Woking Borough Council had the highest debt per resident in the UK in 2025-26 at £20,679 per person, according to research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The average local authority debt per resident in the UK over the same period was £2,232.

The same research shows that Woking’s per resident debt figure was more than twice the next council - West Dunbartonshire in Scotland at £9,623 - and almost three times the level of third-placed Warrington (£7,198).

The council was also the third most indebted local authority in 2025-26 with £2.2 billion of debt, excluding Greater London Authority bodies.

Birmingham City Council had £3.5bn of debt, followed by Leeds City Council at £2.7bn, then Woking.

Local authority debt in the UK reached a record £154.6bn in 2025-26, an increase of £6bn on the previous year.

The briefing note from the TaxPayers’ Alliance adds: “Councils have a vital role in delivering public services, but many have accumulated substantial liabilities through borrowing, pension obligations, investing in speculative investments and other long-term commitments.

“In recent years, rising interest rates and growing service pressures in parts of the local government sector have brought renewed attention to the sustainability of council finances, with seven councils issuing 11 section 114 notices between 2018 and 2023, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

“Taxpayers ultimately stand behind these obligations, therefore transparency over the scale and distribution of council debt is essential.”

Woking Borough Council issued a section 114 notice in June 2023.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: "The mountain of local authority debt is a ticking time bomb for taxpayers who will ultimately be left holding the bag.

“Decades of speculative investments, reckless borrowing and statutory obligations from Westminster have left councils stuffed to the brim with debt, while basic services like fixing potholes have been neglected.”