Labour attacks Cameron on 'unaffordable' tax cuts

Labour attacks Cameron on 'unaffordable' tax cuts

David Cameron was last night accused of making uncosted and unaffordable promises on tax cuts as Labour ratcheted up the pressure on the opening day of the Tory conference. The Conservative leader unveiled tax breaks for families and the young middle classes in the hope of winning back public support to dissuade Gordon Brown from calling an autumn general election.

Mr Cameron and his shadow cabinet colleagues kept up the public pretence that they cannot wait for the poll, with the Tory leader insisting: "We are ready for an early election ... I really want it."

In brief remarks to the conference hall, a defiant Mr Cameron cast the gloomy polls to one side: "This week we are going to mount the great Conservative fightback. It is going to be a fightback based on clear policies, based on a clear direction and based on the clear choice that we will give people at the next general election."

Today the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, will set out Tory tax plans in detail. He is expected to make an audacious raid into Labour's natural territory by promising a clampdown on so-called "non-doms" - non-domiciled workers who live in the UK but are not registered to pay tax - to finance a reduction in inheritance tax. The Tories say Mr Brown has been promising an assault on the tax benefits of the super-rich since 1994 but has failed to deliver. Yesterday the plans were derided by the chancellor, Alistair Darling, as "a mass of contradictions".

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Tories tried to lift party morale in Blackpool by wheeling out the big guns including Lord Heseltine, William Hague, Boris Johnson and, by satellite link, the Republican governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But party strategists privately admit they will be delighted if they regain enough ground in the polls to persuade Mr Brown that it is too big a risk to call an election.

Mr Brown's aides met to discuss the pros and cons over the weekend. No decision has been made but many want a November 1 poll, to be announced by the prime minister next week. Labour plans to take initiatives throughout the week on the health service, education, Northern Rock and Iraq, breaking the tradition of maintaining silence during an opposition conference. Today, as the Tories debate the economy, Mr Brown will make an address on financial stability, alongside the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan.

Labour's private polls broadly show a seven-point lead over the Tories but there is a tighter picture in Labour-held marginals, seen as evidence of the impact of money poured into crucial seats by Lord Ashcroft, the Tory millionaire.

The shadow local government secretary, Eric Pickles, said an early poll could lead to "one big mess" after warnings from the Association of Electoral Administrators that a November vote would disenfranchise more than a million people, as well as create postal vote chaos. Mr Pickles said a close result could lead to Florida-style legal challenges in the courts.

Asked what advice he might give to the prime minister about an early poll, John Turner, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: "Keep your hand away from the phone".

Under pressure to win back voters, Mr Cameron and his shadow chancellor clarified their tax plans by promising: