Tories cut Labour spending pledge
The Conservatives are dropping their pledge to match Labour's spending plans for 2010/11, leader David Cameron says. The Tories had promised to match the totals for Labour's spending plans from 2008 to 2011 - subject to a review in 2009 of the 2010/11 spending total. Mr Cameron's decision to drop the pledge is aimed at being able to avoid the "tax bombshell" he says would follow plans for big borrowing rises. He said he wanted to build a "low tax, low debt economy for the long term". He accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of planning to "throw money at the crisis in the faint hope that this will help recovery" because he could not admit his past mistakes in not putting enough money aside during the boom years. "Unless we curb the growth of spending, taxes will have to rise in the future." said Mr Cameron. He would not go into details about which services would face a slower rate of spending growth under a Conservative government. But he said he was ready for Labour "lies" his announcement would mean "Tory cuts" in health and education. "I am not worried about Labour's lies because nobody believes a word they say any more." He said Labour's spending plans were based on "heroic assumptions" about Britain's prospects for economic recovery. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7735113.stm
The Conservatives are dropping their pledge to match Labour's spending plans for 2010/11, leader David Cameron says. The Tories had promised to match the totals for Labour's spending plans from 2008 to 2011 - subject to a review in 2009 of the 2010/11 spending total. Mr Cameron's decision to drop the pledge is aimed at being able to avoid the "tax bombshell" he says would follow plans for big borrowing rises. He said he wanted to build a "low tax, low debt economy for the long term". He accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of planning to "throw money at the crisis in the faint hope that this will help recovery" because he could not admit his past mistakes in not putting enough money aside during the boom years. "Unless we curb the growth of spending, taxes will have to rise in the future." said Mr Cameron. He would not go into details about which services would face a slower rate of spending growth under a Conservative government. But he said he was ready for Labour "lies" his announcement would mean "Tory cuts" in health and education. "I am not worried about Labour's lies because nobody believes a word they say any more." He said Labour's spending plans were based on "heroic assumptions" about Britain's prospects for economic recovery. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7735113.stm