Tories play down tax rise talk ahead of election

Conservatives have attempted to play down speculation they are planning tax rises if they win the general election on June 8.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has hinted that he wants to drop the party's 2015 manifesto pledge to not increase income tax, VAT or national insurance contributions during the lifetime of the parliament.

Attending the spring meeting of the IMF in Washington, Mr Hammond - who performed a U-turn on the Budget after critics said his changes to NICs breached the manifesto - said he needed more "flexibility" to manage the economy.

His comments were criticised by Labour, who said the Tories were planning a "tax bombshell" while the Liberal Democrats suggested they would hit "white van man".

However, the Financial Times reported that aides to the Chancellor insisted no decision had been taken on whether to drop the tax pledge from the party's manifesto for June's election.

The row came after Theresa May risked angering traditional conservatives when she reaffirmed the government's commitment to international aid spending while refusing to guarantee the "triple lock" for pensions would remain in place.

Former party chairman Lord Tebbit told the Daily Telegraph: "It is a very bad start to the campaign to insist on increasing aid every year whilst there is not sufficient money for the NHS. It does not seem to make good politics to me."

The Liberal Democrats accused the Tories of "getting their betrayal in early" while Labour said they were abandoning the elderly.

The Prime Minister said her party had always been clear about needing to support people in old age, and that pensioners were £1,250 a year better off under the Conservatives.

"What I would say to pensioners is, just look what the Conservatives in government have done," she said.

"We were very clear about the need to support people in their old age, and that's exactly what we've done."