BRITAIN must adopt “European” styles of taxation to end austerity and properly invest in public services, a think tank has said.

A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that yearly public spending would rise by £2,500 per person if the British government matched the average taxation plans of many of its European partners.

This increase would mean that government spending would end up matching the European average of 48 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), rather than the current spending of 40 per cent.

The report also rejected the idea that there was a “trade-off” between higher social spending and economic growth, as other countries had similar rates of economic growth to Britain.

IPPR senior research fellow Harry Quilter-Pinner said: “We may be leaving the EU, but in other ways we must become ‘more European.’

“Our neighbours have consistently invested more in welfare and public services and consistently deliver better social outcomes than us.

“We need a fundamental shift in our approach to investment in this country to deliver high-quality social and childcare, a lifelong education system, 21st-century healthcare and a properly funded benefits system.

“Ending austerity must be more than a political soundbite. Austerity has left our social safety net on its knees.

“It is morally wrong and economically illiterate to continue with the cuts.”

Researchers classed Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden as similar European states.