Labour charges £80 more than Tories in council tax
Conservative town halls facing election in May charge £80 a year less council tax than Labour for the average home, an analysis of official statistics has found.
Tory-run councils charge £21 less than those run by the Liberal Democrats for a Band D home.
The analysis comes just over a month before local election day on May 4, when 230 councils are up for election.
Of those local authorities which are available this time, Labour-run Gateshead Council charges the highest Band D council tax.
Ranking the councils up for election this year by average Band D council tax reveals that seven are Labour, two are no overall control and one is Tory.
Labour accused the Tories of "cherry-picking" by only including councils facing re-election in May. They said that across all councils, Labour charge less to Band D households.
'The results are in'
Averaged across tiers, Conservative-run councils charge £80 a year less than Labour-run councils on a Band D home, and £21 less than Lib Dems, according to the Tory analysis.
Greg Hands, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “The results are in. Conservatives charge less than Labour on average for Council Tax band for band.
“Up and down the country, it’s Conservative councillors and councils who have a proven record of managing taxpayers’ money wisely and providing better local services.
“Labour and Liberal Democrats cannot be trusted to focus on the job and on delivering on the services that matter most to you and your family.”
Council tax rise by five per cent
This year town halls were allowed to put up bills by a maximum of five per cent without having to hold a local referendum. The increases come into effect in April.
Four in five councils increased bills by the maximum amount, adding £99 to how much a typical household will have to pay.
Including charges levied by fire and police authorities, council tax rates will rise by an average of 5.1pc across England in April, pushing the cost for a standard Band D property up to £2,065.
The analysis by the Tories excludes the part of the council tax bill levied by police and fire authorities, and by parish councils and metropolitan mayors.
It found that Gateshead Council charged the highest, at £2,071 for a Band D house once these elements are excluded.
Next came Nottingham (Labour), Rutland (no overall control) and Walsall (Conservative), followed by Liverpool (Labour), Hartlepool (no overall control) and four Labour authorities - Reading, Newcastle, Coventry and Wolverhampton.
Labour doubled council tax when in power
Of the councils up for election in 2023/24, averaged across tiers, the Conservative-controlled councils in 2023/24 in England charge £79.70 a year less than Labour-controlled councils on a Band D home, and £20.91 a year less than Liberal Democrat-controlled councils.
In England, council tax doubled when Labour was in power - rising from £688 on Band D in 1997/98 to £1,439 in 2010/11.
In addition, Labour mayors of London have always increased council tax. When Boris Johnson was Mayor of London he froze or cut the GLA precept every year he was in office.
In contrast Sadiq Khan has put up taxes every year including by 9.7 per cent this year.
In Wales, council tax has more than trebled from £495 in 1997/98 to £1,879 on Band D in 2023/24.
Labour was approached for comment.
