A Cumbrian MP said he has launched a campaign to stop plans for a second council tax increase.

Mark Jenkinson, the MP for Workington, opposes the proposed tax rise of 4.99 per cent and believes his constituents feel the same.

He is asking the public to get in touch with their views on the plans to increase council tax, and said he will make this concerns heard.

Both Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council voted for an increase soon after coming into power and are proposing to do the same thing next year.

Calling the plans ‘another audacious raid on residents’ pockets’, the MP said the increase in tax by nearly five per cent, as proposed, will mean a Cumberland resident in a Band D property will need to pay an extra £86.35.

In Westmorland and Furness, he said this will mean an extra £86.87, and for those living in the lowest band properties – Band A – an extra £60.

Cumberland Council has launched a four-week long consultation on the budget for 2024/2025 after members of the executive committee agreed the move at a meeting at the Civic Centre in Carlisle on Friday (December 15).

The consultation document states: "We estimate that this could generate an additional £5million for Cumberland Council each year which could be used to support delivery of our services and help us tackle the affordable housing crisis in our area."

Council tax forms the major source of funding for the authority at 51 per cent while the remainder is made up from 29.8 per cent from business rates and 19.2 per cent from government grants.

Speaking at the meeting councillor Barbara Cannon (St Michaels, Labour), the portfolio for financial planning and assets, said the consultation was aimed at getting a "good feel from our residents on how they think".

Councillor Mark Fryer (St Johns and Great Clifton, Labour), the leader of the council, said there was a "stark reality" with council finances but reassured members that the budget would be balanced.

He said there had been increased demand on services, contributing to the current budgetary pressures and added: "The elephant in the room is inflation which has smashed our budget apart."

Responses to the consultation can be made online by clicking here.

Residents can also get hard copies of the consultation from local libraries and through the council’s customer services team.

The deadline for responses is January 12, 2024.   

Mr Jenkinson said, addressing Cumberland residents: “I want them to be under no illusion about the strength of feeling locally. This is a shameless act of daylight robbery from two ‘stand and deliver nothing’ councils.

“Both councils have gone out to sham consultations, wanting to hike council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent.

“20 per cent of Cumberland’s budget comes directly from government grants, not including school funding which also comes from government and is at its highest level ever (up 10 per cent after inflation since 2019), yet they still want to dip their hands in residents’ pockets.

“Let’s make them think again.”