Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has brought in lawyers to challenge the government over local funding cuts, following a proposed 94% council tax increase in Tory-run Wandsworth.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Badenoch described the planned rise in the south-west London borough as "outrageous" and confirmed the Conservative Party has instructed legal counsel to see if an £84m-a-year cut to Wandsworth's central grant can be halted.

Wandsworth has long held a reputation for having some of the lowest council tax rates in England. Currently, an average Band D property pays just over £1,000 a year, compared to more than £2,000 in several other London boroughs. The proposed plan would add £958 to that annual bill — with half set by the local council and the other half by the Mayor of London.

Badenoch accused ministers of seemingly "taking money from areas that don't vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour". She argued that the local authority is not raising bills by choice, telling the BBC: "It is because the government has taken away 40% of their funding. So we have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision."

When pressed by Newsnight presenter Matt Chorley on the fact that Wandsworth bills would still remain lower than in many parts of the country, Badenoch noted that a sudden near-doubling would still hit household budgets hard. While she refused to put forward an alternative rate of increase, she questioned why a 40% reduction was being applied to Wandsworth when "Andy Burnham has not found 40% of anything to cut" himself. Badenoch also defended her past decisions as local government minister during previous Conservative grant reductions.

The financial shift stems from the government's Fair Funding Review 2.0, which redistributes central money between councils. Following reductions in their grant shares, ministers gave five London authorities — Wandsworth, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, and the City of London — alongside Windsor and Maidenhead Council in Berkshire, special permission to breach the standard 5% council tax cap for two years.

Wandsworth Council's Conservative deputy leader warned this week that higher bills would not be welcome or easy, maintaining that the council will challenge ministers by every possible means. Other affected authorities, including Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, and Hammersmith & Fulham, are currently weighing up whether to join Wandsworth in using the Sustainable Communities Act to contest the funding cuts.

The proposal has drawn fierce criticism across the local political divide. Simon Hogg, the Labour opposition leader on Wandsworth Council, condemned the plan as "outrageous" and "stunning", accusing the administration of panicking and making residents pay the price.

Meanwhile, three local Labour MPs — Rosena Allin-Khan, Fleur Anderson, and Marsha de Cordova — have declined to support the council's appeal to central government. They maintained that Wandsworth was in a strong financial position prior to the Conservatives winning control of the authority at the local elections earlier this year.

Defending its stance, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government stated that local authorities ultimately choose their own tax levels and must put taxpayers first. The department said it is overhauling an outdated system to direct resources to areas with the greatest need, while ensuring transitional protections so no authority faces an immediate cliff edge.

What remains unclear for now is the exact legal mechanism the Conservatives intend to pursue, or whether a formal challenge will gain traction in the courts before a final budget vote takes place early next year. I'll be following this one closely — check back for updates.