Reform councils announce tax hikes just as Nadhim Zahawi joins the chancers

It’s been a mixed day for far-right Reform UK. On the one hand, every single one of the party’s 12 councils has now declared that they’ll be hiking taxes – in spite of election claims that they’d find savings.

On the other hand, former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Nigel Farage’s fold. Now, an ex-chancellor who was sacked for dodgy personal finances and ministerial code breaches should hardly be a cause for celebration. Nevertheless, Zahawi is still the highest profile turncoat yet for Reform.

Zahawi conveniently hides Reform chaos

Back before the May local elections, Reform flyers and ads claimed that the party would “reverse tax hikes”, “reduce the rates” and “freeze council tax“. Farage himself accused councils of “wasteful spending”, stating that Reform councillors would find efficiencies to save “a lot of money”.

Of course, all of these promises turned out to be completely hollow.

Even the lower end of the hikes are still over-inflation, sitting at 3.99% for Kent and Staffordshire.

Beyond that, several councils plan to raise taxes by the maximum 4.99% permitted. These include Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and both North and West Northamptonshire. Any higher and they’d have to hold a referendum on the increase.

Speaking of which, Worcestershire council are actually applying to the government for special permission to raise taxes by up to an eye-watering 10%. That’s more than double the forecast rate of inflation.

‘Looking positive’ – yeah right

A source from within the party blamed previous councils, and tried to appeal to Reform’s “relentless focus on efficiency”:

Despite the challenges faced by local government and the tough financial situations we have inherited, we’re cautiously optimistic that Reform councils will have the lowest average council tax rises of any party.

It’s looking like a handful of our councils are even on track to achieve below-inflation tax rises — a real-terms tax cut for residents — thanks to their relentless focus on efficiency and cutting costs. This would be an incredible achievement in the context of the huge pressures on council finances generally.

The early numbers coming through are looking positive for residents living in Reform areas. We’ve been clear that we are a low-tax party and we are confident that our councils will demonstrate that as they set their budgets in the coming weeks.

Quite where exactly this “below-inflation” claim is coming from is anyone’s guess – 2026 is set to see slowing overall inflation rates of 2.6% for 2026, down from 3.5% in 2025.

Saying that, Reform’s claim to be a “low-tax party” whilst applying for an up-to-10% increase means they’re probably immune to actual fact-checking.

‘I’ve made my mind’

Meanwhile, ex-Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi released a video on 12 January claiming that the UK was “drinking at the last chance saloon”, and that the country:

really does need Nigel Farage as prime minister.

He also went on to state that:

I’ve made my mind that the team that will deliver for this nation will be the team that Nigel will put together, and that’s why I’ve decided that I’m joining Reform UK.

Zahawi’s highest-ranking cabinet position saw him fill the role of chancellor of the exchequer. Of course, he only managed to hold onto the position for all of about two months before getting the boot.

An ethics inquiry revealed that he hadn’t disclosed owning shares in the YouGov polling company before becoming an MP. Eventually, Zahawi reached a £5m tax settlement with HMRC.

During a rant at a press conference announcing his defection, Zahawi managed to hit all the far-right talking points in quick succession. He complained about an “over powerful” civil service, restricted free speech “on X or even just down the pub”, mass migration and:

bad, virtue-signalling legislation that has made us less competitive and less prosperous.

‘Loyalty for sale’

Zahawi’s switch marks the latest in a long line of Conservatives to join Reform, meaning that the supposedly-opposition parties are looking awfully similar. A Tory spokesperson stated that Reform is:

fast becoming the party of has-been politicians looking for their next gravy train.

Their latest recruit used to say he’d be ‘frightened to live in a country’ run by Nigel Farage, which shows the level of loyalty for sale.

Reform want higher welfare spending and higher taxes. They are a one-man band with no plan for our country.

That part about loyalty for sale certainly rings true. Zahawi previously published an interview stating that:

I was born in Baghdad but am deeply proud to call myself British. My parents chose to make Britain their home because this was a place where belonging was about what you put in, rather than where you came from.

What’s frightening is that in Farage’s Britain people like me could be lawfully discriminated against and British businesses would be encouraged to bin our CVs.

Social media users were also quick to point out that the ex-Tory hadn’t bothered to sanitise his X account before announcing his news:

Another lie https://t.co/HBgYVYWS10

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) January 12, 2026

pic.twitter.com/dE6EBtqmCg

— Colin the Dachshund (@DachshundColin) January 12, 2026

So, there we have it. It’s right on the money for a party that can’t manage to file its own taxes – and can’t be trusted to manage council taxes – to get all giddy at bagging a turncoat ex-chancellor who was sacked for fiddling the books.

We’re sure Nadhim will fit right in at his new home in Reform. However, probably better to delete those tweets pretty sharpish – anyone reading them might doubt his motives.

Featured image via the Canary