Liberal Democrat plans to scrap council tax will cost average households hundreds of pounds each year, David Davis has said.

Announcing a review of local government finance, the shadow deputy prime minister claimed local income taxes would cost the average family an extra £600 per year.

"We need to redouble our efforts and tie that price tag round the neck of every Liberal Democrat," he told delegates in Blackpool.

"Tell voters: put a cross against the name of a Liberal Democrat candidate, and you could end up writing a cheque for hundreds of pounds.

"We all know how slippery Liberal Democrats are.

"So I'd like to say a big thank you to Charlie [Kennedy] and maybe even raise a glass to him, for giving us a policy that will help us send the Liberal Democrats packing."

Davis pledged that the review of finance in local government would "give councils the freedom to spend money to meet their constituents' needs, not Whitehall's demands".

Extra funding from council tax increases had been spent on increased bureaucracy, he argued.

"Across our public services, bureaucracy is out of control," he said.

"Why is the number of bureaucrats in our hospitals rising three times as fast as the number of doctors and nurses?

"And why is the number of non-teaching staff in our schools rising twice as fast as the number of teachers?

"I will tell you why. Because of the way that Mr Blair runs Britain."

Conservatives would "get the politics out of public services", said Davis.

"The politicians will set the rules. We'll leave the professionals to do the job. And that's the way it should be."

In addition, Davis repeated Tory opposition to regional assemblies - the only party to do so.

"We reject them because they will pull still more power to politicians and bureaucrats," he said.

"Because they stifle economic development rather than fostering it. And because they send a clear message that this Labour government puts more trust in politicians than it does in people.

"So I guarantee you this today. That wherever Labour proposes them, the Conservative Party will fight them, every inch of the way."

The shadow deputy prime minister also attacked John Prescott for limiting the right-to-buy policy implemented in the 1980s.

By cancelling the discounts available to tenants in London, applications to buy council homes had plummeted, he said.

Davis pledged to reinstate the policy of right-to-buy. "Labour's politics of envy is shattering the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Londoners," he said.

"Last year I announced we would create a million new homeowners. This year, due to Labour's vindictive policies, our challenge is greater."