reform Councils Face backlash Over Planned Council Tax Hikes Despite Election Promises
Despite vowing to reduce taxes during local elections, several councils now led by the Reform UK party are proposing the maximum allowable council tax increase, drawing accusations of broken promises and “empty rhetoric.” The situation is particularly acute in Derbyshire, where a 5% rise is planned alongside £22 million in budget cuts.
Derbyshire county Council confirmed the planned increase after forecasting a £38 million gap in its budget, driven by overspending in children’s and adult social care. This move places Derbyshire among at least four local authorities – including North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire – where Reform UK holds a majority or is the largest party, and where a 5% council tax hike is on the table. Leaders in Lancashire, Kent, and Warwickshire counties have also indicated a similar increase is not being ruled out.
Local authorities are scheduled to finalize council tax proposals in late February and early March. The government’s December funding plans for local councils implicitly anticipated widespread adoption of maximum council tax increases. In Derbyshire, the anticipated £29 million in revenue from the tax increase will be implemented alongside a new round of austerity measures.
Notably, the proposed savings do not appear to include significant job cuts, despite council leader Alan Graves previously claiming the authority was 20% overstaffed and suggesting workforce reductions. A report accompanying the budget proposals attributes the financial pressures to inflation, increased demand for services, and the government’s revised local government funding formula. The report states the council, as a rural shire county, has been negatively impacted by recent reforms, necessitating maximum council tax increases to maintain current funding levels.
the proposed tax hike has drawn sharp criticism from opposition councillors. Conservative opposition leader, Alex Dale, stated, “It is now painfully clear that Reform’s promise to ‘cut your taxes,’ plastered across leaflets and campaign material right across the county in last year’s elections, was nothing more than empty rhetoric. Residents were sold a simple slogan,but the reality is that those promises were as worthless as the paper they were printed on.”
Gez Kinsella, leader of the Green group on the council, added, “Reform’s ‘moon on a stick’ promises are turning out to be as true as the previous Conservative administration fantasy economics.” Kinsella shared campaign materials distributed by Reform in Derbyshire prior to the election, which pledged to “cut your taxes” and criticized rising council tax bills alongside service cuts.Derbyshire councillor Martin bromley also posted on Facebook in March advocating against increased council tax.
Reform UK maintains that it never pledged to freeze or reduce council tax during the election campaign,clarifying that any promises to reduce taxes related to national policy. Similar accusations of broken promises have surfaced in other Reform-led councils. in Leicestershire, council leader Dan Harrison initially declared the party would “cut council tax” after the May elections, but conceded six months later that a freeze was unlikely due to prevailing conditions.
Reform UK gained control of 10 local authorities and became the largest party in three others in May, with party leader Nigel Farage promising to address “wasteful” spending and eliminate net zero and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Councils are legally obligated to balance their budgets. Derbyshire’s proposed £838 million budget falls approximately £38 million short of the authority’s stated needs. Like the previous Conservative administration, Reform intends to draw upon the authority’s reserves to address “ongoing budget pressures,” a strategy acknowledged as “not financially sustainable.”
The plans are slated for review by the council in the coming weeks. John Lawson, the cabinet member for council efficiency, stated on January 29th, “There is still work to do as we look at the numbers across the board. No decisions have been made as yet, and a final proposal will be put to cabinet to discuss at its meeting on 29 January.”
The situation highlights the challenges faced by local authorities in navigating budgetary constraints and fulfilling campaign promises, raising questions about the feasibility of delivering on enterprising pledges in the current economic climate.
