Cameron's pledge to match Labour spending 'would only last a couple of months'

David Cameron is to signal that the Tories are making no long-term pledge to match Labour's spending commitments.

Senior sources insisted his undertaking to stick to the Government's spending proposals would not be reversed - but was likely to apply only to the first few months of a Conservative government.

Mr Cameron has been under pressure from Right-wing MPs to rethink his policy of matching Labour's annual real-terms public spending increase of 2 per cent a year for the next three years.

He does not want to repeat what Tory high command believes was the party's mistake at the past three General Elections by allowing Labour to claim that the Conservatives would slash spending on schools and hospitals.

But a survey of 1,600 activists on the unofficial Conservative home website suggests that only 19 per cent back matching Labour's commitments.

Nearly four times as many favour still slower growth in public spending to allow greater room for tax cuts.

Edward Leigh, the Tory chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said: "It is perfectly possible to reduce expenditure, by cutting waste, to make tax cuts. That is why we are Conservatives. It would be intolerable if by accepting Labour's inflated spending plans an incoming Tory government was then forced raise taxes to pay for them."

Last night, a source said critics had misunderstood the pledge.

"People are assuming this is an ongoing commitment. It's not," the source added.

"We haven't made a commitment to match Labour's plans for all time. We have committed to match the current plans until 2010-2011, with a review in 2009.

Given that it now looks as though we are not going to have an election until at least 2009, and probably 2010, most of the period will have gone."