London borough 'plotting Britain's highest ever council tax rise with bills soaring by up to 160%'

A London borough has been accused of plotting one of the steepest council tax increases ever seen after Government cuts to funding .

Wandsworth Council is understood to be proposing raising resident bills by as much as 160 per cent.

It follows a projected 40 per cent reduction in the cash the town hall receives from central government, the highest planned borrowing levels in its history and “reserves that are forecast to run out within three years if urgent action is not taken”, the council said.

Labour accused the borough’s Tory administration of “planning Britain’s biggest ever council tax increase”.

But a Wandsworth Tory spokesman said: “The Labour Government is slashing 40 per cent of Wandsworth Council 's funding, leaving us with the worst cash loss of any council in the country.

“At the same time, the last Labour administration in Wandsworth had spending plans that would have used all our reserves and bankrupted the borough within 18 months - leaving us with a staggering budget gap of £137 million.

"We are undertaking a full spending review, which will be completed in September. The Wandsworth Conservatives will do what is necessary to clear up the mess left by Labour. We will protect core services and deliver value for money for residents."

Wandsworth Council's town hall Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS Wandsworth is traditionally a Tory flagship council but was won by Labour for the first time at the 2022 local elections.

At the most recent polls in May, the Tories secured 29 seats on the council, placing the party one short of the 30 required for a majority.

Labour has 28 councillors. But Lizzy Dobres, who represented Trinity ward for the party, quit her role shortly after the election to take up a new job that is "politically restricted".

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A by-election, due to take place on August 27, could decide which party definitively runs the local authority.