Mandelson claims Tory plans would 'strangle recovery'

The Business Secretary said the Opposition was either trying to hide from voters proposals which would "strangle the recovery at birth" or had performed a major policy u-turn.

As pre-general election skirmishing continued yesterday, Labour seized on weekend assurances by Mr Cameron that there would be no "swingeing cuts" during the first year of a Conservative government.

The Tories previously stated they would move further and faster than Labour to tackle Britain's 178bn budget deficit to reassure international markets and stabilise the economy.

However, Mr Cameron said while an incoming Tory government would make an immediate start, there was a limit to what could be done in the first 12 months when the spending plans for the financial year were already in place.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said some quick savings could be found by cutting Government advertising, consultants and child trust funds for the better off.

Opening a Press conference, Lord Mandelson said: "The challenge for the Conservative Party is to be clear about its immediate plans: how much is it planning to take out of this year's spending? So far all we see is confusion and disarray."

There would be "imminent dire consequences" of cutting spending too fast, he said. "The Tories would strangle the recovery at birth.".

He went on: "The impact on people's livelihoods and jobs could be riding on how the Tories make up their minds on their spending plans for this year.

"What we are witnessing from the Tories is either a dishonest rhetorical gloss to hide their true intentions or a remarkable intellectual collapse."

Lord Mandelson dismissed the danger of a "double dip" recession, despite weaker-than-expected growth figures.

While stressing that there was a "bumpy" road ahead for UK plc, the peer said: "I think we can have every confidence in that, in that we will not be slipping back into negative growth if we maintain the Government's support for the economy."

Gross domestic product figures published last week revealed that Britain had officially emerged from recession in the final quarter of last year.

However, the figure of 0.1 per cent was lower than predicted by many experts, leading to speculation that the economy could retreat as consumers tighten their belts after Christmas.