A scaremongering letter sent to me by my Conservative MP Mike Freer warns that my council tax will rise by £1,000 if Labour wins the 2015 election.

The letter includes a fairy tale forecast about a council tax revaluation supposedly planned for post-election.

Mr Freer’s letter says that if there was a mansion tax it would mean every home in Barnet would be revalued, and thus my house would be moved into a higher council tax band and my council tax would go up.

This is plain wrong. It should be obvious to Mr Freer that if every house was revalued, most would stay in the same council tax bands as now and council tax would remain the same. House valuations would be higher but they would all have to be in the same bands from A to H, exactly as now.

Labour has publicly ruled out a revaluation but favours adding new bands above H using the same system the coalition already has in place to tax properties bought by firms. This has bands of £2m-£5m, £5m-£10m, £10m-£20m and £20m+ based on sale prices.

He also claims a mansion tax would apply to properties worth over £1m. But the tax proposed by Labour and the Lib Dems would kick in at £2m, not £1m.

My house is not worth £2m, and nor are 98.5 per cent of homes in Barnet. Us 98.5 per cent think it would be fairer if people in £2m houses paid more. Should a £50m palace on The Bishops Avenue have the same tax as a four-bedroom house in North Finchley?

Political parties all use the fear factor but these innumerate claims use something more pernicious – the Freer factor.

Deborah Heneghan

Mayfield Avenue, North Finchley