Cameron Pledges £7bn Tax Giveaway To Millions

David Cameron has promised to raise the 40p tax threshold to £50,000 if the Tories win another five years in power as part of a £7bn tax giveaway.

The pledge, which would help thousands of middle income earners, was among an array of sweeteners offered by Mr Cameron in his last conference speech before the General Election.

He vowed to balance the nation's books by 2018 so he could deliver tax cuts for "hard-working families", including lifting the tax-free allowance from £10,500 to £12,500.

The PM said it would mean a tax cut for 30 million people and that those on the national minimum wage working a 30-hour week would pay "nothing, zero, zilch" in income tax.

He also said he would increase the 40p tax rate from £41,900 to £50,000.

Mr Cameron attempted to paint a picture of the Tories as the champion of the ordinary man and families.

He said he wanted a Britain where there was: "the chance of a job, a home, a good start in life, whoever you are, wherever you’re from. And by the way, you never pull one person up by pulling other people down."

He added: "We believe in aspiration and helping people get on in life and what’s more, we're proud of it."

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls accused Mr Cameron of attempting to "pull the wool over people's eyes" by promising a tax cut without explaining how it would be paid for.

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "We await the details of how such reforms will be financed. Increasing the personal allowance is particularly expensive to the Exchequer."

The Prime Minister went on to make a fierce defence of his handling of the NHS, saying he intended to take the health service back for the Tories after Labour's attempt to claim it with a £12.5bn spending pledge at the party's conference last week.

He accused Labour of "spreading complete and utter lies" by suggesting he was selling off the NHS and said: "How dare they suggest I would put that at risk for other people's children?"

Mr Cameron has spoke of his first-hand experience of the NHS during the care of his son, Ivan, who died in 2009 at the age of six, bringing tears to the eyes of his wife, Samantha, who was sitting in the audience.

He said Labour did not understand that the country "can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy".

The Conservative Party leader also said he would scrap the Human Rights Act, which has allowed the courts in Strasbourg to rule Britain must give prisoners the vote, and introduce a British Bill of Rights.

Identifying problems with the free movement of people in the EU, Mr Cameron highlighted a number of things he was keen to change.

"Britain: I know you want this sorted, so I will go to Brussels, I will not take no for an answer and when it comes to free movement I will get what Britain needs," he said.

Mr Cameron's speech brings to a close a conference which has been tarnished by four UKIP "defections", the most significant of which was the MP Mark Reckless.

The Prime Minister warned that a vote for UKIP was a vote for Labour. He said: "On the 7th of May, go to bed with Nigel Farage and wake up with Ed Miliband. I don't know about you, but not a bit of that works for me."