Labour’s council tax raid in Westminster
People living in Westminster are facing staggering increases in their council tax bills because the Labour Government is changing how councils are funded through Fairer Funding Review 2.0 and Labour-led Westminster City Council have been reckless with residents' money.
The new funding formula reduces the grant Westminster receives and the Government has given Westminster extra freedom to raise council tax significantly over the next four later years without local people’s consent.
Core Spending Power and Labour’s Fairer Funding Review 2.0
The Labour Government has relaunched Fairer Funding Review 2.0 and is moving to a new funding formula from 2026/27 onwards.
Labour's approach tries to “equalise resources” by judging councils on how much they can raise from council tax. The Government have assessed Westminster as able to raise more money locally and concluded that its need is reduced, resulting in the Council receiving less grant.
The Government then reports each council’s “core spending power”. This is the Government’s headline measure of how much money a council has available to fund local services. It is made up of Government funding plus locally raised income, including council tax.
When the Government sets out Westminster’s core spending power, it is already assuming Westminster will raise significantly more from residents through council tax to fill the gap created by the grant reduction.
To illustrate this, Westminster City Council’s figures show that, under the provisional settlement, the cash impact is as follows:
Westminster’s Fair Funding Assessment grant is moving towards a target annual level of £118.5 million, described as a reduction of £100.5 million.
After floor protection, Labour-led Westminster council’s own papers state the three-year reduction is £75.9 million.
The consequence: Labour’s funding changes take away tens of millions from Westminster City Council’s budgets and the Labour Government’s core spending power figures assume the shortfall is made up by charging local people more.
A breakdown of the figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) can be found here.
How can Westminster Labour increase council tax by up to 75 per cent?
The Government’s settlement consultation proposes removing the usual referendum limits for six authorities, including Westminster, in 2027/28 and 2028/29. A summary of these proposals can be found here and a detailed breakdown here.
That gives Labour-led Westminster the power to impose dramatic council tax rises and send the bill to residents.
What this means for Westminster’s Council Tax bill
Using Westminster City Council’s projections, Westminster City Council’s council tax increases significantly with annual percentage rises and two extra cash grabs.
Westminster City Council element (Band D):
2026/27
Opening Band D level: £526.80
Assumed 5% increase: £553.09
Assumed additional flat sum: £0.00
Total Westminster element: £553.09
2027/28
Opening Band D level: £553.09
Assumed 5% increase: £580.69
Assumed additional flat sum: £150.00
Total Westminster element: £730.69
2028/29
Opening Band D level: £730.69
Assumed 5% increase: £767.15
Assumed additional flat sum: £150.00
Total Westminster element: £917.15
The “additional flat sum” is a fixed extra charge added on top of the tax raids. In these figures it is £150 in 2027/28 and another £150 in 2028/29.
Summary of Westminster’s council tax hike
Westminster’s council tax bill is projected to rise significantly by 2028/29.
That is £390.35 more and nearly a 75 per cent increase.
These are cash grabs and annual above-inflation uplifts driven by Labour’s financial mismanagement.
The cost of Westminster Labour’s record of failure
Westminster Labour is planning to take significantly more from residents through council tax, including two separate £150 cash grabs, while local people are being asked to accept higher crime, declining standards and more financial waste.
Crime is out of control.
Public realm standards are declining.
Homelessness and rough sleeping are at record levels.
£27 million wasted on failing housing contractor, Geoffrey Osborne, because of poor financial oversight.
Vanity projects, empty consultations and playground politics.
This is the Same Old Labour story in Westminster: reckless spending, weak oversight, and poor value for money.
Westminster Conservatives are committed to sensible spending and delivering value for money.
We will:
End Labour’s culture of waste and rewarding failure,
Get tough on poor contracting
Stop residents being treated as an open cheque book.
We will bring back financial discipline and spend on what matters to local people: safe streets, a clean city and real action on services that work.
