Cameron: We'll scrap 50p tax

Friday, 24 April 2009 5:50 PM

By Alice Cannet

David Cameron has given his strongest indication yet that the Tories will scrap the 50p top rate of income tax if they attain power.

Speaking on the Today programme, the Tory leader said: "We don't approve of the high marginal tax rates. But it's got to form its place in the queue of taxes we want to get rid of. How do we get rid of them? By getting to grips with spending now.

"It's a mistake. It's bad for Britain.

"The whole way that the government operates is going to have to change," he continued. "We are going to have to try and get more for less."

The Conservatives have identified three ways their government would cut spending if elected, including tax credit cuts for families earning more than £50,000 a year.

The Tories own economic recovery plan would also mean major projects such as the national identity database and the Contact Point child protection database would be scrapped.

Last, Mr Cameron said his party would curb on public sector pay putting a halt to "the vast growth of the quangocracy".

He said: "It means no more ministers endlessly announcing new catchy initiatives with budgets attached to them. It means ministers being rewarded on the basis of how they can save money rather than spend money.

"There's going to have to be a massive culture change in Britain. And it needs a new bunch of politicians to come in and actually deliver it. That's what we're going to have to do."

If elected, the Conservative government would have to deliver on the debt problem Mr Cameron said, while he criticised Labour's handling of the economic situation and dismissed Alistair Darling's Budget as dishonest.

He said the chancellor's predictions for economic recovery were "rubbish" and that his forecasts were "junk" insisting it meant that "all his figures for spending are probably junk".

Mr Darling delivered his budget on Wednesday and revealed the impact the credit crisis is having on the national debt. He said the budget deficit had reached £175 billion.

The long-awaited Budget revealed the government would have to borrow another £700 billion over the next five years. This would see the national debt to rise to £1.4 trillion, or about 80 per cent of GDP.

Mr Cameron also emphasised the need for more transparency in the way money is distributed and admitted that the Conservatives would face a very difficult task if elected.

He said: "Now we have the very difficult work to do of actually setting out a program where we can give people confidence that we can get these horrendous deficits under control."

Tags:
• budget
,
• economic policy
,
• economy
,
• economy and finance