Osborne's speech signals a return to the bad old days - John Dixon

9.46.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 6th Oct 2009

"George Osborne has in effect guaranteed that these policies will merely pave the way for a return to traditional Tory politics of hitting public services to pay for tax cuts for the rich," said the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Cardiff North.

Commenting on the Shadow Chancellor's address to Conservative party conference, John Dixon said:

"This set of deficit reduction proposals is Lib Dem Lite.

"The sum total amounts to nothing more than a drop in the ocean - savings of just £7bn out of a total of £45bn needed - and will not deal with the structural deficit. There is much, much more that he's just not telling us.

"What's more he has, in effect, guaranteed that these policies will merely pave the way for a return to traditional Tory politics - hitting the public sector now to pay for tax cuts for millionaires later.

"Only the Liberal Democrats have made a commitment to bringing public spending under control whilst making taxes fairer across the board."