By Ollie Stone-Lee BBC News Online political staff

It is time ministers made up their minds on the changes needed to halt unaffordable council tax rises, says local government's new champion.

New Local Government Association chairman Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart has told BBC News Online the issue gives Tony Blair the chance to back up his rhetoric about taking hard choices.

Pensioners have protested against council tax hikes

MPs will hear on Tuesday the results of an 15-month review of the way local government is funded.

Sir Sandy wants ministers to move ahead with reforms and is alarmed that last week's spending review could pave the way for more inflation-busting council tax hikes.

Public revolt about the tax is already "very strong" and Chancellor Gordon Brown's three-year spending plans suggest councils will have to raise council tax by 6.7% a year, he says.

In a wide-ranging interview, Sir Sandy says the spending review was relatively generous for health, housing and neighbourhood renewal.

But he is demanding urgent talks with Mr Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on the deal for general council spending.

Price paid

He accuses Mr Brown of promising extra spending on schools without giving councils enough central funds to pay for it.

"So the poor old council taxpayer is picking up the bill and local councils feel very, very strongly that people just can't afford to pay at three times the rate of inflation."

There have already been pensioner protests over the tax increases, which particularly hit those on fixed incomes.

Bruce-Lockhart says a crisis is approaching

Sir Sandy says it is not the council tax system itself which is the problem, just the way it has been used to top up government coffers.

His demand on the funding review is simple.

"What we simply want there is for the government to make their mind up.

"The prime minister, in his eloquent way, reminds us that government is about hard choices and tough decisions.

"Well, this isn't an easy one and it's a good opportunity to show us he can make a difficult decision and just say what the way forward is. We've all been looking at it for 18 months."

The LGA wants more tax revenue to retained, not raised, locally.

That could include councils taking control of business rates or a the first 3% of normal income tax being assigned specifically to local councils.

Tory-Labour clash?

A 24-hour "away" meeting in the tranquillity of Leeds Castle, Kent will soon give council leaders and ministers the chance for debate.

And it may be the first test of how the LGA's first Conservative leadership in its seven-year existence will get on with the Labour tribalist Mr Prescott, whose responsibilities include Local Government.

Sir Sandy may have railed against the government in his first week in the job for failing to consult on plans to change the responsibilities of local education authorities.

How will relations go with Prescott?

But in his calm and quiet manner, he is prepared to disappoint those predicting for fisticuffs between the LGA and the government.

He praises his Labour predecessor, Sir Jeremy Beecham, for doing a "terrific job".

"But I hope that we will bring a straight-forwardness and an honesty in our dealings that will enable that to go forward in a straight forward but a constructive way.

"People who say they expect the relationship to be different or difficult I think misunderstand the issue.

"You have to have a relationship between the legislators and the people that deliver services."

'Centralisers'

The problem is the boundaries have become blurred, with ministers trying to control local issues from their Whitehall desks, he argues.

There are those, such as Mr Prescott and deputy Nick Raynsford, who genuinely believe in devolving power and the Treasury too is supportive.

But Sir Sandy believes centralisers in spending departments like education, health and the Home Office think the way to meet targets is to do the job themselves.

He suggests there need to be national standards on health, possibly education and to some degree social care.

"But once you get beyond that, why does a library or swimming pool or emptying dustbins have to be to a national standard?"

The UK is unique in its level of central control, says Sir Sandy, although he is optimistic the climate is right for change.

"There are a number of people in government who realise that what they're doing just simply doesn't work."

He wants to break what he sees as government's lack of trust in those on the front line of services.

"The central control takes people's focus away from their customers," he argues, suggesting council league tables should focus on customer ratings, not Whitehall targets.

It is a problem that is leading to a crisis over the proper use of public money and in democracy, he says, pointing a low turnout levels.

Mandela and Madonna

While Sir Sandy still farms fruit in Kent, his local government work has gone way beyond the time when somebody suggested he put something back through half a day a week on county council work.

His hectic schedule is divided between leading Kent County Council, the LGA and his farming.

The son of a Foreign Office official, he travelled much as a child, farmed for a time in Zimbabwe and contemplated settling in Australia.

Aside from the Duke of Wellington, he admires the unlikely pairing of Nelson Mandela and Madonna.

"In both of them, I admire their courage. I admire their zest for life, that extraordinary determination."

It's the kind of determination he may need if he is to ensure more politics is local.