Labour would raise taxes rather than cut spending if growth is weak, says IFS

Thinktank's director Paul Johnson says pressures on spending would be too powerful for party to make cuts

A Labour government would raise taxes or soften debt rules rather than cut spending in the event that stronger growth fails to rescue it from tough post-election choices, the head of a leading thinktank has said.

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the pressures on spending - including from public sector pay - were so powerful that he couldn't envisage a Labour chancellor making cuts to balance the books.