Tories warn of Labour tax 'bombshell'

LABOUR will "kill growth" and derail Britain's recovery if the Government hikes up taxes, leading Conservatives have warned ahead of Rachel Reeves's landmark statement in the Commons tomorrow.

- David Williamson

Tories believe the Chancellor is preparing the ground for a tax "bombshell" that will be dropped in the upcoming Budget.

Labour says "Britain is broke and broken" and Ms Reeves will "reveal the mess that populist politics has made of the country".

But Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warned: "Their motive is clear. Having promised not to raise taxes 50 times before the election they now need a pretext - but trying to scam the British people so soon after being elected is a high-risk strategy doomed to fail."

He insisted Britain has a "healthy, growing economy" and accused Labour of peddling a "fiction".

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott, writing in the Sunday Express, said businesses, families and pensioners will be caught "dangerously off-guard" by Labour's "new economic agenda".

She added: "Such a move will kill growth, stifle investment and hamper competitiveness - delivering a hammer blow to our now recovering economy and putting at risk all of the hardfought progress we've made.'