Council tax freeze ruled out by Reform leader

A freeze on council tax in Bradford has been ruled out due to the authority's finances.

Reform UK council leader Stephen Place told a meeting he would "love to cut council tax" but said stability in the council's finances depended on a 4.99% rise in the coming years.

After delivering his first leader's report last week, Place said "it's not going to happen" in response to a question about keeping council tax rates the same.

In the report, he pointed out that Bradford was coming out of Exceptional Financial Support two years early.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Bradford Council faced being unable to balance its books in 2024.

The government stepped in to offer Exceptional Financial Support, which meant the council would be able to borrow money to fund its day to day operations.

The support came with a number of caveats, including the sale of millions of pounds worth of financial assets to reduce the borrowing level and that council tax rises by a certain amount each year.

The council originally estimated it would need £570m in Exceptional Financial Support by 2030, but a funding boost from central government meant the figure could be cut to £395m and support could end in 2028.

"We're coming out of EFS two years early, that is a really good signal for us that things can get better and things can improve," Place told the meeting.

Reform currently has just 28 councillors in the 90-seat chamber and budget proposals require at least 46 votes to pass, meaning Reform will need the support of opposition parties to approve the 2027/28 budget.

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