Badenoch statedit would still worry some families.

“I think if you suddenly have a nearly 100% increase in your council tax, you would be extremely worried. Families have budgets,” she said.

“Just because on average it’s lower than somewhere else doesn’t mean that people are going to be able to afford it.”

She refused to say what alternative rate of increase she would propose, but questioned why a 40% cut was being imposed on the council when “Andy Burnham has not found 40% of anything to cut” himself.

She also defended her record as regional administrationminister when the Tories were in Downing Street, despite Conservative governments having slashed some council grants.

Wandsworth Council’s Tory deputy leader statedon Tuesday: “Higher council tax will not be easy or welcome. We do not regard it as fair and will continue to challenge the administrationby every possible means.”

Other London councils including Westminster, Richmond and Kensington and Chelsea are considering joining Wandsworth in using the Sustainable Communities Act to challenge administrationfunding cuts.

As a result of the central administrationcuts, the usual cap of 5% annual council tax rises was lifted for all these councils as well as Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire.

Leader of the opposition in Wandsworth, Labour councillor Simon Hogg, said: “It’s outrageous, it is stunning. People who don’t k currentlyhow to run the council panicking and making you pay the price.

“This increase is unfair, it’s unnecessary and we oppose it.”

However, the PoliticsHome website reported, external that three Labour MPs in Wandsworth – Rosena Allin-Khan, Fleur Anderson and Marsha de Cordova – have refused to back the council’s appeal to the administrationto stop the funding cuts.

The three Labour MPs claimed the council “was in a strong financial position” before the Tories took over at the May elections earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Local authorities decide the level of council tax they wish to set, but we are clear that in doing so they should put taxpayers first.

“We’ve made over £78bn available for council finances next year, with the majority of fundsunringfenced so regionalleaders can decide how best to spend on their regionalpriorities.

“And we’re fixing an outdated funding system so funding goes where need is greatest, while protecting councils through the transition and ensuring no area faces a cliff edge.”