Labour has turned council tax into the ultimate stealth tax, Tories say

Tory research shows the average Band D council tax bill in England has gone up by £478 to £1,167 since 1997-8, or £1,716 over the whole period.

In Scotland the average bill went up £270, and in Wales £392, costing £1,039 and £1,557 in total respectively.

But Labour says council tax increases were down by half last year.

The single biggest increase has been in Kingston upon Thames, with a cumulative rise of £2,413 on band D since 1997, the Tories say.

TOP CUMULATIVE RISES Kingston upon Thames - £2,413 Rushcliffe - £2,319 West Berkshire - £2,316 West Devon - £2,287 Havering - £2,285 Broadland - £2,274 Mansfield - £2,262 North Devon - £2,261 Richmondshire - £2,255 Leicester - £2,252

Shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman said: "Labour have turned council tax into the ultimate stealth tax - engineered by Gordon Brown to rise by three times the rate of inflation every year, but with local councillors taking the blame when bills hit the doorstep.

"I doubt any household believes that their local public services have improved by the same amount that their local tax bills have soared.

"The truth is that Labour's higher taxes have been wasted on armies of clipboard inspectors, regional talking shops and fat government."

But local government minister Nick Raynsford said: "Government work at reducing council tax resulted in increases being reduced by half last year.

"We expect further reductions next year.