The Newshound

Badenoch instructs lawyers to fight Labour's 94% council tax raid on Wandsworth, calling it 'outrageous'

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Kemi Badenoch has instructed lawyers to challenge an £84m-a-year funding cut that Wandsworth Council says forced a 94% council tax rise.
Kemi Badenoch has instructed lawyers to challenge an £84m-a-year funding cut that Wandsworth Council says forced a 94% council tax rise.
The £84m-a-year funding cut that Kemi Badenoch says has forced Wandsworth Council to propose nearly doubling its average Band D council tax bill, adding £958 overnight.
The £84m-a-year funding cut that Kemi Badenoch says has forced Wandsworth Council to propose nearly doubling its average Band D council tax bill, adding £958 overnight.

Kemi Badenoch has hired lawyers to take legal action against government funding cuts that are compelling Wandsworth Council to raise council tax by nearly 100%, pushing the average annual bill up by £958. She accused Andy Burnham's Labour government of deliberately stripping money from Conservative-voting areas and redirecting it to Labour heartlands. The Tory leader called the move "completely wrong" and "outrageous" on BBC Newsnight, and warned that families cannot absorb a near-100% overnight hike. Wandsworth is one of six councils granted special powers to raise tax beyond the normal 5% cap after central funding was slashed.

Wandsworth says its central government funding has been cut by 40%, forcing the Conservative-run borough's hand on the massive rise.

'Labour is taking money from areas that don't vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour,' Badenoch told BBC Newsnight.

Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea have joined Wandsworth in writing to Burnham demanding he reviews the funding formula.

MoreGB NewsTory council's 94% tax hike in chaos as Kemi Badenoch orders lawyers to challenge Labour cuts that led to raidThe IndependentBadenoch instructs lawyers to fight government over Wandsworth’s 94% council tax riseThe HeraldBadenoch has ‘instructed lawyers’ to challenge cuts to Tory-run London counciliNews‘How can I afford council tax now?’ The 94% hike causing shock and anger
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