London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Sadiq Khan announces biggest hike in council tax, taking bills to £400

Sadiq Khan announces biggest hike in council tax, taking bills to £400

Mayor blames lack of government funding for need to increase bills by 8.8 per cent

Sadiq Khan has announced plans to increase council tax by the biggest amount since he became Mayor.

On Wednesday, he proposed increasing his share of bills by an average of £31.93 a year from next April, meaning the average London household will pay almost £400 a year to City Hall.

The increase includes an extra £20 announced by Mr Khan last week to help restore the finances of Transport for London.

His proposal for 2022/23 surpasses his previous record £31.59 increase in benchmark Band D bills that he imposed for the 2021/22 financial year.

However, the percentage increase being proposed – 8.8 per cent – is lower than the 9.5 per cent agreed for the current year.

The £31.93 increase consists of £20 for transport, £10 for policing and crime and £1.93 for the London Fire Brigade. It means Londoners will pay an extra £108 million to the Greater London Authority in council tax.

The total annual bill paid by many London households will be around £2,000 once their borough council adds its amount. Boroughs are likely to increase their bills by around five per cent.

Mr Khan said he had been forced to hike council tax bills because of a lack of government support for London.

But he faced a backlash last week when he said council tax bills would be increased to raise funds for TfL - a day after depriving TfL of £60m to £70m a year in income as a result of not requiring drivers to pay the congestion charge after 6pm from next February.

Last week the Department for Transport said TfL’s current bailout – to replace the reduction in fares income caused by the pandemic – would continue until February but no long-term agreement on funding has been agreed.

Mr Khan said: “The pandemic is continuing to have a serious impact on London’s finances and the Government is still refusing to properly fund our public services, particularly the Met police, Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade.

“Raising council tax by £2.66 per month is not something I want to do, but the Government is leaving us with no choice if we are to help prevent the collapse of TfL and ensure our police officers and firefighters have the resources they need.”

Susan Hall, leader of the GLA Conservatives, said: "Londoners can’t afford Sadiq Khan’s endless council tax hikes. Far too many people already feel squeezed by the cost of living in London. The mayor is only making the situation worse.”

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Lib-Dem group on the London Assembly, said: “While painful, this rise seems almost inevitable in the circumstances. When public services are so strapped for cash the mayor is using one of the few tools he has, that of raising council tax.

“However the reality is this is no way to ensure long term funding of the police, fire and especially transport services in the capital.

“The mayor needs to be looking at things like smart road user charging and the Government needs to start treating regional government seriously to prevent the starving of our vital frontline services. That must mean London being allowed to raise revenue through other forms of tax other than just regressive council tax.”

Ken Livingstone holds the record for the biggest increase in the Greater London Authority’s share of council tax bills, both in real terms and percentage-wise. In 2003/4, he increased his share of the precept by £50.52 ( a 29.1 per cent annual increase).

Under Mr Livingstone - who was first to be elected mayor of London - the precept rose from £123 in 2000 to £310 in 2008.


His successor Boris Johnson froze the City Hall precept in his first four-year term and reduced it annually in his second term, leaving it at £276 when Mr Khan became mayor in May 2016.

Mr Khan increased it by £4.02 in 2017/18, taking it to £280.02. In 2018/19 it rose £14.20 to £294.22.

This was followed by an increase of £26.29 in 19/20 (taking the total to £320.51), £11.56 in 2020/21 (£332.07), £31.59 in 21/22 (£363.66) and now the proposed £31.9 (which would mean a total precept of £395.59 in 2022/3).

Mr Khan’s draft budget for 2022/23, which is out for consultation, is due to be considered by the London Assembly on January 26, with the final proposals to be agreed on February 24.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×