This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7299126.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Tories would 'save up' tax cuts Tories would 'save up' tax cuts
(40 minutes later)
A Conservative government could hold tax cuts for a first term to build up reserves for a "bonus" offer to secure a second term, a shadow minister said. Senior Conservatives have said they would not be able to offer immediate tax cuts if they won the next election.
Philip Hammond, shadow Treasury chief secretary, told the Sunday Telegraph money would be given away in tax cuts "when the money's piled up in the pot." Tory leader David Cameron told the BBC's Politics Show that tax cuts would be impossible at first because Labour had "left the cupboard bare".
He added: "You can't look at it in a single year, or even necessarily in a four-year parliament." Former Conservative leader William Hague said in a separate interview that any tax reductions had to depend on the state of the economy, not on politics.
A YouGov poll has placed the Tories 16 points ahead of Labour.A YouGov poll has placed the Tories 16 points ahead of Labour.
There is not going to be some magic pot of money waiting for us when the next Conservative government is elected Philip Hammond Mr Cameron said: "We have to recognise as an opposition that if we win the next election, it will be tough and there will not be some large kitty of money to spend and we will have to say no a lot, as well as hopefully being able to say yes to some of the things we want to do."
Conservative party leader David Cameron has so far resisted pledging up-front reductions. He went on: "There is no doubt that when it comes to the economy, that we are badly prepared.
Mr Hammond said saving up a reserve to offer later would be "the great bonus of the second election". The government did not put any money away in the good years. The cupboard is bare David Cameron
'Eliminate waste' "We have the highest tax burden in our history and we have got one of the highest levels of budget deficit of any developed country."
He said: "We will make the savings, we will eliminate the waste and we will pile up the reserve so that at the following election, or before the following election we are able to show people where we will make the tax cuts." He said Britain would not be able to follow America's lead and cut taxes in order to stimulate the economy, because Britain's budget deficit as a share of national income was larger than America's.
In a speech to the Tory spring forum in Gateshead, Mr Cameron said: "There is not going to be some magic pot of money waiting for us when the next Conservative government is elected. Tories: 'Family friendly'
"So we need to get used to saying 'no' more often than 'yes'."
His views were echoed by Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.His views were echoed by Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.
Mr Hague said: "We are not going to be a government that says 'oh, there's an election coming up so now we must have tax cuts even if the nation can't afford them'.Mr Hague said: "We are not going to be a government that says 'oh, there's an election coming up so now we must have tax cuts even if the nation can't afford them'.
"But we are going to be a government that says that over the long term, overan economic cycle, we are trying to reduce the burden of tax on people." "But we are going to be a government that says that over the long term, over an economic cycle, we are trying to reduce the burden of tax on people."
Mr Cameron also set out his vision for a "family friendly" Britain. Philip Hammond, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told the Sunday Telegraph that the emphasis in the first term would have to be on building up reserves through efficiency savings.
Being family friendly was not just about tax and benefits, but also making the UK a better place to bring up children, he said. He said: "We will make the savings, we will eliminate the waste and we will pile up the reserve so that at the following election, or before the following election we are able to show people where we will make the tax cuts."
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times suggested a two-point slump for Labour to 27% with the Tories on 43%.A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times suggested a two-point slump for Labour to 27% with the Tories on 43%.
An ICM poll for the News of the World suggested the Tories had gained three points to 40% with Labour down three at 31% and the Liberal Democrats down one at 20%.An ICM poll for the News of the World suggested the Tories had gained three points to 40% with Labour down three at 31% and the Liberal Democrats down one at 20%.