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A Reform-led council is planning to double council tax on second homes six months after party leader Nigel Farage denounced such policies as “madness” and “extortion”.
Reform responded to the move by saying the party opposed such measures at a national level, but not at local level.
Councils in England have had the power to impose council tax premiums of up to 100 per cent on second homes – effectively doubling their council tax rate – since 1 April this year, under legislation passed by the previous Conservative government.
Around two-thirds of councils in England have so far imposed the second home premium, doubling the council tax rate to bring in more revenue and effectively prioritise locals in the housing market. These moves have triggered angry backlash from many owners of second homes, however.
Earlier this year, Farage publicly backed The Telegraph’s campaign against local authorities imposing council tax premiums on second homes.
“Owning property used to be a right and a freedom. Today it is an excuse for the Government to use extortion,” he told the newspaper in April in the run-up to the local elections, before adding the following month: “The whole thing is madness. Whatever the downsides of increased house prices, these people bring a lot of money into these areas.”
In May, Reform won control of two councils – Durham and West Northamptonshire – that had already imposed the second home premium, but Farage didn’t commit to pressing them to scrap the charge, telling The Telegraph he would “have that conversation with our council group once they’ve chosen their leaders”.
Now, North Northamptonshire, which also elected a Reform majority in May, plans to double council tax on the 511 second homes in the area from April 2027. The council’s Reform-controlled executive is set to approve the measures on Tuesday, to be rubber-stamped by a meeting of the whole council in December.
A council report setting out the plan said it would raise up to £804,000 in 2027/28. Some second-home owners could sell up before the tax rise takes effect in 2027. “This could result in a change of use of the property and increase the availability of housing in North Northamptonshire,” the council report said.
When PoliticsHome asked Reform about the move, a spokesperson said the party is opposed to the second home premium at national level, not local level.
They said: “The Reform UK administration in North Northamptonshire Council is working hard to deliver a balanced budget and address the almost 7,000 property shortfall in homes that they inherited after decades of local and national Conservative mismanagement.
“Whilst at a national level we oppose second home council tax premiums, we accept that local authorities have far fewer levers at their disposal than a national government when it comes to addressing urgent housing shortages.”
If taken forward by the council on Tuesday, the move could expose the national party to further criticism that it has adopted positions that its recently elected councils cannot deliver, with Reform-led councils across England abandoning pledges to freeze council tax and struggling to identify the major savings that the party pledged to deliver.
PoliticsHome analysis published last week showed that the party has lost over five per cent of councillors elected in May, in what was described as “unusual” levels of churn.
The websites of Durham and West Northamptonshire councils both say that second homes continue to be charged double the normal council tax rate.
North Northamptonshire Council declined to comment. North Northamptonshire Reform has been approached for comment.
