London residents are to have their council tax frozen next April as Conservative town halls lead the race to offer the lowest rise in household bills in the country.

Many Tory councils have managed to limit tax rises only by imposing charges, privatising services or cutting jobs — a practice likely to spread if the Tories win the general election.

Hammersmith & Fulham, widely regarded as a role model for a Cameron government, will set the bar today by announcing a 3 per cent cut in council tax for the fourth year running, The Times has learnt. The council has, however, also shed 1,000 jobs, put up charges for home care and privatised many of its services.

An average council tax freeze is now expected across the capital for the first time and rises of between 1 per cent and 2 per cent are likely across the rest of England and Wales, the lowest increase for more than ten years. “It is clear that there is a race to bring down council tax in London, partly triggered by Hammersmith & Fulham,” Tony Travers, a local government expert at the London School of Economics, said. “It would be amazing with inflation as low as it is and local elections next year if the average council tax bills in London were not frozen.”

With London elections taking place on May 6, and a general election likely on the same day, at least half the 34 London boroughs are already recommending a freeze or cut. None has so far proposed a tax rise for 2010-11, although final decisions do not have to be taken until February.

Most of the prominent Conservative councils, such as Wandsworth and Westminster, are expected to freeze or cut council tax next year. The Tory borough of Kensington and Chelsea is likely to offer a reduction for the second year running. Eight Labour council leaders have also announced freezes, and Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, has said that he will not raise the Greater London Authority element of council tax for the second consecutive year.

Council tax bills have escalated under Labour as the Government shifted the burden off income tax to the more visible local tax. Average household bills jumped by nearly 100 per cent between 1997 and 2009, with the average Band D payment rising from £688 to more than £1,450 a year.

Tory-run Barnet council has already hit the headlines with its radical plans for a no-frills service with charges for better or quicker provision in services such as planning and home care.

But Hammersmith & Fulham, which the Tories took over in 2006, has been more successful in cutting council tax. Stephen Greenhalgh, the council leader, told The Times that the council had managed to achieve the record tax reduction by reducing debt by £24 million, cutting 1,000 posts, including outsourcing, and selling £1.3 million of office space.

“We have saved £42 million by cutting waste and bureaucracy,” Mr Greenhalgh said. “Britain is heading for bankruptcy unless we all start making radical changes that can truly deliver better services for less money.” He said that the council, judged one of the top performers in the country by the Audit Commission, had improved services. Streets were cleaner, a £2 million library had opened, £4 million had been spent on extra police and £8 million on improving park services.

He has, however, introduced charges in several sensitive areas, including home help for the elderly and disabled. Of the 830 people who need home help, the service is now £10.50 an hour for the 340 with higher incomes. The cost of meals on wheels has risen from £2.40 to £3.80 per meal. Charges of £20 have been introduced for the collection of bulky waste.

Stephen Cowan, leader of the Labour group at Hammersmith & Fulham, said that the Tories had introduced more than 500 “new or increased stealth taxes” in the past three years. These included a 121 per cent rise in fees for after-school childcare and 50 per cent rises in parking charges, he said.

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