Politics Home | Labour MPs Refuse To Back Tory Wandsworth Council Against Government Funding Cuts

Marsha De Cordova, Rosena Allin-Khan, and Fleur Anderson are the Labour MPs representing the constituencies in the London Borough of Wandsworth (Alamy)

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PoliticsHome previously revealed that the south-west London borough was planning the country’s biggest ever tax rise. The council is expected to announce a rise of at least 160 per cent, with multiple figures – including higher figures – currently under consideration, according to multiple sources.

Wandsworth, which is Conservative-run after Labour lost control in May, currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, with residents paying around 0.1 per cent of the value of the property they live in per year.

However, recent reforms to how central government distributes funding to local authorities have decreased the grant funding available to some London councils, including Wandsworth. Wandsworth Council funding is projected to fall by around 40 per cent.

The Labour government has said its reforms to local government funding prioritise parts of the country with higher deprivation so that the system is “truly based on need”. However, affected councils in the capital say the changes will exacerbate existing cost pressures and force them into significant tax rises.

Wandsworth Council recently worked with the Conservative Party to launch a formal appeal against cuts to local government funding, with Wandsworth Conservatives telling PoliticsHome that the new settlement “unfairly punishes Wandsworth residents”.

Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are also set to follow Wandsworth in formally appealing the cuts.

Tory councillor and leader of Wandsworth Council Robert Morritt wrote to the Labour MPs representing constituencies in the borough of Wandsworth to ask whether they would support the council’s appeal to the Labour government.

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova sent back a letter refusing to offer their support.

In the letter, seen by PoliticsHome, the MPs wrote that while they “continue to express our concerns about local authority funding challenges”, they “cannot support a narrative that seeks to rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council or shift responsibility for damaging choices that are being made by the current Conservative administration”.  

“When Labour left office in May 2026, Wandsworth Council was in a strong financial position,” they wrote.

“The Council had some of the highest reserves in London and no external debt. Labour maintained balanced budgets, delivered Britain’s lowest council tax and carefully managed public finances, while continuing to invest in local services and communities. 

“Residents are entitled to ask why a council that inherited such a strong financial position has already made cuts in services, and why they are being threatened with a council tax rise of 160 per cent and decisions to cut further services.”

The MPs also said they were concerned by the “increasingly political nature of council communications”. 

A spokesperson for Putney Conservative Association said: “It is deeply disappointing that Wandsworth’s three Labour MPs will not support the Council’s challenge to the government’s 40 per cent cut to Wandsworth’s funding.

“Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan both voted for the government’s Local Government Finance Report that implemented the new funding settlement, while Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova had no vote recorded.

“For them to refuse even to acknowledge the consequences of the settlement for residents, let alone support residents, is extremely disappointing. Whatever their party, our MPs should be putting Wandsworth residents first and joining us in fighting for a fairer deal.”