With increasing evidence that Britain is slowly emerging from the impact of the global recession the International Monetary Fund, and a series of other economic forecasters are arguing that it is too early to withdraw the increases in public spending that are helping to maintain jobs, help businesses and keep families in their homes, as it could choke off the recovery.

Despite this clarity of advice, George Osborne wants to introduce an “austerity budget” to dramatically cut public spending if the Tories win.

Having made the wrong choices throughout the recession, opposing the efforts to stop Northern Rock collapsing and refusing to vote for the money that is paying for extra debt advice for families in trouble or the car scrappage scheme, or the help for homeowners in trouble with their mortgage payments the Conservative approach to the economy is beginning to attract tougher scrutiny from economic commentators.

The plan to reduce spending on investment in schools, would not only affect Harrow pupils, ending the prospect of the redevelopment of a series of Harrow primary and secondary schools but it would also reduce opportunities for work and jobs in the construction sector – a key part of our economy.

George Osborne has also pledged to abolish a series of tax reliefs which encourage small businesses to plan for the future by reducing the tax they pay on for example investment in new equipment. This is at the same time as he would give a £200,000 tax cut to the 3,000 wealthiest estates.

There is no question that we need to reduce the public deficit but we need to do so in a sensible and considered way. The Government is therefore introducing legislation to cut the deficit over four years in three ways, to increase growth thorough targeted investment thus raising tax revenues as new job and business opportunities are created, secondly through tax, creating a new top rate of tax and thirdly by looking for efficiency savings in existing government spending; for example we are freezing the pay of top civil service earners.