SECRET Tory plans to slash NHS spending were exposed yesterday as Chancellor George Osborne tried to sell Britain the “Budget that cannot be believed.

”Mr Osborne delighted punters who bet that he would use the final budget before the election to boast about the success of his “long-term economic plan.”

But he mentioned the NHS just once in an hour-long monologue in Parliament.Labour leader Ed Miliband said that was because the Chancellor is hiding his plans to put Britain’s most cherished public service under the knife after the election.

He pointed out that Treasury figures published yesterday show the Tories will make “massive cuts” in the middle of the next parliament.Government spending will be cut by more than £10 billion in 2017-18 and will barely rise the year after.

And Mr Miliband warned: “It means there will be colossal cuts planned — and I emphasise planned — in defence, in policing, in local government.

“But they won’t be able to deliver those cuts, so they will end up cutting the National Health Service.

“That is the secret plan that dare not speak its name today. You can tell they are really worried about it.”

He added: “Even Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask when he robbed people.”

It came after Mr Osborne tried to counter claims he would reduce state spending to levels last seen in the 1930s, saying he wanted a “state neither smaller than we need, nor bigger than we can afford.”

He claimed the success of his deficit reduction plans meant the “squeeze on public spending” would end in 2019, a year earlier than planned.

But Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said hospitals are already struggling to cope with “unprecedented demand at a time of diminishing resources.”

“The NHS has suffered massively after five years under this government,” he told the Star.
“The last thing it needs is more cuts.”

While workers on £11,000 will be taken out of tax from 2017, they will bear the brunt of £12bn worth of welfare cuts.

The £12bn is part of £30bn “savings” — completed by £13bn from government departments and £5bn from tax evasion and avoidance — that Mr Osborne has pledged over the next three years.

That didn’t deter Mr Osborne from using his Budget address, 50 days from the general election, to unleash an optimisim offensive.
He dotted phrases such as “the sun is starting to shine again” and “Britain is walking tall again” through his speech.

And despite promising there would be “no pre-election giveaways,” Mr Osborne also found millions to cut taxes on savings, beer and petrol.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that “for all the warm words, austerity is set to continue year after year.”