Labour chiefs in Hartlepool have announced council tax is to be frozen next year to help ease financial pressures on families in the borough.
The planned freeze for 2026/27 comes after close collaboration between town MP Jonathan Brash, Hartlepool Borough Council leader Councillor Brenda Harrison, and national government ministers.
Cllr Harrison said since Labour took control of the local authority in May 2024 following “years of Tory failure and financial chaos” they have “got to work” on addressing the issue of council tax.
She added: “One year on, we’ve stabilised the finances, made tough decisions, and we can now announce that council tax will be frozen next year.
“We want more money in your pocket. That is Labour’s mission—to put Hartlepool people first.”
Mr Brash stressed he has made reforming the council tax system a key political priority of his and he recently launched an all-party parliamentary group on the issue in Westminster – which he continues to work on.
He said: “Council tax is hammering Hartlepool people and from the moment I was elected as your MP I got to work with council leader Brenda Harrison and government ministers to take on this unfair system.
“Freezing council tax is a vital step—but we believe we can and must go further.
“If we can do more, we will.”
The move means local authority officers will be asked to produce a budget which freezes council tax for 2026/2027 ahead of formal decisions being made by councillors later in the municipal year.
Speaking in response to the latest announcement, Councillor Mike Young, Conservative group leader on the council, said: “We welcome the freezing of council tax given that we voted against Labour’s maximum rise this year.
“The fact that Keir Starmer got into Number 10 on a statement of not a penny more will people need to spend in council tax, and they put it up seems a world away from those promises.”
The budget laid out by Labour councillors for 2025/26 included a council tax rise of 4.99%, made up of a 2.99% increase in core council tax and 2% for the adult social care precept.
Cllr Harrison, speaking at a February meeting, said the rise was a “necessity to balance the budget and protect the council from making further more stringent cuts to services.”
The increase was in line with government assumptions and generated “additional ongoing revenue of £2.62 million.”
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