The council tax revaluation planned for English homes in 2007 is to be delayed until after the next general election, the government has said. Instead, a long running inquiry into local government finance led by Sir Michael Lyons will look at a changing role for town halls.

However, the Labour government has been accused of merely "resetting the clock on a ticking time bomb", after concerns that revaluation would lead to big rises in millions of council tax bills. Local Liberal Democrat leader Chris Millington said:

"Council tax is in a desperate mess, and cancelling revaluation does nothing to change that.

By opting out of meaningful reform, the Government is letting down the millions of pensioners and low paid workers who struggle month after month to pay their council tax bills. Council tax is Britain's most unpopular tax because it is the most unfair. It must be scrapped and replaced with a fair system based on ability to pay."