Furious locals have criticised the decision to raise their council tax by almost 10% after Angela Rayner gave town halls the green light to hike the levy.

Millions of households face a council tax rise beyond the usual threshold of 5% after the Deputy Prime Minister agreed some cash-strapped councils could increase bills.

Local authorities in Birmingham, Somerset, Trafford, Bradford, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Newham can all increase the levy after Ms Rayner said help was needed to prevent them from falling further into “financial distress”.

Ms Rayner’s decision to let Labour-led Newham raise its council tax by 8.99% sparked anger among locals on the streets of Stratford in the east London borough, which played host to the 2012 London Olympics.

Maria Moloney, 60, from Manor Park, Newham, said: “Labour are crap. 10% council tax is disgraceful.” The city worker added: “I pay my way in life and don’t get anything off them. We’re looking after the ones that don’t bloody work.”

Retired policeman, John Boden, 63, said his council tax was already “through the roof”. He added: “This borough is run like every other Labour borough. They’re clueless. They just waste money.”

He suggested housing costs and Newham’s support for people on benefits were impacting public-facing services in a borough which he said was short of council taxpayers.

Nigel Nadolski, 74, from East Ham, said the council provided value for money, but was failing when it came to recycled waste collections.

The retired admin worker said he feared the council tax rise would wipe out the money he received under the Winter Fuel Allowance, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped for millions of pensioners last year.

On the state of the country, Mr Nadolski said: “Dismal. We’ve got a prophet of doom, haven’t we? [Sir Keir Starmer] said it was going to get worse, didn’t he?”

Widow Sharon More, who works part time on a fruit and veg stall and is exempt from paying council tax, said she felt worse off under the Labour Government.

Mrs More, 66, said: “Everything now has gone sky high. We’re definitely worse off. Some people say you can’t live on the state pension, you can, but it’s a mininum. You can’t go out, have luxuries, holidays, things like that.”

Admin worker, Andy Towell, 46, said the cost-of-living was getting out of hand. The Newham local added: “I’m feeling worse off, but I think most people are feeling like that at the moment. Energy bills. Council tax. It seems to have gotten worse and worse.

“I don’t think many people are happy with the current Government to be honest. I’m horrified by it.”

He went on to suggest national government decisions such as axing the Winter Fuel Allowance for millions of pensioners had undermined basic British values, including fairness.

Lab assistant Yvonne Tiley, 58, said Newham had kept its council tax low for a long time, so a rise was “inevitable”. She added: “Services have definitely got worse. Services are closing down. Sad times. We’re getting less for our money.”

Market stallholder, Tuyi Adewole, 41, said: “It’s been very bad from the Labour time. We were expecting it to be better but it’s got worse.” He added trade has suffered as customers reign in their spending and focus on essentials such as food.

Care worker, Sweet Amadasun, 52, from Newham, said she pays £100 per month in council tax, adding: “You work to pay your bills and that’s it.”

Mum of two, Gina Darie, 49, from Maryland, Newham, said the rise in council tax means she will have to find savings.

She said: “My husband has tried to find a job with a better income. We are trying very hard to give our children something better. Things are definitely not better.”

Hospitality manager Arben Palluci, 49, sounded a more positive note about the council tax rise. He said: “For me it’s excellent. I’m happy with the council tax going up. If we don’t pay council tax it affects [services].”

Newham insists even with the hike, its council tax will still be the seventh cheapest in the capital and the lowest out of all boroughs in outer London.

A council source said services such as libraries and bin collections have not been cut while not all residents who rely on temporary accommodation are without work. Many end up homeless as landlords leave the rented property sector or through “no fault evictions”.

Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz said the decision to grant the council permission to raise council tax above the usual threshold was in recognition of the “exceptional challenges” the borough faces.

She said the financial difficulties facing the council were mainly the result of temporary accommodation costs, reported to add £100million to the authority’s finances over the next three years.

Ms Fiaz said: “We know this is a difficult time for many of our residents and we don’t take the decision to raise council tax lightly.

“We will continue to support those most in need through our proposed 80% council tax reduction scheme. We are also proposing to keep intact the 90% council tax reduction scheme for eligible pensioners.

“All our measures reflect our unwavering commitment to ensuring low-income households receive the vital assistance they need.”

Ms Rayner said: “These are difficult decisions that Government has not taken lightly. We recognise the importance of limited increases in helping to prevent these councils falling further into financial distress – but we have been clear this must be balanced with the interests of taxpayers.

“We have agreed to a limited number of requests and in all cases have not agreed to the full amount requested. Where we have agreed, it is only for councils with amongst the lowest levels of council tax, and where we expect, even after these increases, residents will still be paying less than the average compared with similar councils.”