But he said Labour also plans a small increase in public borrowing of £3.5bn. For Stewart, this means: "£9bn of tax rises and £3.5bn of borrowing would give the new government just £12bn of extra public expenditure, small beer when total public expenditure is running at £1,226bn.
"Revealingly, most of the extra money, £7.3bn, has been earmarked for current spending, on the NHS, social care and schools."
Stewart added: "To improve public services and incomes without big increases in taxes or borrowing, Labour needs faster growth. That is a worthy, but daunting goal."
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
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