Conservative leader launches campaign to hand the power back to the people

Michael Howard promised yesterday to devolve more decisions to local authorities, free them from Whitehall red tape and hand power "back to the people."

Launching the Tory campaign for next month's local elections, Mr Howard criticised the Government for piling "regulation after regulation, burden after burden" on local councils and for not giving them enough funding to do the job.

Mr Howard, who faces his first test at the ballot box since becoming Tory leader last November, concentrated mainly on local government issues - in contrast to Labour, which highlighted national policies.

Speaking to 200 Tory supporters in Birmingham, a shirt-sleeved Mr Howard said his key message was "better services for lower taxes". Councils should be independent and accountable, should offer value for money and be genuinely local. "We want to give people more power, more responsibility," he said.

The Tory leader said: "Conservative councils cost people less - £53 less every year on average for a Band D bill. However much the Government tries to rig the funding or fiddle the formula, Conservative councils still keep taxes low. That will be the message of our campaign. We will be showing people that sensible Conservative policies make a difference, but don't cost the earth."

Mr Howard said council tax bills had soared by 60 per cent since 1997, with the burden falling on taxpayers, so voters faced a clear choice on 10 June. "They can vote Labour, a vote for a party that has let them down and cost them more. They can vote Liberal Democrat, for a party that will tax them even more. Or they can vote Conservative for councils that cost you less but deliver more," he said.

A document outlining the Tories' key 10 principles for the campaign included a commitment to reducing the proportion of local government funding ringfenced by Whitehall. Mr Howard said that had increased by more than 7 per cent since 1997, reducing councils' ability to make their own spending decisions. He said the Tories would "create a better balance between the money councils spend and the money they raise, without increasing the overall burden of taxation."

He also criticised the local government inspectorate process which, he said, cost £1bn a year to operate and whose costs would be cut by a Conservative Government. Other guiding principles included rejecting Labour's plans for regional government in England, the introduction of 40,000 extra police officers to patrol the streets and a "pupil passport" giving parents greater choice over their children's schooling.

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, hit back by accusing the Tories of planning to cut town hall funding by £2.4 bn. He said Labour had increased grants to local authorities by 30 per cent in real terms since 1997. This year's council bills had risen by an average of 5.9 per cent, the lowest increase for more than a decade. He claimed Labour councils had led the way with the lowest average council tax increase.