George Osborne the shadow chancellor yesterday refused to rule out tax rises to tackle the debt crisis which he predicted Gordon Brown would "bequeath" to an incoming Tory government.

There is so much to say about George Osborne's speech on the economy and his interview with the Today Programme (he must be starting to dread Sarah Montague). And I'll return to it this afternoon. George Osborne: to cut taxes or not to cut taxes? But there's a contradiction in his argument (more than one actually). In this climate there is "no room for tax cuts", he says. But then g...

Tory shadow chancellor warns taxes will rise under a Conservative government to rebalance public finances.

The thin strip of clear blue water between the Government and Opposition's positions on public spending is steadily widening. On this morning's Today programme, George Osborne's statement that "the age of excess" in public sector pay is over is another...

It's funny really. Just as I'd given up any expectation of lower taxation from the Conservatives, George Osborne hints at a trio of "funded" tax reliefs. I'm clearly not the only Tory member who had come to believe that the...

Council tax would be frozen for the first two years of a Conservative government George Osborne pledged today.

From the BBC:Cutting inheritance tax would not be a high priority for an incoming Tory Government, Ken Clarke has said. The shadow business secretary told the BBC its main economic goals would be to cut public debt and restore growth. Increasing income tax for top-earners to 45% from 2011 would be "difficult to avoid", shadow chancellor George Osborne has said - a stance backed up by Mr Clarke

The government's £20bn tax giveaway will hit middle Britain and leave a tax bomb ticking under the public purse, George Osborne said today. Responding to Alistair Darling's pre-budget report, the shadow chancellor warned it would create a £1tn national debt and he branded a 0.5% increase in national insurance a "tax on jobs". Laying into the proposals, Osborne said that Gordo...

Council tax would be frozen for the first two years of a Conservative government Shadow Chancellor George Osborne promised the Tory party conference in Birmingham.

When the Daily Telegraph ran their story that ‘green taxes’ on driving and flying would be raised to fund a marriage tax break if the Tories won the general election, Conservative MPs cried foul. Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, accused The Telegraph of deceit, writing on Twitter: “George Osborne told the Telegraph that