Council levy in the capital set to rise on average 2.9%

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This means bills for a typical household from April will increase from £1,258 to £1,293 - almost doubling from when Labour came to power in 1997.

Today's figures from the Local Government Association estimate rises of four per cent across England from April - equivalent to the rate of inflation.

In London, according to 10 of the 33 boroughs, the average increase will be

2.9 per cent. This is lower than the rest of the country because Westminster plans to freeze its levy while Hammersmith and Fulham will cut bills for a second year by three per cent.

Sutton and Barking and Dagenham said they were considering 4.9 per cent rises, and Kingston - the most expensive borough with bills of £1,522 - plans a 4.5 per cent hike.

Ken Livingstone's share of the tax, which includes contributions to the Met police and fire brigade, will rise by

2.4 per cent, or £7.38. From April, the Mayor will receive £311.25 from people paying the benchmark Band D bill.

Council spending is under pressure because of undercounting of migrants, higher taxes for burying rubbish in landfill and rising demands for social care as they step in to continue services that NHS trusts can no longer afford.

But the Tories said council tax is Gordon Brown's "sneakiest stealth tax". Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said: "Hikes are engineered by Whitehall, but councillors take the blame when the weighty bills hit."