Chris Leslie, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“24 hours after David Cameron’s speech it’s staggering that not a single Minister has been able to say where the £7 billion is coming from.

"Now Grant Shapps has let the cat out of the bag by failing to rule out another VAT rise. A 1.5 per-cent rise in VAT to fill the £7 billion Tory black hole would hit families and pensioners hard.

"Before the last election David Cameron said you can’t promise tax cuts ‘unless you can show how it is paid for, the public aren’t stupid.’ He’s clearly now taking the British people for fools.

"And the overall impact of the policies announced this week will leave working families on lower incomes worse off, while the Prime Minister himself is better off.”