Starmer promised to freeze council tax – then raised it by 5pc

Labour has been accused of hypocrisy after allowing a steep hike in council tax despite previously pledging to freeze it.

The Government told councils this week that they could raise the levy by a maximum of 5pc in 2025-26, adding £110 a year to a typical bill from April.

However, last year, Sir Keir Starmer promised a one-year council tax freeze and challenged then-prime minister Rishi Sunak to match his pledge.

The former leader of the opposition made the pledge in March 2023, days before taxpayers were hit with a similar 5pc council tax rise.

He said that if there was a Labour government, "you could take that council tax rise you just got and rip it up", adding that the freeze would be "a tax cut for the 99pc of working people".

The freeze, he said, would be funded by an extension of the windfall tax on energy firms.

A Labour-commissioned report on land use from 2019 separately branded council tax "regressive and unpopular" and called for it to be scrapped. The report proposed replacing the levy with a "progressive property tax" that would be paid by homeowners rather than renters.

The 5pc council tax rise next year – three times the 1.7pc rate of inflation – comes despite deputy prime minister Angela Rayner's claim in September that council tax would not rise.

The vast majority of councils will have to put up bills by the maximum amount as the result of a £2.4bn shortfall in the amount of money expected to be required by local authorities to pay for social care and other priorities next year. The tax raid is expected to raise an extra £1.8bn.

The average Band D council tax bill stands at £2,171 in England. The Government's decision means local authorities will be able to increase the Band D levy by up to £109 next year.

For those in the most expensive Band H households, last year's £4,342 bill will increase by £217. In the most expensive area, Rutland, the increases would be even higher – up £127 to £2,670 for Band D and up £254 to £5,340 for Band H.

However, both the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves face a smaller increase in pound terms thanks to Westminster's below-average council tax rates.

The council tax charge for Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street is thought to be around £1,946, despite both being Band H properties.

Council tax is a compulsory charge on properties in England, Scotland and Wales set by local authorities to raise money to spend on providing services in their area.

Councils are allowed to put up their bills by up to 5pc each year, with any increase beyond this level requiring government permission or a referendum.

Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, said: "Taxpayers will be relieved that the Government is retaining the referendum cap, avoiding the worst case scenario.

"But they will remember that the Prime Minister promised to go further and freeze rates for local residents. Now, many households will be facing a higher bill to pay for this hypocrisy.

"The least the Government could do is deliver on its previous pledges and freeze council tax."

Greg Smith, Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said: "Once more, Labour is saying one thing to get elected and doing the opposite once in power.

"Council tax is the second or third biggest bill every month for most households and people will feel let down at this additional broken promise from this Labour government."

Number 10 refused to comment.