A crisis is looming for councils – but you won’t hear about it in this election

Nobody knows what will happen to council tax over the next parliament, least of all voters in this election, as Sean O’Grady explains

Labour-run Birmingham declared itself effectively bankrupt last year (PA)

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned of the looming crisis facing local authorities, and the worrying silence on the issue in the election campaign. Some councils, such as Thurrock and Birmingham, have effectively gone bust. The concern now is that many more will find themselves in financial difficulties, while all will face what the Local Government Association calls a “chasm” between rising demands and stagnant or even declining real-terms revenues.

“Cuts to some council services are likely unless spending pressures abate, even with big increases in council tax and especially in more deprived areas,” the IFS said. “Councils in the most deprived areas, often Labour-controlled, are likely to face the most difficult funding situation.”

Will spending pressures abate?