Hammersmith and Fulham weighs 150% council tax rise

• The 150% option is one of three budget scenarios reported from a council paper, not an agreed tax rise.
• It would add £29.11 a week for a Band D household to the council’s share of the bill.
• A 100% rise would leave a reported £46.1 million shortfall; a 125% rise would leave £20.6 million.
• The figures exclude the Greater London Authority precept, which is a separate part of the bill.

Hammersmith and Fulham’s most severe reported budget option would raise its own share of Band D council tax from £1,009 to £2,522.50 a year in 2027–28. That is a 150% increase in the council’s element—not a 150% rise in the full bill—and would mean an extra £29.11 a week, according to a cabinet report seen by The Guardian and The Independent. The report is due to be published on Monday, 5 October. ¹

The papers report three scenarios. A 100% increase would take the council’s Band D share to £2,018 and leave a £46.1 million budget gap. A 125% increase would take it to £2,270.25, with £20.6 million still to find. The 150% option would broadly balance the budget on the report’s current assumptions. ¹

The distinction matters because council tax also includes the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept. For 2026–27, the council’s approved Band D share is £1,009; the GLA precept is £510.51, making the combined bill £1,519.51. The reported £2,522.50 figure is for the council’s share alone. ²

The scenarios reflect a sharp funding squeeze described in the report. The council’s government funding is expected to fall from £150.5 million in 2025–26 to £72.4 million over the next four years. Finance and reform cabinet member Rowan Ree told The Independent that the council was examining options to meet its legal duty to set a balanced budget as funding falls and the costs and demand for essential services rise. ³

The government has said it will not set council-tax referendum principles for Hammersmith and Fulham and five other authorities in 2027–28 and 2028–29. That removes the usual referendum principles for those years; it does not require the borough to raise tax. The council will decide what level to set. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson told both papers that councils decide their own rates and should put taxpayers first. ⁴

Footnotes

1. The Guardian, “London Labour council warns it may raise council tax by 150%”; The Independent, “London council could hike council tax by 150%”. ↩ ↩²

2. Hammersmith & Fulham Cabinet decision, “Revenue Budget and Council Tax Levels 2026/27”; The Guardian, 3 October 2026. ↩

3. The Independent, 3 October 2026. ↩

4. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “Explanatory note on Core Spending Power: final local government finance settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29”; The Guardian, 3 October 2026. ↩