Labour's council funding cuts force Wandsworth to nearly DOUBLE council tax, hitting 1.2 million Londoners

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Wandsworth Council has confirmed plans to raise council tax by 94% — Britain's biggest ever annual increase — adding £958 to Band D bills and pushing them from £1,020 to £1,978 from April 2027. The Tory-run south London borough, once hailed as Margaret Thatcher's favourite council for its ultra-low rates, says Labour's Fair Funding reforms have slashed its central government grant by £84 million a year. Five London boroughs in total have been granted special permission to bypass the usual 5% referendum cap, meaning more than 1.2 million Londoners face eye-watering rises, with a sixth borough — Bromley — already asking to join them.

The £84m cut equals everything Wandsworth spends on parks, libraries, leisure centres, bin collection and street cleaning combined.

Local Labour MPs Rosena Allin-Khan, Fleur Anderson and Marsha de Cordova refused to back the council's appeal against the cuts, saying they 'cannot support a narrative that seeks to rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council'.

Deputy council leader Peter Graham warned: 'Residents should not be left to carry the cost of an unfair funding system.'