Tory tax plans spurious - Cable

7.02.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 13th Aug 2007

Commenting on the Tory report to cut taxes, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Dr Vince Cable MP said: "Before the last election, we had a similar report from the Tories claiming they would cut taxes by £15bn a year. That report, on closer inspection, amounted to totally fictional savings. I have little doubt that these plans are also entirely spurious.

"Certainly there is a need to get rid of government waste and red tape, but there is no avoiding the need for tough choices.

"Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign honestly on hard choices. We believe that taxes on middle and lower income families must be cut which is why we propose a cut of 4p in the basic rate of income tax and the abolition of Council Tax.

"It is also why we propose cuts to the Child Trust Fund to finance smaller class sizes, a halt to the prison building programme to fund facilities for tackling mental health, cutting nuclear power to invest in renewable energy and charging freight to use roads so we can invest in the rail network.

"The Tories once again claim to be able to cut taxes while pretending that no-one will have to pay, showing that these plans are as spurious as the last."