The BBC report a David Cameron announcement with no discernible spin - yet

"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".

The Tory leader said Mr Brown could not admit to past mistakes in not putting enough money aside during the boom years.

'Tax bombshell'

Mr Cameron warned Brown's proposed "fiscal stimulus" was merely storing up tax rises for the years to come - he said a £30bn injection to the economy would mean an 8% rise in income tax later.

And if Labour did not revise its own spending plans in the light of the economic downturn that meant they were planning tax increases after the next election, argued Mr Cameron.

"Unless we curb the growth of spending, taxes will need to rise in the future." said the Tory leader.


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
David Cameron

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

In a major shift in Conservative economic policy, Mr Cameron said: "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."

He said Labour's current spending plans were based on "heroic assumptions" about Britain's prospects for economic recovery and the tax receipts it would generate.

And he called on Chancellor Alistair Darling to use next week's pre-Budget report to reduce his figures for spending growth beyond 2011/12, which would be the first year of a Conservative government if the party won an election in 2010, the latest when it could be held.

'Labour lies'

Mr Cameron said he would not go into details at this stage 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.

"After 11 years of waste and broken promises from Labour, they [voters] can see that spending money alone does not guarantee that things will get better," he said, adding: "I am not worried about Labour's lies because nobody believes a word they say any more."

He said he was focused on "protecting people against Labour's recession and ensuring the recovery comes as quickly as possible".

He added: "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." "

How long before the BBC's Labour masters demand and get the coverage they want?