Marsha De Cordova, Rosena Allin-Khan, and Fleur Anderson are the Labour MPs representing the constituencies in the London Borough of Wandsworth (Alamy)

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PoliticsHome previously revealed that the south-west London borough was planning the country’s biggest ever tax rise. The council is expected to announce a rise of at least 160 per cent, with multiple figures – including higher figures – currently under consideration, according to multiple sources.

Wandsworth, which is Conservative-run after Labour lost control in May, currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, with residents paying around 0.1 per cent of the value of the property they live in per year.

However, recent reforms to how central government distributes funding to local authorities have decreased the grant funding available to some London councils, including Wandsworth. Wandsworth Council funding is projected to fall by around 40 per cent.

The Labour government has said its reforms to local government funding prioritise parts of the country with higher deprivation so that the system is “truly based on need”. However, affected councils in the capital say the changes will exacerbate existing cost pressures and force them into significant tax rises.

Wandsworth Council recently worked with the Conservative Party to launch a formal appeal against cuts to local government funding, with Wandsworth Conservatives telling PoliticsHome that the new settlement “unfairly punishes Wandsworth residents”.

Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are also set to follow Wandsworth in formally appealing the cuts.

Tory councillor and leader of Wandsworth Council Robert Morritt wrote to the Labour MPs representing constituencies in the borough of Wandsworth to ask whether they would support the council’s appeal to the Labour government.

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova sent back a letter refusing to offer their support.

In the letter, seen by PoliticsHome, the MPs wrote that while they “continue to express our concerns about local authority funding challenges”, they “cannot support a narrative that seeks to rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council or shift responsibility for damaging choices that are being made by the current Conservative administration”.  

“When Labour left office in May 2026, Wandsworth Council was in a strong financial position,” they wrote.

“The Council had some of the highest reserves in London and no external debt. Labour maintained balanced budgets, delivered Britain’s lowest council tax and carefully managed public finances, while continuing to invest in local services and communities. 

“Residents are entitled to ask why a council that inherited such a strong financial position has already made cuts in services, and why they are being threatened with a council tax rise of 160 per cent and decisions to cut further services.”

The MPs also said they were concerned by the “increasingly political nature of council communications”. 

A spokesperson for Putney Conservative Association said: “It is deeply disappointing that Wandsworth’s three Labour MPs will not support the Council’s challenge to the government’s 40 per cent cut to Wandsworth’s funding.

“Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan both voted for the government’s Local Government Finance Report that implemented the new funding settlement, while Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova had no vote recorded.

“For them to refuse even to acknowledge the consequences of the settlement for residents, let alone support residents, is extremely disappointing. Whatever their party, our MPs should be putting Wandsworth residents first and joining us in fighting for a fairer deal.”

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Local Housing Allowance (LHA) limits how much Universal Credit is paid to private renters. It is meant to cover the cheapest 30 per cent of private sector rents in each area, with claimants whose rent is higher paying the shortfall themselves.

The Labour government has frozen LHA’s cash value for the last two years, resulting in a real-terms cut because actual rents have risen in that time.

Badenoch has pledged to fund greater defence spending by cutting benefits, including reducing housing benefit so that it covers the cheapest 10 per cent of local private rents – one in ten privately rented homes.

Pensioners would be exempt, but existing tenancies would be affected, with their LHA rates frozen in cash terms until they gradually fell in line with the 10th percentile.

A report tabled at a meeting of Enfield Council’s cabinet last week said: “The council continues to lobby the government to lift the temporary accommodation subsidy cap and the raising of LHA to the 30 per cent of the market on an ongoing basis”.

Enfield in North London has been in Tory minority control since the Conservatives ousted Labour in May. 

The council’s newly approved homelessness and rough sleeping strategy said: “The average private sector rent in Enfield is substantially higher than LHA levels, creating additional affordability challenges for low-income households and increasing the risk of homelessness.”

It added that average rents in Enfield have risen by 12 per cent in the year leading up to June 2025, while “government benefits have not kept pace with these rising costs”.

Enfield Council declined to comment on Badenoch’s statement.

PoliticsHome has identified eight other Conservative-led councils that since the 2024 general election have flagged LHA cuts as a driver of housing unaffordability and homelessness: Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, Harlow, Test Valley, Lichfield, North West Leicestershire, North Yorkshire, and East Hampshire. 

Kensington and Chelsea council told PoliticsHome it supports ending the LHA freeze and restoring the link to the 30th percentile of local rents.

Last summer, a homelessness review from East Hampshire council found that the freeze has been “particularly challenging” for people under 35 who receive a single room rate, “and this is reflected in the number of homelessness approaches from this group”.

The two-year LHA freeze has meant that across England, on average it is now limited to the cheapest 12 per cent of local rents for shared accommodation, the 11th percentile of one-bed rents, the 12th percentile for two-bed homes, the 14th percentile for three-bed homes, and the 16th percentile for larger homes.

In some areas, LHA is now worth less than the 10th percentile of local rents that Badenoch wants to reduce it to, according to the government’s Valuation Office Agency.

A Conservative Party spokesperson denied that their plans would worsen homelessness, telling PoliticsHome: “Our policy applies only to new tenants, and even then, those who needed to move would simply have to live in a slightly cheaper house – they would not be homeless.”

They added that their proposals would “reduce uncertainty for families” by replacing “stop-start freezes” with guaranteed annual upratings to maintain the 10 per cent threshold, and include protections for existing LHA tenants.

A government spokesperson said: “We’re tackling the impact of rising rents and the housing shortage with our commitment to build 1.5m homes – including the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.

“We are also investing more than £1bn in homelessness services, launching a cross-government homelessness strategy, and investing a record £39 billion in affordable and social housing.

“LHA rates are reviewed annually, and future decisions on LHA will be taken in the context of the government’s welfare priorities and the fiscal context.”

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When Anna Sabine finished a routine media appearance on Politics Live in the spring, she returned to her office and received an email that would prove life-changing.

Her parliamentary assistant warned her that they had been sent a “really weird” email, and they couldn’t be sure it was legitimate.

“It wasn’t even a constituent. It was a random man. I was on the BBC, and it was from a guy who was an ear, nose and throat surgeon in the West Midlands. He said: ‘I’m sorry, this is a really weird email, but do you know you’ve got quite a big lump on the left side of your thyroid? And I think you need to get it looked at quite quickly.’”

Sabine, initially unsure, took the decision to seek medical advice and was told the lump – the size of a lemon – required removal. Within eight weeks, she was in surgery.

While relatively routine, she was warned the procedure might cause temporary damage to her vocal nerves. In the event, however, the outcome was much more severe. One of her vocal cords was completely severed, preventing her from speaking in anything above a whisper.

As the MP sought to recuperate through the June heatwave, she could tell something was wrong before doctors told her.

“That night in hospital, I was actually not able to sleep because it was so hot. I was thinking, ‘This feels really bad. What if something really bad happened?’ And I was kind of catastrophising about the end of my career.

“I was thinking about all the things I wasn’t going to be able to do. So, when he then came and told me that’s what had happened, I was almost in the worst place for it.

“I had about two days of just uncontrolled self-pity and weeping, and thinking, ‘This is the end’. And then I pulled myself together, but it was really bad to start with.”

When she returned home, communication proved difficult. Sabine’s husband has tinnitus, and her reduced voice has made things harder.

The situation has been life-altering. She has become self-conscious about her laugh, so stifles it. Before the operation, she enjoyed being comedic and doing silly voices with her family; less so now.

In Parliament, adaptation has proved easier. With her team, she devised a plan: more breaks, shorter meetings and a discussion with the House authorities about how things could be adapted.

As Parliament returns, the Frome and East Somerset MP will be back with a special microphone for speaking in the Chamber, and has been given dispensation to bring water in.

As news got around of Sabine’s new normal, reaction varied.

Today programme presenter Nick Robinson sent supportive messages to Sabine, having suffered a similar injury after surgery for lung cancer. The two have a plan to meet and discuss their experiences later in the year.

I wait with interest to see whether people are going to talk over a woman that’s struggling to speak

On the other hand, one event organiser summarily rescinded an invitation to speak at the party’s autumn conference in Brighton, presuming Sabine would quietly step back from public speaking. On the contrary, she has no such plans.

“Someone had planned to offer me a spot speaking at an event, and then they’d rescinded the invitation because they’d heard I wasn’t coming. And I thought this is interesting, but you get written off very quickly if you’re not careful. So, I’m very clear that I am coming to conference.”

As Sabine prepares to return from recess, she’s decided not to shy away from her new role as the ‘Whispering MP’. 

She plans to return to broadcast media where, before her operation, she was a reliable performer for the Lib Dems: combative and canny.

“I wait with interest to see whether people are going to talk over a woman that’s struggling to speak,” she says mischievously.

On social media, Sabine is leaning into her sense of humour. “I’ve rebranded myself. I’ve got a sub-brand, as my comms manager would say, called the Whispering MP. [My staff and I] quite enjoyed the entertainment value from it.”

Sabine has recorded some videos for her Instagram parodying influencers who speak in loud whispers and has built an online following of people tracking her journey as a full-time whisperer.

“There’s a community of people now that kind of know my story. Occasionally, I’ll get a comment like, ‘Why are you whispering?’ or ‘Have you got a really bad hangover?’ And then, before I get to it, other people will jump in, going, ‘No, she had this happen to her.’ So it’s actually made it a real community on social media, in a really nice way.”

As politics returns after a quiet summer, Sabine is reflective about what the second chapter of her political life will look like.

“There’s a thing about: do I seem weak now? Like, does this make me seem weaker? Which is another reason to be really clear: I will do national media, and I will carry on campaigning.

“My constituents are not going to get any less of an MP than they had before. But there is something interesting about your character. How senior can you seem if you’re whispering? Basically, I don’t know.”