The Centre for Policy Studies report comparing Britain’s record since 1997 with those of its global
competitors cast doubt on Mr Brown’s achievements.

Author Keith Marsden said the missed goals could not be blamed on a global downturn, and accused the chancellor of wasting favourable economic conditions that he
inherited in 1997.

Conservative shadow chancellor Michael Howard branded the report a “devastating indictment” of Mr Brown’s record.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that every man, woman and child 44 was worse off thanks to 60 tax increases since 1997.

“The government was pretending that despite its increase in national
insurance contributions, its tax on jobs and pay, income has increased in the
year to April.

“We now know through these latest figures which were buried on the website of
the Office of National Statistics … that incomes actually fell on average in
the year to April.

“The truth is if you look at what this report has shown and take into account
these latest figures we have a devastating indictment of the chancellor.”

But the economic secretary to the Treasury, John Healey, insisted the average household was better off under the current government.

Tory years

He said that he did not recognise the way the CPS had calculated its figures.

And he added: “The total tax take as a proportion of our national income is set
for moderate increases over the next couple of years … this still remains well
below the top levels under the Tory years.”

One of the missed goals, according to the study, was a 1997 manifesto pledge to make
increasing the trend rate of growth “an explicit objective” of
economic policy.

But GDP growth had, in fact, averaged 2.4% a year in the first five
years of Labour government, compared with 3.2% in the last five years of Tory
rule, it said.

It is not surprising that the prime minister, as well as other Cabinet ministers, have all hinted recently that taxes will have to go up again Keith Marsden, author of Gordon Brown and British Competitiveness

Mr Brown stated in his 1997 Budget report that he aimed to keep the overall
burden of taxation “as low as possible”, said the study.

But the study said he had presided over a rise in
tax from an average 34.9% of national income in 1993-97 to 37.3% in 1998-2002.

Mr Brown stated an aim in 1997 of
promoting savings to underpin long-term investment.

But household savings fell from an average 9.7% of available resources between
1993 and 1997 to 5.1% in 2002, said the study.

‘Frittered away’

Mr Brown had also missed key pledges on investment and security national insurance company
growth, said the study.

“The evidence suggests that much of the golden economic legacy that Gordon
Brown inherited in 1997 is in danger of being frittered away,” said Mr Marsden.

“Growth is down - at a cost of income foregone of nearly 2,000 per household
per year. Taxes are up - another 4,000 per household per year.

“Savings, investment and productivity growth are all down.”

Mr Marsden suggested taxes may well have to go up to compensate for a gap between income and spending.

GDP growth so far this year had fallen well short of the 2%-2.5% predicted
in Mr Brown’s April Budget, he pointed out.

Taxes to go up?

Yet public spending was scheduled to soar by 95bn
over the next three years, so the outlook for Britain’s economy was “bleak”.

“It is not surprising, therefore, that the prime minister, as well as other
Cabinet ministers, have all hinted recently that taxes will have to go up
again,” he said.

Mr Marsden said the blame for the economic record “cannot legitimately be put at the feet of a
‘global downturn’”.

“Not every country has fared as poorly as
the UK,” he said.

Mr Marsden’s report used data from the Organisation of Economic National union fire insurance company

and Development, National life and accident insurance
Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade
Organisation, Eurostat and the Office of National Statistics.