Warwickshire agrees below-maximum council tax rise amid party clash

Council tax in Warwickshire will rise by than less than the maximum allowed increase this year despite resistance from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

Warwickshire County Council has agreed to a rise of 4.44% in council tax, which will add £80 per year to those with a Band D property.

Reform UK councillors, who lead Warwickshire County Council, originally pushed for a 3.89% increase during their budget on 6 February but their plans were beaten by a coalition of rival parties.

The leading party’s plans would have increased bills by approximately £71 per year, rather than the £80 per year now agreed upon.

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Cllr Sarah Boad, called Reform ‘reckless in the absolute extreme’ by not seeking the full 4.99% [increase]

The Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour all wanted a rise of the maximum 4.99% while the Conservatives sought a 4.89% increase.

During the 10-hour meeting on 6 February, which ended in deadlock, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Cllr Sarah Boad, called Reform “reckless in the absolute extreme” by not seeking the full 4.99%.

She argued that it would allow more investment in public services and reduce the pressure on the council’s finances.

George Finch, the council leader in of Warwickshire, told The Guardian: “We want low tax, low spend and we were always committed to that. It’s just national pressures that the government is not solving.”

He hit out against the other parties, arguing: “Residents’ pay cheques from work don’t increase by 5% every year, so how on earth can they afford a 5% tax hike every year?”

In Coventry, residents only saw a 3.95% increase, the first time that council tax will rise by less than the maximum for the first time in 15 years

Conservative opposition leader, Adrian Warwick, argued that the worst thing they could do for Reform would be to vote in support of their budget because they “would then have to deliver on something that is going to be unsustainable”.

Meanwhile, in Coventry, residents only saw a 3.95% increase, the first time that council tax will rise by less than the maximum for the first time in 15 years.

Gary Ridley, the leader of the Conservative group on Coventry City Council, pushed for council tax to match the current 3% inflation rate.

The council will be able to provide an extra £7.7 million to invest in public services, but the below maximum increase means they will miss out on £1.8 million which could have further bolstered their finances.