Birmingham City Council signs off 21% tax hike and ‘devastating’ cuts

Birmingham City Council have signed off a deal to impose vast tax hikes of 21% and devastating cuts to public services over the next two years.

Europe’s largest local authority was forced to declare effective bankruptcy last September, and is seeking to make an unprecedented £300m in savings – with the council warning of a “fundamental change” in how it delivers services.

While councils are typically prevented from raising tax by more than 5 per cent without holding a referendum, Birmingham has received special dispensation from communities secretary Michael Gove to hike rates by 10 per cent in each of the next two years, in light of the council’s exceptional financial difficulties.

The full council voted on the increase on Tuesday, which totalled around 21 per cent over two years – equivalent to a rise of around £280 on a typical Band A property, and £840 on a Band H home – in addition to the range of proposed spending cuts.

Speaking during the meeting of Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, Conservative group leader Robert Alden said: “Lord Mayor, this is an important budget, it’s a budget that shows just how badly Birmingham Labour have made a mess of the council’s finances and how they haven’t got a real plan to fix that mess.

“Instead all Birmingham Labour have to offer is a double whammy of higher taxes and fewer services.”

Accusing Birmingham’s council leader and its cabinet of living “in a fantasy land”, Mr Alden added: “Since Birmingham Labour took control of the council twelve years ago, every time people look at their council tax bill, it’s gone up – car park charges have gone up.

“And yet despite all these tax and fee rises, Labour has still effectively bankrupted the council.

“Now to make matters worse, after over a decade of Labour rule in Birmingham, residents face a future where every time they go to the library they will find it closed, every time they visit a youth centre it will be shut.