British prime minister Gordon Brown said today the Conservative Party's tax plans did not add up, seeking to regain the initiative on the top election issue after business leaders threw their weight behind the opposition.
Mr Brown has faced criticism from business groups and more than 60 large employers over his ruling Labour Party's proposal to raise the National Insurance payroll tax. Critics say it would cost jobs and damage recovery from the recession.
Business chiefs also reacted with anger after Mr Brown said they had been deceived by the Conservative Party, which supports a more limited tax rise which would effectively exempt seven out of 10 workers.
Mr Brown is aiming to turn the row to his advantage, saying the Conservative plans would require an additional £6 billion of savings this year on top of £15 billion the government has already earmarked.
"Do the British people really want to gamble (their) economic future on the basis of a back of an envelope set of calculations like this?" he told reporters, saying Tory leader David Cameron's "flimsy" plans were not credible.
The row has taken centre stage since Mr Brown announced on Tuesday that the election, which promises to be the closest race in 20 years, would be held on May 6th.
Labour is trailing the Conservatives in opinion polls, but the gap has narrowed and the latest surveys point to an inconclusive outcome where no single party would have an overall parliamentary majority.
The Conservatives are seeking to use business support over National Insurance as evidence they have the right economic plans to help Britain address a record budget deficit.
Labour made a deliberate point of courting business leaders before winning power in 1997. Their continued backing has given substance to the centre-left party's economic credentials, helping it stay in government for 13 years.
Mr Brown said he attached "no blame to the business community" over the objections voiced by senior executives and again said the Conservatives were misleading them.
"We're not in a fight with business. We are explaining that the Conservative Party policy is a deception," he said.
"It's a deception because they are claiming savings they cannot find."
Stuart Rose, executive chairman of retailer Marks & Spencer and one of those to have backed the Conservatives, said it was unfortunate business leaders' views had been dismissed. "This is an important argument and I think to insult the collective intelligence of 60 plus chief executives is not helpful," he told BBC radio.
However, Mr Brown did receive the backing of Gerry Grimstone, chairman of insurer Standard Life and a Treasury adviser who said the Conservative plans were "incoherent".
"It is just not credible to think that our savings can be almost doubled," he wrote in the Financial Times newspaper.
Reuters