Britain to make rescue plan public

The British Government will give voters more details of its spending plans before a national election due by next June, finance minister Alistair Darling said.

Darling told the Daily Telegraph that the government also raised the possibility of reversing a planned increase in income tax for high earners to 50 per cent.

"Looking into the future, I would like to be able to reduce tax. Raising the top rate is something I didn't want to do," he said.

The rise in the top rate from 40 per cent is due to take effect from next April.

The opposition Conservatives have accused Britain's ruling Labour Party of not being honest with voters over spending cuts that will be required to rein in a public sector deficit that has ballooned because of the recession in the country.

Darling indicated there could be a "pared-down spending review", setting out the government's future spending plans, before the election. "No political party can stand before the electorate and say 'Vote for me and I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do, good or bad'. No one would dream of doing that. Both political parties will have to set out their stalls. We'll have to do it," Darling was quoted as saying.

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