‘Future Tory government cannot rule out tax rise’

DAVID CAMERON said yesterday a future Conservative administration would find it tough to stick as promised to the British government’s spending plans and could not rule out raising taxes.

But the Conservative leader said that over a full economic cycle it should be possible to lower taxes as long as state spending was kept under control.

“We are going to face, if we win the next election, an extremely tough time,” Cameron said as his party met for its autumn conference in Birmingham.

The Conservatives have pledged to match the government’s announced spending plans for the next three years, if they return to power in an election due some time in the next 18 months.

Opinion polls show the Conservatives are on course to evict Labour from government, although their once commanding lead is slipping.

Cameron said maintaining the planned annual 2% rise in state expenditure would be challenging in the face of a threatened economic downturn.

“That is very tight ... It’s going to get tighter because inflation is now higher, unemployment is now rising. It’s going to be tough and it’s going to be difficult,” he said.

Cameron is under pressure to convince voters that he and his shadow chancellor George Osborne have the competence to deal with the risk of recession and the fall-out from the global banking crisis.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown made headlines last week at his party conference in Manchester when he said the economic crisis was “no time for a novice” — a pointed dig at the Tory leadership as well as Labour rivals.

Three polls in recent days have shown Cameron’s lead over Labour has slipped to its lowest since April.

A Sunday Telegraph poll put the Conservatives on 43% of the vote, down three points, with Labour up seven on 31%, still enough of a lead to give Cameron a majority in parliament.

But on the economy, voters told the BPIX survey said they had more confidence in Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling than Cameron and Osborne.

Cameron said the Conservative commitment to the government’s budget plans was conditional on Brown keeping within his own spending limits.

“The problem is, if you watched his conference, every five minutes there was another enormous public spending plan.”

Asked if a shrinking economy meant he might even have to raise taxes if elected, he said it was possible.

“Of course you can’t rule that out,” he said.

“No responsible opposition can ever rule things out.”