Not a penny more on your council tax – not a penny more than the bill you paid last year,” raved Keir Starmer as he whipped up supporters at Labour’s local election campaign launch in Swindon in 2023.
As he addressed members holding signs that read “Build a better Britain”, Starmer’s promise to freeze council tax the following year – though arguably irrelevant, as Labour was not in power – matched the ambition of other key pledges, to cut energy bills and revive the high street.
