Raising taxes is the same as cutting them, claims Farage

Good news for residents of Reform-run councils unexpectedly hit by coming tax rises – it turns out that hiking them is actually cutting them after all!

A string of local authorities under the control of Nigel Farage’s turquoise Tories following last year’s local elections have announced council tax rises in the next financial year, despite vowing to slash them when running for office.

These include Reform’s flagship authority, Kent, which has announced a rise in council tax of 3.99%, and Worcestershire, which has been given special permission by the government to increase it by 8.98%, thought to be England’s largest rise. Reform promised to “reduce waste and cut your taxes” on leaflets in both counties at last May’s local elections.

But worry not! Because in Kent at least, Farage says a 3.99% increase is, in effect, a tax cut.

Put to him that most of the councils his party controlled, including Kent – which Reform said would offer a “window” into how it would run government nationally – had hiked taxes after promising to slash them, Farage told ITV News Meridian: “So, across the country we’re putting up council tax less than the other parties, where they control councils.

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“Our average increase is less than the rate of inflation, we’ve made over £300 million of savings across the councils and, by the way, I never said we’d cut – I never said we’d cut…”

Pointed out to him by reporter Kit Bradshaw that his leaflets literally said they would “cut your taxes”, Farage responded: “Well, which means don’t… which means don’t charge the maximum of 4.99% never once, never once in the country ever did I say we would cut council tax.

“I never put it on my leaflets. No. Nothing with my name ever went on that. Nothing with my name ever went on that. But what I did say is we’d save money and we are saving money.

“We did not say we’d cut tax. Well… cutting taxes can be not putting them up as much, I suppose, but I never promised cuts in council tax.”

So there you go! He never promised to cut council tax (although his party did), a tax rise less than the maximum legally permitted is a tax cut (which it isn’t) and, anyway, Reform have made over £300 million in savings across local government (which they have refused to show any evidence for). What a refreshing new force in local democracy Farage’s mob is!