Kemi Badenoch Challenges Government Cuts, Citing Council Tax Hike

Kemi Badenoch has directed lawyers to challenge government cuts that a Conservative-run council claims have forced it to raise council tax by 94 percent. Badenoch described the situation as "outrageous," attributing the substantial increase to a 40 percent reduction in funding by the Labour party.

"We have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision," Badenoch stated. "Because what it looks like Labour is doing is taking money from areas that don't vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour. And I think that's completely wrong."

Badenoch argued that the nearly 100 percent increase would strain family budgets and unfairly penalize homeowners for not voting for the Labour party. She accused Labour of starving the council of future funding.

Tory-run Wandsworth Council announced the 94 percent rise in its council tax earlier this week. Badenoch asserted that the government has left Wandsworth Council with a "historic" £137 million financial deficit. She attributed this to reforms by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, which she claims disproportionately allocate funds to Labour-voting regions in the north.

A spending review by the incoming Conservative administration on the town hall indicated that it inherited "the largest government cuts, the largest projected overspending and the largest predicted budget gap in Wandsworth's history" from the previous Labour administration. The report alleged that Labour had utilized reserves to balance the budget, increased staffing by 14 percent since 2022, and overspent and borrowed millions without a corresponding revenue increase.

The review warned that Wandsworth's council tax "would have to increase by more than 230 percent" to balance its books if immediate action was not taken. It noted that the borough, once known for low council tax, was seen by Labour ministers as having a "problem" rather than a positive attribute.

Residents in Wandsworth currently pay £1,020 annually for a Band D council tax, with the council and the Mayor of London each receiving half. The proposed changes would increase the council's share by £958, while the Mayor's portion remains unchanged, nearly doubling the total bill to £1,978.