Tories to promise more green taxes

A government under the Conservatives would increase the proportion of revenue collected from green taxes, the party is to pledge.

In a renewed effort to challenge Labour's record on the environment, shadow chancellor George Osborne claimed that the proportion of environmentally friendly taxes has fallen under Tony Blair from 7.7% in 1997 to 6.2% in 2006.

Speaking to the 'Financial Times', Osborne, who is due to outline the plans during a speech in Tokyo later today, promised for the first time that his party will make a manifesto pledge to hike up green taxes.

"I am clear that the proportion of tax revenues drawn from environmental taxes needs to increase," he said.

"We need to go in the opposite direction to the one in which Gordon Brown has been taking the tax system."

Osborne refused to outline what types of taxes the Conservatives would back but he is expected to refer to short-haul air travel and motoring in his speech. He told the FT that the UK would benefit from an ultra-fast railway system like the one being developed in Japan.