'Council tax has to go up', says Nigel Farage

The leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, has said council tax "has to rise."

Speaking to BBC South East, he said local authorities were in "massive debt" and council taxes "could not be cut in those situations".

He pledged his party would "start to cut excessive expenditure" so it could raise council tax by less than other parties.

Farage was in West Sussex to appear at a local elections rally at the South of England Showground in Ardingly on Wednesday.

"We have saved more than £300m in the 10 councils that we run, and our council tax rises are lower than any other party," he said.

Reform UK has previously faced criticism for leaflets issued by the party during elections for Kent County Council in 2025, which pledged to cut taxes.

Farage denied there had been specific claims over council tax and said the promise to cut taxes was one of a series of "national policies".

Asked if he would repeat the policy at elections in 2026, he said Reform UK was now campaigning on its record.

Farage, who is also the MP for Clacton in Essex, said he believed his party would "win many, many seats" in the South East, adding that Surrey and Sussex residents had been "denied" an opportunity to vote in local elections.

Elections in Sussex were set to be postponed in 2026 but the government reversed the decision after a legal challenge by Reform.

The party hopes to make significant gains in the county.

Reform UK also revealed two defectors from the Conservatives on Wealden District Council, David Greaves and Neil Cleaver.

BBC South East will be speaking to all the main political parties before 7 May.

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