Tory sums don't add up. You can't have tax cuts without cutting spending

Matthew Taylor Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman

And the Liberal Democrats said Mr Hague's latest pledge showed his party wanted "something for nothing".

The Tory promise builds on previous pledges to match Labour's spending on health and schools.

In an interview for ITV's News at Ten, Mr Hague said: "I am not going to cut the health service, or schools, or police, or transport.

"But I am going to cut taxes and I am going to do that by cutting waste and fraud in government."

He said defence would also be included among the areas where a Tory Government would match Labour spending plans.

"Clearly we have no plans to reduce defence spending... Defence is certainly there as well, because none of these changes affect defence."

Hole in figures?

The party hopes Mr Hague's new pledge will go some way to blunting the edge of Labour's attack on the credibility of the opposition's plans to cut taxes at the same time as investing in public services.

In recent months shadow chancellor Michael Portillo has faced sustained calls from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to spell out how he would fill what the government insisted was a �16bn "black hole" in the Tories' spending plans.

Before Christmas Mr Hague and Mr Portillo pledged �8bn of tax cuts should they form the next government.

Last week, the Tories said they would privatise Channel 4 if they won the next election.

Responding to news of the latest Tory spending pledge, Mr Smith said: "The Tories' plans just do not add up. Their arithmetic is falling apart.

"No-one will believe a word Mr Hague says about the Tories' tax and spending plans whilst they promise tax cuts they cannot fund, spending cuts they will not name and spending commitments they cannot meet."

'Laughable'

Mr Smith said alongside the Tory's proposed public spending cuts shadow Cabinet ministers had made �7bn of commitments to extra spending.

That included new reception centres for asylum-seeker