Government has given Wandsworth permission to raise council tax as much as it wants without asking voters – but council leader Simon Hogg has said he won’t raise it at all.
The reason appears to be political survival. Labour won control of the council in 2022 partly by promising to keep council tax low. With elections coming in May, Hogg fears that raising taxes – or even saying he will in future – could cost his party its majority.
But his refusal could cost the council tens of millions of pounds, and tax rises will become inevitable in 2027 and beyond in order to keep the council financially secure.
Wandsworth receives approximately £130-135m in government funding annually. The government expects Wandsworth to use its new powers to raise significant revenue. If the council doesn’t, it risks losing funding protection worth tens of millions of pounds per year.
At last week’s council meeting, Conservative councillor Kim Caddy quoted directly from the government’s funding policy: “Any protection available through funding floors assumes local authorities use the full tax flexibility available to them.”
In plain English: the government will only protect Wandsworth’s funding if the council raises taxes.
She asked Hogg: “Can the leader therefore confirm that he will be increasing council tax by the maximum possible amount?”
Hogg’s response: “No, of course not. We will be keeping the same low council tax.”
Yesterday’s government announcement confirms Caddy was right to worry. The government is offering to protect 95% of Wandsworth’s current funding – cushioning the council from bigger cuts. But if the council doesn’t raise taxes, it could lose that protection.
Six councils given unlimited tax powers
The government published its provisional Local Government Finance Settlement yesterday, announcing that six councils can raise council tax as much as they want for two years starting in April 2027. No referendum, no voter approval needed.
The six councils are: Wandsworth, Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, City of London, and Windsor & Maidenhead.
These councils currently charge between £450 and £1,280 less than the average English council. Wandsworth charges £990 for a Band D property – the lowest in England. The national average is around £2,100.
The government wants these wealthy councils to catch up. By not subsidising very low bills across all six councils, the government expects to redirect £250 million to poorer areas.
In July, we revealed that Wandsworth councillors had been warned the council might need to double, triple, or even quadruple council tax under the government’s Fair Funding Review. The government was already working on plans to rebalance funding away from wealthy London boroughs.
Yesterday’s announcement provides the mechanism to make those increases without triggering a local referendum that could derail them.
The timing is politically explosive. Wandsworth faces a budget decision in February 2026 – three months before council elections in May.
Hogg’s track record on council tax claims
Hogg has form on council tax claims. In April, he announced a “council tax freeze for the third year in a row” while actually raising bills by 2%, and then continued to insist tax was frozen even while people received their increased bills.
The increase came through the Greater London Authority portion of the bill, which Wandsworth collects on behalf of the Mayor of London. Independent councillor Malcolm Grimston called the freeze claim “ridiculous.” The BBC exposed it as misleading.
When challenged about using similar language this year, Hogg defended the semantics: the council’s own portion hadn’t risen, even though residents’ total bills had.
The pattern raises questions about whether Hogg’s public stance matches the council’s private budget planning.
Hogg has also shown willingness to use public money for political purposes. In May, just weeks before the government funding announcement, he pushed through £46,000 in new deputy cabinet member roles that council officers said had “no clear justification.”
The timing – creating six new paid positions just after an internal leadership vote that he won by shifting six votes – drew criticism from opposition councillors who called it an attempt to shore up support within his own group.
What happens next
Wandsworth currently pays about £1,100 less than the typical English council. Closing that gap would mean more than doubling current bills.
Wandsworth Council has not responded to yesterday’s government announcement or said whether it will use the new flexibility. The council also hasn’t explained how it will close funding gaps if it refuses to raise taxes and the government removes its protection from bigger cuts.
The financial calculation
Wandsworth receives approximately £130-135m in government funding annually – the majority of its £240m revenue budget. The 95% protection means the council will lose around £6.5-7m per year.
But without that protection, the losses could be far larger. Council officers warned in July that Wandsworth might need to double or triple council tax to close the funding gap – suggesting unprotected losses could reach £70m or more per year.
The difference between using the flexibility (and keeping protection) versus refusing to raise taxes (and potentially losing protection) could be tens of millions of pounds annually.
Council tax currently raises about £70-75m for Wandsworth. Government funding makes up most of the rest of the budget. And then there are a wide range of other income-generating schemes – like the highest parking rates in the country.
If significant government funding is withdrawn without protection, the council would face a choice between massive service cuts or forcing through the very tax rises Hogg is currently refusing to commit to.
