Labour accused of 'incompetence' after hiking council tax for MILLIONS of Britons: 'They have failed residents!'

WATCH NOW: Council tax hike set to cripple millions as Labour blasted for ‘incompetence’

GB News
Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 04/02/2025

- 12:20

Six councils serving more than two million people will see an increase of more than five per cent, with some seeing increases of up to double the current inflation rate

Labour has been scolded for its "devastating blow" to Birmingham residents, as they face paying £114 more in council tax while receiving fewer services.

Councillor Robert Alden told GB News the decision to hike prices for millions of Britons has "failed" taxpayers, and Birmingham locals will face a "double whammy" as a result.


Birmingham City Council has been approved by Labour to implement a 7.5 per cent council tax increase, signed off by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Rayner said the Government would only approve increases where councils have "comparatively low existing levels of tax and plans in place to protect the vulnerable".

Councillor Robert Alden, Angela Rayner

Councillor Robert Alden has hit out at Angela Rayner after signing off on a tax hike for more than three million people

GB News / PA

Six councils serving more than two million people will see an increase of more than five per cent, with some seeing increases of up to double the current inflation rate.

Reacting to Birmingham's increase on GB News, Alden highlighted that since Labour took control in 2012, council tax has risen by over £800, representing a 73 per cent increase, despite pledges not to raise rates.

Alden stated: "Brummies are now getting hit with a double whammy of higher taxes for fewer services.

"And what's so damning about the way this Labour administration has failed the residents of Birmingham, this money isn't going to go towards improving services. Labour are spending it on paying off the debt that they've built up."

Angela RaynerRayner is set to create a 'council on Islamophobia' to draw up an official definition of the termPA

He blamed the situation on "Labour's incompetence," noting even the National Labour Campaign Board had determined Birmingham Labour's problems were "entirely the fault of themselves."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

Alden told the People's Channel: "What we're seeing now in the year ahead is the council are scrapping weekly bin collections, scrapping street cleaning, that's why we're seeing more rats on the streets.

"They've introduced a new rat tax on pest control charges, they're closing libraries, closing leisure centres - this is all a damning failure of this administration, and it's Brummies who are going to have to suffer for Labour's incompetence."

In a fresh demand to the Labour council, Alden urged the Government to not only "listen to the opposition", but to the "residents and unions" who are suffering as a result of their decisions.

He concluded: "The Labour administration need to start listening to the opposition. We raised concerns about the Perry Barr development before that was put in place, that's ended up costing the council tax payers £688million over the next 40 years for something that never housed an athlete.

Councillor Robert Alden

Councillor Robert Alden told GB News that Labour must 'listen to opposition and the residents'

GB News

"And if they listen to other people, not just ourselves, if they listen to the unions, to the residents in the city, even the officers in the city, they could have avoided these problems.

"So Birmingham Labour needs to start listening and that will help residents get better services in the city."

Bradford Council has been granted the highest increase at 10 per cent, while Windsor and Maidenhead and Newham councils can raise rates by 9 per cent. Somerset and Trafford councils have also been permitted 7.5 per cent increases, matching Birmingham's rate.

The Government defended the increases as necessary to prevent councils from experiencing "further financial distress".

You may like