Winning would not be 'poisoned chalice' says top Tory contender

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the UK needs a single party with a majority in parliament and denied claims, reportedly from Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, that the cuts will need to be so severe whichever Government makes them will be unelectable for a generation.

Mr Osborne was speaking in Halifax where he unveiled the Tories' "economic contract" that sets out the party's plans for reducing the deficit.

He said: "What this country needs is a government that can take decisions, be decisive, that requires a majority Conservative government.

"We don't want politicians incessantly haggling with each other over policy, we need to get things moving, and people have that choice before them."

All three parties were strongly criticised by the Institute of Fiscal Studies which said they had been "strikingly reticent" on post-election cuts.

The IFS revealed 87 per cent of Labour cuts were not spelled out, 82 per cent of the Tories' plans are unspecified and 74 per cent of Lib Dems' plans had not yet been detailed.

All three leaders began a final campaign blitz ahead of the polls tomorrow, with David Cameron due to visit staff at a Morrisons supermarket distribution centre in Wakefield in the early hours of this morning.

Mr Cameron's "economic contract" contains a number of promises, including an offer to people setting up a new business that they will not pay employment taxes on the first 10 people they give jobs to.

Mr Osborne said it outlined in black and white what the public could expect from his party.

"This is our view of change for the economy," he said. "How we are going to take action on the debt, stop the jobs tax, protect their country's credit rating and help create jobs.

"We are handing the public for the first time a contract, that says here it is, if we do not stick to this you can kick us out in five years time."

Labour have criticised Tory plans saying they would threaten the recovery by cutting too soon, but their own proposal to raise National Insurance from 2011 was attacked by both Mr Cameron and hundreds of business leaders as a tax on jobs.

Gordon Brown has defended the move as the fairest way to generate money and reduce the deficit and said it will not come in for a year, when Labour predict the economy will be growing enough to withstand the hit.

Mr Brown has also said that his party will continue to spend in order to help people through the recession.

The Lib Dems were described by the IFS as the "best of a bad bunch" because they revealed the most – 26 per cent – detail of where their cuts will be.

The party has claimed it can make substantial savings by scrapping expensive programmes such as the Trident nuclear deterrent.

Mr Osborne warned that the economic situation could get even worse if one party is not given a clear mandate to push their plans through, claiming a hung parliament would cause unrest in the financial markets.

The latest polls suggest the result will be either a slender Tory majority or a hung parliament. Mr Osborne attacked Labour heavyweights Ed Balls and Peter Hain, who both called for tactical voting to "keep the Tories out".

Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who is battling to win Morley and Outwood, said he always wanted Labour to win but recognised there was "an issue" in Lib Dem and Tory marginals. Mr Hain said that not every Labour candidate was in a position to win, and it was important for "people to act intelligently" in this election. Mr Brown dismissed calls for tactical voting, saying: "I am making it absolutely clear what my advice is – my advice is to vote Labour."