🚨 NEW ASI PAPER 🚨
✍️ @JC_Hodgkinson
Parish councils can raise your council tax by 50%, 100% or more without a referendum. Many seats are filled without a contested election.
Our new report, Parish the Thought, asks: who checks England’s smallest tier of government? 🧵
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The average Band D parish precept has risen 99% since 2013–14. This year alone, it rose 8.2%.
County council tax rises averaged 4.86% a year over the past three years.
Sep 25, 2026 · 2:41 PM UTC
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In Radcliffe-on-Trent, the parish precept jumped 179% in one year, reaching £312 for a Band D home.
In Preston Brook, it has risen nearly sixfold since 2022.
Neither rise faced a statutory cap. 📈
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Think parish tax is always small?
173 parish councils now charge more per Band D home than the median shire district council, despite providing a much narrower range of services.
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And accountability is lacking too. 🔍
In 2026, 67% of parish council seats up for election were won uncontested and 19% went unfilled. In our survey, nearly a quarter of councils had a voting majority of unelected, co-opted members.
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Then there’s the cost of simply existing. In our sample, the smallest councils spent a median of around 30% of their income on staff.
Coulston Parish Council spent 72% of its income on a part-time clerk.
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Parish council audits check whether the accounts are in order. They do not independently assess whether residents got value for money.
That gap matters more as local government reorganisation could give parish and town councils greater responsibilities.
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Our proposals:
❌ Cap routine precept rises, with a way to exceed the cap backed by a clear democratic mandate.
👋 Help tiny councils share overheads.
🔍 Introduce proportionate value-for-money scrutiny for larger councils.
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Parish councils can do great work. As their responsibilities grow, residents deserve a real say over tax rises and a clearer account of where their money goes.
Read Parish the Thought: adamsmith.org/research/paris…
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