Labour and the Conservatives were both facing questions over the election campaign's "ticking time bomb," the fast-rising burden of council tax for rich and poor alike.

Faced with the Tory claim that the revaluation was a £2bn "stealth tax" that would cost seven million homeowners an average of £270 a year, the local government minister, Nick Raynsford, said Labour's plans no longer included creating higher council tax bands to reflect soaring house prices in wealthier areas.

Meanwhile, the Halifax Bank has accused the Tories of fiddling their house price figures to support their plans to scrap the revaluation of the council tax.

Michael Howard said the revaluation by the government was no longer justified partly because figures issued days ago by the Halifax showed disparities in house prices between London and the regions had reduced.

"You only need a revaluation where there are disparities that have emerged in property prices," he said. "The latest information ... available in the past seven days is from the Halifax which shows the regional disparities are becoming much less significant."

But a spokesman for the bank said the Tories had "selectively used" their figures.