CAMERON PLEDGE TO TOWN HALLS

In his latest austerity warning, the Tory leader signalled that local authorities faced increasing pressure to ease the burden of council tax on families.

In a speech to the Local Government Association’s annual conference in Harrogate, he questioned Gordon Brown’s honesty about the need for spending cuts.

Mr Cameron said: “There’s no point pretending, as our Prime Minister does, that it’s just not there.

“We’ve got to look the public in the eye and have an honest conversation about the financial situation.”

He promised local councils greater freedom under a Conservative government, but warned that greater productivity was “a necessity in the age of austerity”.

“We must demonstrate that we can provide good services when funding is tight,” he said.

“I do not pretend that tough choices will not have to be made. But we must begin by fighting the outdated notion that having limited finances just means painful cuts to frontline services.”