Council tax hikes loom in areas run by Reform

Last April, householders in West Northamptonshire were leafleted by Reform UK warning that their local council was broken, with a 23% increase in council tax in five years and debt interest payments claimed to be running at £65,000 a day.

- Jon Ungoed-Thomas

A party leaflet pledged Reform could fix local government and would “reduce council waste to help cut your taxes”. Eight months on, the Reform-led council proposes to increase its council tax by nearly 5% and is heading for a £50m funding gap by 2030. It has lost its chief executive and failed to find a replacement despite a £200,000 salary and an offer of working from home on some days.

Reform is accused by opposition parties of misleading voters with its claims of council tax cuts and big savings to be made by reducing waste. The Observer has found:

• Nine councils controlled by Reform have total borrowings of more than £4bn, with debts continuing to rise in some areas,

• Reform is trying to balance the books in its council areas with hikes in charges of up to 55%,

• Despite claims a national Doge unit would uncover huge savings, the team has failed to gain access to key councils, with town hall bosses putting a ban on any internal financial data examined by the unit being used for political purposes.