Voters are threatening to withhold their council tax after Labour allowed nine councils to cancel their elections in May.
Furious residents feel they are being denied the chance to hold their councillors to account at the ballot box, with Nigel Farage claiming the Tories and Labour are colluding to stop people voting for Reform.
The cancelling of elections is a particularly sore point for many voters because the vast majority have just been slapped with steep council tax rises.
This week, a GB News investigation found virtually every council in England is raising council tax by the maximum legal limit, with 103 out of 107 hiking bills by over £100 for 2025/26.
This came after the revelation many Labour-run councils were spending millions on asylum seeker initiatives such as free driving lessons, PlayStations, football tickets and yoga classes, all on the taxpayer.
Elections, which were due in May, were seen as an opportunity by many to vote out councillors enacting tax rises and splurging on migrant’s perks.
GB News has searched the data from its council tax investigation and can reveal the nine local authorities cancelling elections are hiking council tax by the following amounts. (Ordered from largest increase first. All figures are for Band D properties).
Councils cancelling elections and hiking tax
GBN
- Isle of Wight - £118.46 (Council Tax 2025/26: £2492.46)
- Thurrock - £101.85 (Council Tax 2025/26: £2142.80)
- East Sussex - £88.72 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1866.72)
- West Sussex - £81.49 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1714.49)
- Norfolk - £79.44 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1671.40)
- Suffolk - £78.39 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1649.39)
- Hampshire - £76.50 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1609.00)
- Essex - £75.95 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1597.95)
- Surrey - £72.70 (Council Tax 2025/26: £1529.70)
These authorities are thought to cover around 5 million people, all of whom will have no chance to protest tax bills at the ballot box.
The move has been leapt on by Reform’s Rupert Lowe who cited the founding fathers of American, stating there should be ‘no taxation without representation.’
Jane Chapman, a 63-year-old retiree living in the Thurrock constituency, agreed, stating: "My democratic right as a citizen to vote for my local councillor has been taken away from me.
"I don't see why I should pay my council tax given that they have not fulfilled their part of the obligation.
“I have never missed a month’s payment in 43 years but it’s the principle.
"I'm refusing on these grounds and until I know that I'm doing something that's actually unlawful, I'm going to go through with it," she said.
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It comes after FoI data revealed councils have spent shocking levels of taxpayer money on asylum seeker perks such as PlayStations, driving lessons and football tickets.
The Tory-run council of West Sussex, which has spent £7.3million of asylum seeker grant funding since 2022, used £334 of its funding to buy PlayStation consoles and games for new arrivals.
The council also paid £496 for yoga sessions for those in hotels.
However, the council says government funding is “insufficient to meet the growing needs of our residents,” and is therefore raising council tax bills by £81.49 in 2025/26.
It has been granted permission to postpone May’s elections.
Reform UK has been capitalising on the postponing of elections, holding an emergency press conference yesterday when the announcement was made by Angela Rayner.
The party feels it has been denied a chance to land electoral blows to Labour and the Tories.
Farage accused the Labour Government and Tory-run councils of "collusion" and jabbed: "I thought that only dictators cancelled elections... but what I see today is collusion to stave off the threat of Reform UK on May 1."
At the same time, Reform UK released a video calling on Britons to sign a petition to hold the votes which again warns that "only dictators cancel elections" and says "Westminster is terrified of Reform UK.”
Considering Labour’s record in by-elections since July 2024, the Reform UK leader has a point.
Since the July General Election, Starmer’s party has suffered a net loss of 28 seats.
But it is the Tories- not Reform- who have benefitted most, recording a net gain of 24 council seats.
Despite topping successive national polls for the first time in recent days, Reform has only won seven seats (up from 0).
A petition launched by Reform UK demands the elections proceed as scheduled, arguing that new councillors are essential to oversee the devolution process.
Reform UK has launched a petition on its website that has garnered 245,694 signatures at the time of writing.
