'Now that fight is paying off' says Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash over proposed council tax reform

It was upside down — and I’ve fought to turn it the right way up.

From the day I was elected, I’ve pushed for change.

I formed a cross-party Parliamentary group to expose the injustice at the heart of council funding.

I led debates in Westminster, met repeatedly with ministers, and challenged the Prime Minister directly. I refused to sit back while Hartlepool paid the price for a system rigged in favour of the affluent south.

Now that fight is paying off.

The Government has launched Fair Funding 2.0 — and with it, a major shift in how public money is distributed.

Around £2 billion will be reallocated away from southern councils that have historically had it easier and towards communities like Hartlepool that have been underfunded for too long.

This isn’t just a policy change — it’s a hard-won victory for our town.

We’ve already secured a £600million Recovery Grant to start putting things right.

It means more support for areas like Hartlepool, where need is higher and the ability to raise money locally is lower.

And let me be clear: this shift means more than just numbers.

It means we’ve committed to freezing council tax – and if we can go further, we will.

It means giving our council the tools to provide better services without punishing local families.

We’re also ending the broken bidding system that handed out funds through a postcode lottery. Instead, long-term, flexible funding will give local leaders real power to deliver.

This change didn’t happen by accident – it happened because we stood up, spoke out, and refused to be ignored.

It’s not the end of the road. Change will take time. But the direction is clear: money is finally moving out of the south and into towns like Hartlepool.

And I’ll keep fighting until every last bit of that injustice is fixed – because Hartlepool deserves its fair share. No more, no less.