Labour plans to halve Britain’s deficit with spending cuts and asset sales worth £75 billion without resorting to further tax rises, The Times has learnt.

Senior ministers are demanding that the pay of judges, top civil servants and NHS managers be frozen within weeks as the cuts package begins to bite. The remaining five million public sector workers can expect only minimal rises, union leaders have been warned privately. They had told the Prime Minister that protecting existing jobs was their chief priority.

Gordon Brown is looking at “a very big list” of defence procurement orders. He plans to shelve or scrap capital projects to pay for new equipment for troops in Afghanistan, seen as an overwhelming political priority.

Rows are raging within Government over the scale and timing of the cuts. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is resisting pressure to outline specific departmental budgets this autumn.

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, scored a significant victory by persuading Mr Brown to ring-fence the £35 billion schools budget. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, is pressing for a similar commitment on frontline policing.

Each Cabinet minister has been asked to identify priorities around Labour’s key election theme of encouraging social mobility. The issue has been identified by election strategists as David Cameron’s weakest flank.

Cabinet ministers are also being pressed for a list of possible privatisations. They believe that sell-offs, particularly of property, could significantly reduce the deficit. Ordnance Survey is among the state-owned bodies being considered for sale, although ministers acknowledge that it will be difficult to ensure best value for such sell-offs given the state of the economy.

More details of the plan to reduce Britain’s deficit — expected to reach £200 billion — will be revealed in the Pre-Budget Report later this year.

Officials believe that tax rises already announced will deliver a quarter of the £100 billion needed to reduce the deficit over the next five years. These include the increase in national insurance in 2011, the new 50p tax rate for top earners and future fuel duty rises, along with increasing revenue as the economy recovers.

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