Miliband quietly ditches plan to cut VAT which he claimed would save families £450 (So why is it still on Labour's website?) Party promised to reverse rise from 17.5% to 20% to boost jobs Claimed it offered 'immediate help for struggling families and pensioners' But Mr Miliband now says the economic circumstances have changed Pledge still on Labour party website encouraging people to sign up Labour has abandoned his flagship promise to cut VAT, Ed Miliband admitted today. The £12billion plan was the centrepiece of Labour's so-called plan for jobs and growth and still features prominently on its website. But Mr Miliband was accused of "rank hypocrisy" after claiming the economic circumstances have changed so he would not now promise to cut VAT at the next election. Reversal: Labour leader Ed Miliband admitted he would not cut VAT at the next election, despite it still being a promise on his party's website Labour faced heavy criticism for the policy, after Mr Miliband admitted in April that it would lead to a rise in borrowing. VAT was increased from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent soon after the coalition was formed. On the Labour website the party boasts that is has a 'clear five-point plan for jobs, to help struggling families and support small businesses'. The plan also included a £2billion tax on bankers' bonuses, bringing forward investment projects, cutting VAT on home improvements to five per cent and a one-year national insurance tax break. It promises: 'Reversing the Tory-led Government's damaging VAT rise now for a temporary period - a £450 boost for a couple with children - immediate help for our high streets and for struggling families and pensioners.' Policy: Labour's plan for jobs still features prominently on the party's website but has been quietly ditched Broken promise: Families were told a Labour government would make them £450 better off But today Mr Miliband insisted it was not party policy. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There isn't going to be a cut in VAT, that's not what we are proposing at the moment. That's because the economic position has changed. We have always said as recovery took hold our focus would not be on a cut in VAT. I think it would have been the right thing to do, it would have been a better approach in getting the deficit down. I would make the point the Government hasn't succeeded in getting the deficit down. That's part of the issue we will have to be dealing with. Tory Treasury minister Sajid Javid seized on the admission, claiming it demolished Labour's credibility on the economy. 'This is the final nail in the coffin for Ed Miliband and Ed Balls" economic policy,' he said. 'For the last three years a £12 billion VAT cut has been the central plank of Labour's argument, and by abandoning it they are admitting that their argument has collapsed. All they are left with is unworkable and unfunded policies - meaning more spending, more borrowing and more debt. That's exactly what got us into a mess in the first place. 'And it's hardworking people who would pay the price through higher taxes and higher mortgage rates.' Mr Miliband said he was still committed to matching the coalition's overall spending plans. "In 2015/16, we envisage cuts in public spending," he said. That's what we've been clear about, by sticking to the Government's day-to-day spending plans. We have said we will make different choices on spending and revenue but sticking to that overall plan. But the reversal on the VAT cut was seized on by political opponents. Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Stephen Williams said: "Labour have spent the last three years aggressively attacking the Coalition for raising VAT. Now they admit they won't reduce it. This is rank hypocrisy from a party that has no answers to the big questions of the day - how to fix the economy, create jobs and help people with the cost of living. Liberal Democrats have taken tough decisions in the national interest in order to clean up Labour's mess, and Labour has called us every name under the sun for doing so. They have been utterly shameless and deeply hypocritical.