Former Ealing LBC leader Julian Bell has defended reports that Sadiq Khan is planning a 10% hike in council tax bills.

Speaking to Cratus Communications chief Nick Kilby and The MJ's editor Heather Jameson in the latest Our World is Local podcast, Mr Bell said London's mayor was ‘between a rock and hard place' given the level of Government funding and cost of living pressures facing Londoners.

He said the capital's councils also had little choice but to impose the maximum council tax rise available due to inflationary pressures on budgets.

The episode also features the trio discussing the winners and losers in the latest round of the Levelling Up Fund, post-Covid realities for London's transport system and the impact of strikes on councils.

Listen to the January edition here.