Labour will today seek to convince voters that it can be trusted with the public finances, as it launches its general election manifesto in Manchester.
The first page of the document will state that none of the policies in the manifesto requires additional borrowing, and that Labour would “cut the deficit every year”.
“We will get national debt falling and a surplus on the current budget as soon as possible in the next parliament,” the document says.
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When he launches the manifesto, Labour leader Ed Miliband will say it is not a “shopping list of spending policies” and will prove Labour is “not only the party of change but the party of responsibility too”.
According to analysis by the independent think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, published earlier this year, Labour's plans to run a surplus on the current budget while cutting the deficit would still leave it room to borrow around £25bn a year for infrastructure investment. To achieve this, the IFS said that the party would have to implement further departmental spending cuts or tax increases of around £7bn from next year.
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party - which has offered to work with Labour in the event of a hung parliament to block a Conservative government - will unveil its election manifesto today,
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will argue that hers is the only party offering an alternative to austerity.
The first minister is expected to hit out at Westminster's "cuts agenda", which she will argue is "holding our businesses back as it stifles growth and hampers recovery".
“The SNP wants to create a stable and balanced economy that is outward looking, confident, innovative, based on the core strengths of our people and supported by investment – and SNP MPs at Westminster will do everything in their power to support our businesses every step of the way," she is set to add.
Speaking to ITV this morning, Balls said Labour’s pledge to reduce the deficit in every year of the next parliament would not be up for negotiation in any post-election talks with other parties.
“If we end up with a hung parliament, we’ve got to govern the country but we want a majority to implement this manifesto," he said.
"But I’m saying to you today: whatever the outcome of the election, if Labour’s in government, we will cut the deficit every year – it will be the first line of our Budget. We will compromise that with no one. No one else is going to write our Budget and we will deliver.”