Labour council rapped for 'potentially misleading' frozen council tax claim

A flagship Labour council has been warned that its claims to have frozen council tax are potentially misleading. Wandsworth Council in London was issued with a written warning from the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) after it claimed to have frozen rates for residents for four years, with stats chiefs saying it had "the potential to mislead".

Labour included the controversial claim in leaflets, videos and press releases before Conservatives Lord Udny-Lister and Sir Paul Beresford, a former MP, complained. Wandsworth, traditionally a Tory stronghold before Labour seized control in 2022, increased the precept used to fund social care by 2%, while holding the general services rate the same.

The Greater London Authority has also increased tax intake in the borough.

UKSA boss Penny Young said she found it "likely that people would understand the term 'frozen' to relate to an increase in their total council tax bill".

She added: "While some of Wandsworth Council's communications do refer to 'the main element' of council tax being frozen, they are unclear that residents' council tax bills will still rise by a significant amount due to other local authority charges."

Local Conservatives have welcomed the finding, with one local activist telling the Daily Express the authority was "playing games in saying that council tax is frozen when it is not".

They added that Labour councillors "very well know that tax will have to go up after local elections in May".

Ms Young clarified in her letter: "While separate pages of the Wandsworth Council website provide detail on how the adult social care precept and GLA charges affect the overall council tax bill, this important context is lacking from many of the promotional materials being used to promote the 'freeze'."

She confirmed that this did not meet "the supporting understanding standard within the Standards for Public Use and has the potential to mislead those whose council tax bills are affected".

The probe comes ahead of what is expected to be a hotly contested election in Wandsworth on May 7.

Local Tory campaigners claim that Labour is planning to ratchet up taxes over the next three years due to a £137million black hole in the authority's budget since the Left-wing party took office.

Wandsworth has long boasted of having the lowest council tax in the UK for the average household. The council said it had "looked at the detail provided from the UK Statistics Authority".

A statement from the council added: "In what is an incredibly busy information environment, we endeavour to make all our communications accessible to a diversity of residents, which requires both shorter and longer form communication.

"We have made it clear in all our communications that the main element is frozen. However, we will reflect on the UK Statistics Authority's observations and take forward any learning in future communications."

A Wandsworth Labour spokesperson doubled down on the claim, saying: "Wandsworth Labour sets the lowest council tax in the country, and we are proud to have frozen it for the past four years. Our communications with residents make clear we have frozen the main element of council tax.

"Alongside freezing council tax, we have reduced flytipping by 20%, introduced free bulky waste collections and have the cleanest air quality in Wandsworth on record."