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UK economy in a 'mess' - Cameron | UK economy in a 'mess' - Cameron |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Labour has left the economy in an "utter mess", Tory leader David Cameron has said, after the chancellor said the economy would shrink 3.5% this year. | Labour has left the economy in an "utter mess", Tory leader David Cameron has said, after the chancellor said the economy would shrink 3.5% this year. |
The UK was in the worst recession since 1945, he said, and Labour's claim to economic competence was "dead". | |
But the Tories have said they will not commit to reverse Labour's proposal to raise the top rate of tax to 50%. | |
In his speech, Alistair Darling said the economy would recover in 2010 but borrowing would total £175bn this year. | |
'Red chapter' | 'Red chapter' |
Describing the Budget as a "missed opportunity", Mr Cameron said the government was "running out of money, moral authority and time". | Describing the Budget as a "missed opportunity", Mr Cameron said the government was "running out of money, moral authority and time". |
"As of today, any claim they have ever made to economic competence is dead, over, finished," he said. | "As of today, any claim they have ever made to economic competence is dead, over, finished," he said. |
He said the chancellor's predictions for future growth in the economy - Mr Darling forecast the economy would expand by 1.25% in 2010 and by 3.5% in the year after - were wildly unrealistic. | He said the chancellor's predictions for future growth in the economy - Mr Darling forecast the economy would expand by 1.25% in 2010 and by 3.5% in the year after - were wildly unrealistic. |
He [Gordon Brown] will never bring the changes required because he does not accept the economic model he has run during the last 12 years is fundamentally bust David Cameron Darling unveils 50% top tax rate Nick Robinson on the tax proposals New political dividing lines | He [Gordon Brown] will never bring the changes required because he does not accept the economic model he has run during the last 12 years is fundamentally bust David Cameron Darling unveils 50% top tax rate Nick Robinson on the tax proposals New political dividing lines |
Borrowing levels announced in the Budget - amounting to nearly £350bn over the next two years - were historic, Mr Cameron claimed. | Borrowing levels announced in the Budget - amounting to nearly £350bn over the next two years - were historic, Mr Cameron claimed. |
The chancellor had "written a whole chapter of red ink" while failing to come up with a credible plan to bring the public finances back into balance. | The chancellor had "written a whole chapter of red ink" while failing to come up with a credible plan to bring the public finances back into balance. |
He said Gordon Brown failed to grasp the extent of the problems facing the UK because he was in denial about his role in causing them. | He said Gordon Brown failed to grasp the extent of the problems facing the UK because he was in denial about his role in causing them. |
"He will never bring the changes required because he does not accept the economic model he has run during the last 12 years is fundamentally bust," he said. | "He will never bring the changes required because he does not accept the economic model he has run during the last 12 years is fundamentally bust," he said. |
The Conservative leader attacked a plan to raise income tax on earnings above £150,000 a year to 50% next April as politically driven and said other tax increases, including a 2p rise in fuel duty, would hit the poorest in society. | |
However, the Conservatives have indicated that they will not reverse the proposed 50p tax rate if they win the next election. | |
Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond told the BBC his party could not "in all honesty" promise this given the scale of the "black hole" in the public finances. | |
"We are not going to make a commitment to repeal the 50p tax rate," he said, adding the Tories would instead seek to reduce the tax burden for those on middle and lower incomes. | |
"We are going to focus on the taxes for the many." | |
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the 50p tax proposal, which, if introduced before the next election would break a manifesto pledge by Labour, was partly designed to wrong-foot the opposition as many Conservatives would want their leadership to oppose it. | |
Earlier, during prime minister's questions, Mr Brown accused the Conservatives of wanting to "cut their way through" the recession and do nothing to help the unemployed. |