Poll blow for Tories over tax plan

The Tory pledge for a big freeze on spending to pave the way for tax cuts has won a massive thumbs-down from the voters.

In an ominous omen for Conservative election chances, the first opinion poll shows a clear majority against the proposals unveiled yesterday by shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin.

The poll, by ICM for the BBC's Newsnight, found 55 per cent disapproving of his plans with just 39 per cent in favour.

And almost half of those hostile said they were " strongly" against the scheme.

The survey also found Labour still well ahead of the Tories as the party rated most competent to manage the economy.

Although support for the Government on that issue was a relatively low 36 per cent, the Tory confidence figure trailed at 23 per cent.

The findings demonstrated the mountain Michael Howard must climb to have any hope of winning a general election which could now be little more than a year away.

If the downbeat response to yesterday's keynote tax and spend package is confirmed, it threatens to fuel the simmering row with some on the Tory Right complaining Mr Letwin should have been bolder by far.

The shadow chancellor yesterday, in a much-heralded speech, promised to continue to increase spending on health, schools and pensions if the Conservatives came to power. But he said that overall spending in all other departments would be frozen for the first two years, with not even an allowance for inflation rises.

In a late addition to the speech, indicating the tension in the party behind the scenes, Mr Letwin left a slim opening for rapid tax cuts declaring that he "hoped" to be able to reduce taxes in the early years "but I cannot be certain".

Labour, nonetheless leapt to the attack, charging that Mr Letwin's "slash and burn" programme was a recipe for massive cuts in essential services.

Gordon Brown accused Mr Letwin of threatening cuts that were even " more extreme" than when Margaret Thatcher ruled. He said that an incoming Tory government would hit spending on roads, railways, the courts, defence and international aid in the most Right-wing government for a generation.

Labour's attack was undermined, however, by a leaked report of a government inquiry which had pinpointed savings of up to £15 billion a year which could be achieved by cutting 80,000 civil service jobs and eliminating red tape.

Mr Letwin insisted: "The choice at the next election will not be about whether government spending should rise, but about how fast government spending should rise and about how that money is spent."

Mr Howard will flesh out the Tory plans in a major speech at the party's spring conference in Harrogate in two weeks' time. But Mr Letwin warned that the details of any tax cuts on offer, even late in a five-year Tory term in power, could not be unveiled until closer to the next election.

The Medium Term Expenditure Strategy announced by Mr Letwin aims to cut government spending by £35 billion a year by 2012.

Critics pointed out that the reduction is a relatively modest percentage of overall spending which by that time, under Conservative plans, would still total a gigantic £663 billion annually.

At a press conference ahead of his speech Mr Letwin declined to say which areas would be cut to find the savings.

He signalled some money could be found by a big new privatisation programme but, again, declined to go into detail.