Sadiq Khan to hike his share of London council tax bills
Sir Sadiq Khan is set to hike Londoners’ average council tax bills by almost £19 a year – with City Hall’s share of the yearly total reaching almost £500.
The London mayor is planning to increase his average ‘precept’ – or the amount he adds onto residents’ bills from their local councils – by four per cent from April 2025.
Sir Sadiq’s planned rise, as part of his draft City Hall Budget for the 2025-26 financial year, is the lowest increase for five years, but will still up the average Band D property by £18.98.
Amounting to £1.58 per month for those households across the capital’s 33 boroughs, it will increase the mayor’s share of a year’s worth of council tax from £471.40 to £490.38.
Council tax hiked to fund Met Police
City Hall says the hike is required to fund the Met Police and the London Fire Brigade after what Khan called a “decade of damaging real terms cuts” by the previous government.
Of the additional cash, £14 from an average Band D council tax bill will go directly to London’s police force, raising a total of £54m, with £4.98 to go to the fire service.
The mayor insisted that the “last thing I want to do is increase council tax at a time when many household budgets are stretched”.
But he added: “Keeping Londoners safe is my top priority as mayor and I’ll always do everything I can to ensure the Met and the London Fire Brigade have the funding they need.
“That’s why I’m stepping in to provide an additional £54m, which will help to keep neighbourhood police officers on the streets and bear down on violent crime and robbery.”
But City Hall Conservative leader Neil Garratt criticised the rise, saying: “Labour’s disastrous budget has put prices up, hit jobs, and cut public finances, so now the mayor is asking Londoners to foot the bill for their failure.”
It comes after commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned in December that the force needed an additional £450m to balance its books, and warned of the risk of cuts to the police.
The Home Office has since announced that the Met will receive £248m in additional funding to police the capital, but this will not fully cover the budget shortfall.
Khan will also spend £147.5m on free school meals for London state primary school pupils in 2025-26, which he has pledged to continue for as long as he is in office.
Garratt added: “This inflation-busting tax rise is yet another example of Labour hammering the public to pay for giving away sovereign territory and bunging sums to union mates, instead of tackling people’s bills.
“The mayor has some brass neck calling this a win for London.”