THE Unite union urged Labour today to drop Conservative fiscal policies and borrow to invest in the economy.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has vowed to keep the Tories’ pledge to reduce debt as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) within five years if Labour win the general election on July 4.

Appearing on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that she did not agree with the fiscal rules, adding that there was “wiggle room” to give Britain’s cash-strapped public services a “break.”

Her intervention follows Unite, Labour’s largest union donor, refusing to endorse the party’s general election manifesto earlier this month, saying that it does not go far enough in protecting workers’ rights and jobs in the oil and gas industry.

Arguing that other countries with growing economies have a larger debt-to-GDP ratio than Britain, Ms Graham said: “If you look at other countries, in France, their debt to GDP is 112 per cent.

“In America, where the economy’s growing, it’s 130 per cent debt to GDP. Ours is around about 99 per cent. We have wiggle room. Give Britain a break.

“These people that are out there in communities and workers, they are literally hurting beyond anything you could comprehend and what we need is the straitjacket off a little bit, get some wiggle room there.

“Borrowing to invest is not the same as other borrowing. It’s borrowing to invest. It’s part of our balance sheet. Let’s get that done and if you don’t do that, we’ll be waiting too long.”

Ms Reeves has ruled out borrowing to fund day-to-day spending, saying that her focus will be on reforms to expand the economy.