Labour says Conservative squeeze on capital investment "extreme" - but vows to clear deficit

Labour today unveils its election manifesto, as its shadow chancellor Ed Balls took to the airwaves to attack Conservative plans to deliver a surplus on both revenue and capital funding as "extreme".

Balls said that Labour, if in government, would clear the deficit by 2020, and this would mean that unprotected departments - including transport - would face cuts. But he claimed that Conservative plans to deliver a surplus on both revenue and capital spending was "an extreme objective".

The coalition in 2010 set out plans to only clear the deficit in revenue spending, not also investment in infrastructure projects. The Lib Dems now want to stick to that approach, and, whilst clearing the deficit, allow extra borrowing for investment in "productive economic infrastructure" - like roads and railways - as long as the overall debt falls as a share of the economy.