TONY Blair today said Tory spending plans would be an "economic disaster" and insisted only Labour could be trusted to control Britain's purse-strings.

The Labour leader claimed Conservative promises on police, schools and hospitals could not be delivered because their economic plans were "fundamentally flawed".

Unveiling his plans for education and the economy, Mr Blair said Michael Howard would "put the stability of the economy and prosperity of the country at risk."

He said: "You can't spend more, tax less and borrow less at the same time. Trying to do that would lead to economic disaster."

Mr Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown went on the offensive during a press conference to launch Labour's six-point pledge card on education and the economy.

These are:

An inflation target of two per cent and mortgage rates as low as possible

One million more homeowners by the end of the next Parliament

One million more people helped by the New Deal

300,000 apprenticeships to be created

The national minimum wage to rise to £5.35 per hour

Education spending to rise to £5,500 per pupil.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy put education at the heart of his party's election campaign today with a commitment to provide 21,000 extra teachers to cut primary school class sizes.

Mr Kennedy said the extra teachers would mean smaller class sizes for infants, with an average of only 20 pupils per teacher, down from the current level of 25. Class sizes for juniors would also reduce, with an average of 25 pupils per teacher, down from the existing norm of 27.

Liberal Democrats intend to pay for the initiative by scrapping Labour's planned £1.5 billion Child Trust Fund scheme.

Updated: 10:08 Monday, April 11, 2005