Hartlepool Labour’s Council Tax Trick: Hike in 2025, Freeze in 2026, Bankruptcy by 2028...
- teessidetoday
- Nov 26, 2025
- 3 min read
Hartlepool Labour Accused of Rank Hypocrisy, After Hiking Bills for April 2025 – While Attacking Reform UK For Refusing to back a Council Tax Freeze That Could Bankrupt the Council....
26th November 2025
The Hartlepool Labour Group running Hartlepool Borough Council has launched yet another social media broadside—this time aiming squarely at their political rivals Reform UK—claiming that Labour is the “ONLY party” fighting to protect residents from rising costs. But many locals are calling the message deeply hypocritical, after Labour pushed through a large Council Tax hike for April 2025, something that's led to the group seeing a huge drop in voter support & several failed by-elections.
Labour’s Message vs. Labour’s Record
In a post dripping with self-congratulation, Labour claims:
“Hartlepool deserves better – and only Labour is delivering it… Labour will freeze Council Tax. Reform refused.”
But the public has seemingly not forgotten what Labour already delivered for April 2025: a significant Council Tax rise which hit households at a time when nationally Labours leader Keir Starmer promised "not a penny more" in council tax increases, with many local residents describing Labour’s bragging about a future freeze as nothing more than a distraction tactic & a political sleight of hand that ignores the very real financial pressures they already voted to impose.
Warnings From Council Officials: A Freeze Risks Bankruptcy
What makes Labour’s attack even more baffling is that Hartlepool Borough Council’s own finance officers have warned that a Council Tax freeze in 2026/27 could accelerate the councils slide toward effective bankruptcy by 2028.
Its claimed members heard those warnings directly at recent Finance & Corporate Affairs meetings where it was outlined that the council’s reserves are dangerously low, Demand pressures are rising, with a freeze potentially worsening the long-term deficit & a Section 114 (bankruptcy) now a real possibility within three years if income drops any further..
Yet its claimed Labour is now portraying this financially reckless move as an act of heroism—while criticising their political opponents Reform UK for not cheerleading it.
Political Theatre or Responsible Leadership?
Labour’s post singles out Reform UK’s group leader Cllr Amanda Napper for twice refusing to back the freeze. They present this as evidence of cowardice, however a Reform UK source claimed it shows the political group is more concerned about financial stability of the local council, not bankrupting it in a bid to win back lost voters.
The reform UK member we spoke to said: Labour’s outrage is looking less like political conviction and more like political theatre—especially when the same Labour councillors:
Voted for higher bills for the town last year,
Have been repeatedly warned about the financial risks a council tax freeze will bring,
And are now attacking others for not supporting a policy that experts say is dangerous.
Labour’s Attempt to Turn Reform into “The New Tories” Rings Hollow
The towns Labour Group also launches an attack line that Reform UK are “the same old Tories.” But critics point out that Labour’s own behaviour lately looks remarkably Tory-like:
Labour ends its post proclaiming:
“Hartlepool deserves leadership with a backbone.”
Yet many believe Labour showed no backbone at all when it voted to raise bills last year for April 2025—and that their sudden enthusiasm for a 2026/27 freeze is nothing more than panic politics, designed to shore up support whilst ignoring the looming financial cliff edge it intends to create by ploughing through with a council tax freeze that even council officials claim could lead to the council not being able to set a balanced budget for the year ahead. .
Meanwhile, Reform UK’s refusal to back a risky freeze—far from being evidence of weakness—may actually reflect the only fiscally responsible position voiced in the chamber.
