A GAFFE on the eve of delivering a keynote conference speech on the economy failed to put shadow chancellor and Tatton MP George Osborne off track.

Less than 24 hours before he took to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference at Bournemouth he had to dodge a row escalating over a jibe he made against Chancellor Gordon Brown suggesting he might be "faintly autistic."

The remark in a light hearted banter with a journalist led to a backlash from charities involved with autism.

Carol Evans, of the National Autistic Association said any perceived use of autism as a term to mock someone could cause deep distress.

And Cheryl Simpson, spokesman for the East Cheshire Autism Support Group said the remark was inappropriate and unhelpful.

"You cannot go about saying things like that. It is offensive not just to parents but there are many adults with autism.

"The government does little to raise awareness and this is yet another example of how much needs to be done when an important Member of Parliament can make such a remark.

"This is the why we need backing for the Make School Make Sense Campaign and get the National Autism Association to talk about this in schools. It is not making sense to children with autism that the government is not making provisions for their needs. The only good thing to come out of this is that it puts autism in the spotlight."

Mr Osborne went on to give a rallying speech in which he dismissed calls for making tax cuts part of Tory economic strategy.

He told Conservatives who are demanding cuts: "We will not back down. We will not be pushed or pulled."

He said he accepted the principle of lower taxes but went on to say that it was high mortgage rates under John Major's government, combined with the effects of Black Wednesday when Britain crashed out of the ERM, that had kept the party out of government for a decade.

He said the Tories were now being viewed as a party of government and needed to show discipline and responsibility.

"To those who still want us to make up front tax cuts now, we say: we will not back down.

"We will not be pushed or pulled. We will stick to our principles. We will do what is right. I am not going to write my 2009 Budget in 2006.

"For the British people are sick of politicians who promise more than they deliver. We will deliver more than we promise."

He went on: "Sound money is the oldest Conservative principle of all. As Margaret Thatcher said: "I am not prepared ever to go on with tax reductions if it meant unsound finance.""