Cameron scraps Tory spending commitments

David Cameron has announced that the Conservatives will not commit to matching the government's spending proposals beyond 2010/11.

The Tory leader said on Tuesday that the downturn in the economy meant it was no longer prudent to support spending growth of around two per cent after the end of the current spending review period.

Cameron said that his priority was to prevent tax rises next general election, which he claimed Labour is storing up by increasing borrowing.

Ahead of next week's pre-Budget report he claimed Gordon Brown was allowing a "£30bn borrowing splurge" in order to make short-term tax pledges.

Cameron claimed tax cuts should be permanent and not temporary, and called on the chancellor and prime minister to help reduce borrowing by revising their own spending plans.

"Labour's economic mismanagement makes it vital for the long-term health of our economy that we set a new path for restraining the growth of spending," he told reporters.

"That means for the year 2010/11 we need change, not more of the same.

"That means reducing planned government spending growth and not matching Labour's spending plans.

"To be absolutely clear - to stop future tax rises the growth rate of spending in 2010/11 will have to be lower than the growth rate laid out by Labour.

"The growth rates of spending in the years beyond 2010/11, pencilled in by the chancellor last year, are also now unsustainably high."

Review

He said he has supported Labour's spending projections up until 2010/11, despite some internal criticism, because "two per cent was consistent with our approach of holding spending below the rate of growth".

But now that that growth is no longer occurring, Cameron said it was time to review all outgoings.

"Let me put this as clearly as I can - unless we curb the growth of spending, taxes will need to rise in future," he said.

"Without such restraint the borrowing bombshell will turn into a tax bombshell and if Gordon Brown cuts taxes now the bombshell will be even bigger."

He said the Conservative approach would be an "affordable plan" coupled with "independent oversight" of borrowing levels.

He pledged that a Tory government would cut the cost of "social failure" and reduce wasteful spending such as identity cards and the NHS IT programme as part of a spending review in every area.

However, Cameron insisted that the health budget would not be cut overall.

"We have always said that the NHS is our number one priority," he said

"We do believe in real terms spending increases in the health service, and that will happen."