GATESHEAD COUNCIL DEPUTY: ‘COUNCIL TAX IS REGRESSIVE’ DESPITE 4.99% RISE

This article was submitted to Newcastle University on 20/03/2026 and achieved a First Class grade. Deputy leader of Labour run Gateshead Council, Gary Haley, has stated that ‘Council Tax is regressive’ and ‘not fit for purpose’ despite hiking council tax this coming April for residents by 4.99% for the Gateshead area.His admission comes as councils up and down the country have chosen whether to raise tax by a maximum of 4.99%, a cap that was inherited from the previous Conservative government.

Using a handy Council Tax Calculator reveals that residents just a stone’s throw from the Gateshead Civic Centre, in a Band D home, will pay an estimated extra £114, adding to their annual £2,283 total.

A Band A home will pay half that at £78, with Band H homes paying an extra £228 on their already whopping £4,566 bill.

In conversation with those on Northumberland Street, a Gateshead resident, Tony Dobson, a man in his 40s, simply said the incoming rise is ‘a disgrace’. 

In a BBC article, some cash-strapped councils across the North East, such as Darlington, North Tyneside, and Newcastle, are seeking extra funding to cover essential services and adult social care. In Newcastle City Council, for instance, to balance the books, the council plans to save £4.9 million this year by using AI to make services smarter and cutting 75 jobs. The council need to find £37 million in savings over three years. 

The topic of Adult Social care and the benefit system has been a topic of contention across councils and even at the top of government.

‘It's very challenging,' Haley, a father of three, said about the amount needed for Adult Social Care.

‘You're sort of caught between a rock and a hard place, no local authority has got the resources to sort this out. It needs to be done on a national basis with a government grasping the nettle’ 

He continued, ‘It needs to be cross-party because what we can't have is one party saying we're going to do this and then everyone fighting over political point scoring about trying to sort out something as important as adult social care in the country.’

REFORM’S BRIAN SMITH: ‘I HAVE NEVER MET THE GUY. BUT I AGREE WITH HIM’

Cllr Brian Smith, a Reform Councillor for North Tyneside, reacted to Haley’s comments.

Asked if the comments were hypocritical after increasing tax, he answered ‘Yes, which he knows and that this (council tax structure and spend) is completely unsustainable and is damaging this country.’

He continued, ’That guy can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, because he's got his eyes shut.’ ‘They will say “there’s a cost of living crisis” and then immediately in the next breath say to residents “oh by the way, we’re increasing your council tax by 4.99%” and this is what you’re getting for it’

Smith added that between the Tories and Labour, ‘it just goes back and forth, back and forth, to the stage where they're not two separate parties. They’re the uni party. They believe in the same thing.’

Council leaders in Gateshead and Newcastle defend the rises, saying they protect essential services for vulnerable people while modernising operations amid tight government funding. But with social care costs soaring, many are asking for a different approach.