As many as eight of the 13 local councils run by Nigel Farage’s party have hinted at plans to raise council tax by next year
Reform promised council tax cuts during the local elections last year, and yet now a number of their councils have had a reality check and are looking to raise taxes instead, leading to fury both among their residents and elected representatives.
Among the Reform run councils looking to raise council taxes is Worcestershire County Council, which has asked the national government for permission to put council tax fees up by 10%.
As a result, David Taylor, who represents Redditch East on the Worcestershire County Council, announced that he was quitting Reform on Sunday.
The council also has debts around £500 million and council leaders are currently debating whether to declare themselves bankrupt, and have already asked central government to provide relief in the form of an Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) grant.
Worcestershire county council is not the only Reform led council looking to raise council tax. As many as eight of the 13 local councils run by Nigel Farage’s party have hinted at plans to raise council tax by next year. In at least six of these councils, making up around 4.8 million people, bills could rise by the maximum of 5 per cent.
According to the Times, bills are expected to increase by at least £59 per year in Durham, Kent, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.
Worcestershire County Councillor David Taylor, announced his decision to leave Reform during an interview with the BBC.
He said: “I walked in here today as a Reform county councillor – I won’t be leaving this studio as a Reform county councillor. As from today, I will be an independent. People do not have the money to pay for a massive upheaval in council tax. They will pay more and receive less.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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