The Liberal Democrats have turned their fire on Labour's "bloated" public spending agenda.

The party's Treasury spokesman delivered a scathing portrayal of the government's tax and spending plans.

Matthew Taylor said that Labour is addicted to central control and accused ministers of wasting billions of pounds.

He claimed the government is "a bloated, overweight couch potato attempting to operate the remote control and failing".

Taylor told the party's Brighton conference that the party can redirect up to £4 billion into key services.

"Our job is to set the government on an exercise programme and slim it down," he told ePolitix.com ahead of the speech.

Taylor attempted to head off the party's critics who claim uncosted pledges are being made regardless of their ability to be delivered.

Spending more usefully and taxing more fairly is the new message from the Liberal Democrats as they seek to woo sceptical voters.

Taylor's thinking is that by cutting bureaucracy, decentralising control and releasing funds directly to the frontline, the party can meet spending pledges without increasing the overall tax burden.

"It's an absolute rejection of the idea that we're in favour of tax rises," he said. "We're against central control. We're not the old corporatist Labour left.

"There is a bit of redistribution but we are not talking about top heavy tax rates like you get in New York or Germany."

The party would change the tax base and will repeat its commitment to raising the top rate of tax, starting at earners with salaries above £100,000.

Taylor claimed the new upper band would pay for the abolition of tuition fees and deliver free care for the elderly.

Continuing the debate on council tax, he said that abolishing council tax and moving to a more efficient system would save £500 million a year.

Taylor said the party had done its sums and was confident its pledges could be met.

"I have set a target which is well within the figures available to me," he said.

Taylor insisted the new approach would be ideologically different to both Labour and the Conservatives.

The Tories remain addicted to Thatcherite cuts in taxes and services while Labour were using a failed system of targets and central control, he claimed.

"Iain Duncan Smith has written the obituary of one nation Conservatives. They see the country as divided in two and concentrating entirely on the leafy suburbs," he said.

"It's wrong, divisive and it restricts the Conservative party into an appeal to a limited part of the country. The 'one nationists' believe that actually it was Labour that was divisive and had taken the view that the classes had to be at war."

Taylor said the party was more than ready to offer a home to that group of Conservatives. "We see ourselves as more than able to pick up that mantle," he said.