Sammie Ellard-King
I’m Sammie, a money expert and business owner passionate about helping you take control of your wallet. My mission with Up the Gains is to create a safe space to help improve your finances, cut your costs and make you feel good while doing it.
Households across England are facing steep council tax increases for the next financial year, with more than four in five top-tier authorities preparing to raise bills by close to the maximum permitted amount.
Analysis of Press Association data shows 125 councils, equivalent to 82% of England’s 153 top-tier authorities, are planning increases of at least 4.99% for 2026/27.
That compares with 134 authorities which implemented similar rises in the previous year.
Some Councils Going Even Higher
Under current rules set by the Government, councils may increase council tax by up to 4.99% without triggering a local referendum.
But some councils are proposing rises well above the standard 4.99% threshold.
Shropshire Council (Liberal Democrat-led) has proposed an 8.99% increase for the coming year. Senior figures at the authority have said that even an increase of that scale would only partially address its financial pressures.
North Somerset Council (no overall political control including Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and Independent members) has already approved an 8.99% rise. Band D households in the area, including Weston-super-Mare, will pay around £160 more per year.
Worcestershire County Council (Reform UK leads minority administration) is proposing an 8.98% increase. Council leaders have warned the authority faces the risk of effective bankruptcy without significant financial adjustments.
Trafford Council (Labour-led) is considering a 7.49% rise, while neighbouring Warrington Borough Council (also Labour) is examining a 7.48% increase.
Windsor and Maidenhead Council (Liberal Democrat-run) has proposed a 7.49% uplift.
Six councils facing severe financial strain are seeking permission from central Government to exceed the 4.99% cap.
More news:
Pattern Spans All Major Parties
The pattern of increases spans all major political parties:
- Of the 78 Labour-controlled top-tier councils, 67 are planning rises of at least 4.99%
- Of the 26 Conservative-led councils, 23 are pursuing comparable increases
- Of the 18 Liberal Democrat-led authorities that have announced plans, all but one intend to raise bills by at least 4.99%
A total of 119 of the 153 top-tier authorities have either proposed or confirmed increases at the 4.99% level.
Government Response
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Local authorities decide the level of council tax they wish to set, which reflects the service needs of each area, and we are clear that in doing so they should put taxpayers first.”
The Government has allocated more than £78 billion for council funding in the next financial year. That settlement represents a 6% increase compared with 2025/26.
Why Are Councils Raising Rates?
The increases come as many households continue to contend with higher housing, grocery and energy costs.
Councils are facing their own financial pressures, with some warning of effective bankruptcy without significant revenue increases.
The standard 4.99% increase threshold exists to balance councils’ need for funding with protection for taxpayers. Going above this level requires a local referendum, which creates a democratic check on larger increases.
Full List of Council Tax Rises
Below is the complete list of proposed and confirmed council tax rises for 2026/27 across England’s top-tier authorities.
County Councils
- Cambridgeshire (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Derbyshire (Ref maj): 4.9% confirmed
- Devon (Lib Dem min): 4.99% confirmed
- East Sussex (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Essex (Con maj): 3.95% confirmed
- Gloucestershire (Lib Dem min): 4.99% confirmed
- Hampshire (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Hertfordshire (Lib Dem min): 4.99% confirmed
- Kent (Ref maj): 3.99% confirmed
- Lancashire (Ref maj): 3.8% proposed
- Leicestershire (Ref min): 2.99% confirmed
- Lincolnshire (Ref maj): 2.9% confirmed
- Norfolk (Con maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Nottinghamshire (Ref maj): 3.99% proposed
- Oxfordshire (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Staffordshire (Ref maj): 3.99% confirmed
- Suffolk (Con maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Surrey (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Warwickshire (Ref min): 4.4% confirmed
- West Sussex (Con maj): 4.99% confirmed
London Boroughs
- Barking & Dagenham (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Barnet (Lab maj): 4.98% proposed
- Bexley (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Brent (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Bromley (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Camden (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Croydon (Con min): 4.99% proposed
- Ealing (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Enfield (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Greenwich (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Hackney (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Hammersmith & Fulham (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Haringey (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Harrow (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Havering (Resident min): 4.99% proposed
- Hillingdon (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Hounslow (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Islington (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Kensington & Chelsea (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Kingston-upon-Thames (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Lambeth (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Lewisham (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Merton (Lab maj): 2% proposed
- Newham (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Redbridge (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Richmond-upon-Thames (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Southwark (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Sutton (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Tower Hamlets (Aspire maj): 4.99% proposed
- Waltham Forest (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Wandsworth (Lab maj): 2% proposed
- Westminster (Lab maj): 2% proposed
Metropolitan Boroughs
- Barnsley (Lab maj): 3.4% proposed
- Birmingham (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Bolton (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Bradford (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Bury (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Calderdale (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Coventry (Lab maj): 3.95% proposed
- Doncaster (Ref maj): 4.99% proposed
- Dudley (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Gateshead (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Kirklees (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Knowsley (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Leeds (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Liverpool (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Manchester (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- North Tyneside (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Oldham (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Rochdale (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Rotherham (Lab maj): 3.95% proposed
- Salford (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Sandwell (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Sefton (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Sheffield (Lab-Lib Dem-Green): 4.99% proposed
- Solihull (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- South Tyneside (Lab min): 4.95% proposed
- St Helens (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Stockport (Lib Dem min): 4.99% proposed
- Sunderland (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Tameside (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Wakefield (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Walsall (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- Wigan (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Wirral (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Wolverhampton (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
Unitary Authorities
- Bath & North East Somerset (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Bedford (Con min): 4.99% proposed
- Blackburn with Darwen (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Blackpool (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (Lib Dem-Ind): 4.99% proposed
- Bracknell Forest (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Brighton & Hove (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Bristol (Green-Lib Dem): 4.99% confirmed
- Buckinghamshire (Con min): 4.99% proposed
- Central Bedfordshire (Ind min): 4.99% proposed
- Cheshire East (Lab-Ind): 4.99% proposed
- Cheshire West & Chester (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Cornwall (Lib Dem-Ind): 4.99% proposed
- Cumberland (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Darlington (Lab-Lib Dem): 4.99% confirmed
- Derby (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Dorset (Lib Dem-Green): 4.99% confirmed
- Durham (Ref maj): 1.99% confirmed
- East Riding of Yorkshire (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Halton (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Hartlepool (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Herefordshire (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Hull City (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Isle of Wight (Ind-Green): 4.99% proposed
- Leicester (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Luton (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Medway (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Middlesbrough (Lab maj): 2% confirmed
- Milton Keynes (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- North East Lincolnshire (Con min): 4.5% confirmed
- North Lincolnshire (Con maj): 4.99% proposed
- North Northamptonshire (Ref maj): 4.99% confirmed
- North Yorkshire (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Northumberland (Con min): 4.99% confirmed
- Nottingham (Lab maj): 3.50% proposed
- Peterborough (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Plymouth (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
- Portsmouth (Lib Dem min): 4.99% proposed
- Reading (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Redcar & Cleveland (Lab min): 4.99% proposed
- Rutland (Lib Dem min): 2% proposed
- Slough (Con min): 4.99% proposed
- Somerset (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- South Gloucestershire (Lib Dem-Lab): 4.99% confirmed
- Southampton (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Southend-on-Sea (Lab-Lib Dem-Ind): 4.99% proposed
- Stockton-on-Tees (Lab min): 4.95% confirmed
- Stoke-on-Trent (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Swindon (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Telford & Wrekin (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Thurrock (Lab maj): 4.99% proposed
- Torbay (Con min): 4.75% proposed
- West Berkshire (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- West Northamptonshire (Ref maj): 4.95% proposed
- Westmorland & Furness (Lib Dem maj): 4.99% proposed
- Wiltshire (Lib Dem-Ind): 4.99% proposed
- York (Lab maj): 4.99% confirmed
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