Business leaders' support for the Government's deficit-reduction strategy has been dismissed as a political stunt by Labour amid fresh warnings about the potential impact of swingeing cuts.
Chancellor George Osborne was boosted by a letter signed by 35 corporate bosses backing his bid to eliminate the £109 billion structural deficit in four years.
He will appear before MPs on Wednesday to spell out plans for £83 billion of public spending cuts over that period - the deepest reductions since the Second World War.
The letter, which had the bosses of Marks & Spencer, BT and Asda among its signatories, said there is "no reason to believe" the strategy would undermine the UK's economic recovery.
It claimed Labour's plan to reduce the deficit more slowly would leave the UK almost #100 billion deeper in debt by 2014-15 and increase the risk of interest rate hikes.
But as clear battle lines were drawn ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review, shadow chancellor Alan Johnson insisted it is the coalition that is taking a "huge gamble with growth and jobs".
In a speech setting out the opposition's rival approach, Mr Johnson warned the UK is "going down the same road as Ireland" which has slid back into recession despite making deep spending cuts.
Mr Johnson said he would stick to predecessor Alistair Darling's plan to halve the deficit over four years, but said he wants taxes to account for a greater ratio of the savings.
