Reform councillors accused of ‘rash promises’ as council tax rises loom

Reform UK council leaders have been accused of making “rash promises” after a local authority led by the party has been told it will have to increase council tax by the maximum amount, despite its election promises to cut costs.Warwickshire county council has been warned by its executives that anything less than a 5% maximum council tax increase will put its financial viability at risk.In a report published on Thursday, the council’s board said anything below a 4.99% council tax rise – the equivalent to a £1.75 a week increase on a band D property – is a “riskier financial strategy” that would threaten the medium-term sustainability of the local authority.Reform UK has the largest seats at the council but no overall majority. The report stated that Reform had “clearly set out its desire to avoid a maximum council tax increase” but warned for every 1% reduction, the council would have to make further cuts of £4.2m.Several Reform-led local authorities are facing scrutiny after announcing proposals for council tax rises, including Kent, Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire, despite promises during the election campaigns to cut costs.In a statement on Wednesday, the leader of Leicestershire county council, Dan Harrison, said: “A council tax freeze is our aspiration but conditions are unlikely to allow this for next year.” On Monday, North Northamptonshire confirmed plans to increase council tax next year by 4.99%.Stephen Atkinson, Reform UK’s senior local government figure and the leader of Lancashire council, told the Financial Times on Thursday that council tax rises could not be ruled out and dismissed claims that the party had promised to cut council tax.In response to the board’s report, opposition leaders in Warwickshire accused Reform of making “rash promises” and “soundbites” during the election campaign.The leader of the Liberal Democrats at Warwickshire council, Jerry Roodhouse, said: “Reform at the elections made rash promises about using Doge in Warwickshire. [It] never happened and if they think they can reduce council tax, I would like them to make clear what cuts they are planning.“Clearly Reform made soundbites with no real research into the financial position [of] local authorities.”The leader of the Green party, Jonathan Chilvers, said: “Reform told voters here that Warwickshire council ‘wasted vast amounts of taxpayer money, yet keep raising your council tax’. If that’s true, Reform in Warwickshire will be able to bring forward a budget that will freeze council tax without cutting the frontline services that residents rely [on]. Given today’s report, there’s no sign [of] the moment that they’ll be able to do that.”In a response to the report, the leader of Warwickshire county council, George Finch, said the recommendations by officers “reflect a starting assumption” of taking the maximum council tax increase to “ensure financial resilience and sustainability”.He said the recommendations would be considered by all political parties and the authority was waiting for the government to publish funding allocations for councils this month.Reform took control of 10 English local authorities after local elections in May, winning almost 700 seats.During the campaign, the party promised a drastic cost-cutting plan to target “waste and inefficiencies” at councils in the style of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) in the US.The local authorities will present their budget proposals next year with council tax rates agreed in late winter or early spring.