\n
Pressed on how the rise will still mean Wandsworth’s council tax is lower than many councils across the country, Badenoch said it would still worry some families.<\/p>\n
“I think if you suddenly have a nearly 100% increase in your council tax, you would be extremely worried. Families have budgets,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Just because on average it’s lower than somewhere else doesn’t mean that people are going to be able to afford it.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She also defended her record as local government minister when the Tories were in Downing Street, despite Conservative governments having slashed some council grants.<\/p>\n
Wandsworth Council’s Tory deputy leader said on Tuesday: “Higher council tax will not be easy or welcome. We do not regard it as fair and will continue to challenge the government by every possible means.”<\/p>\n
Other London councils including Westminster, Richmond and Kensington and Chelsea are considering joining Wandsworth in using the Sustainable Communities Act to challenge government funding cuts.<\/p>\n
As a result of the central government cuts, the usual cap of 5% annual council tax rises was lifted for all these councils as well as Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire.<\/p>\n
Leader of the opposition in Wandsworth, Labour councillor Simon Hogg, said: “It’s outrageous, it is stunning. People who don’t know how to run the council panicking and making you pay the price.<\/p>\n
“This increase is unfair, it’s unnecessary and we oppose it.”<\/p>\n
However, the PoliticsHome website reported 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 government to stop the funding cuts.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“We’ve made over \u00a378bn available for council finances next year, with the majority of money unringfenced so local leaders can decide how best to spend on their local priorities.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
More on this story<\/h2>\n\n- \n
<\/p>\nInner London to lose out in funding rebalance – report<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n