A council tax freeze is on the cards after Tory leaders pledged not to add to Hounslow's  household bills during the credit crunch.

However, the Labour party has urged them to go even further and cut the rate to bale out struggling families.

The Conservative-led administration has kept its section of the council tax bill the same since seizing power in 2006, controversially cutting 300 jobs to pay for the move last time round.

The overall rate still rose slightly in previous years after ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone increased his slice of the pie to fund more police, but his replacement Boris Johnson is committed to keeping the London precept down.

Council leader Peter Thompson admitted the decision would mean cutting services but insisted that was the best option ahead of the looming recession.

"In the current economic climate, money does more good in people's pockets where it can help them meet spiralling household bills," he said.

Hounslow Council claims to have identified £11million 'efficiency savings' this year, rising to £23.3m in 2010/11.

Deputy Labour leader Ruth Cadbury claimed it was possible to actually cut next year's bill but she still had concerns about the impact of savings made in the latest budget.

"Hard-working families want to see a reduction in council tax but the last thing they want are cuts to front-line services," she said. "The impact of cuts to children's services in the last budget has yet to be felt but they've lost a lot of experience by combining administration roles."

Hounslow's council tax bill has fallen from the fifth to the 11th highest in London over the last two years. The final rate for 2009/10 will not be set until next March.