Call that election, Cameron tells PM
Oct 4 2007 by William Green, The Journal
DAVID Cameron yesterday drew his election battle lines as he promised to beat Gordon Brown.
The Tory leader said it was time to reach out to the 40% of voters who did not care about the “merry-go” round of politics after 10 years of failing Labour and “cynical” Gordon Brown.
In an unscripted speech to his party’s conference, he set out his ambition to lead the country and his “positive vision” for a Tory Government amid speculation about a snap election being called within days.
Taunting Mr Brown, the Conservative leader said: “Call that election. We will fight. Britain will win.” The Prime Minister came under fire for “cynicism” in repeatedly announcing policies and a scheme to ask voters to sum up Britishness in six words – with Mr Cameron saying he had six words himself for Mr Brown: “Stop wasting money on pointless gimmicks.” The Tory leader claimed his party was “back in the North” and could win an election with a message of change that handed people and society more power and responsibility.
He called for setting in schools to stretch the brightest pupils and tough powers for headteachers to tackle disruption. The Government’s controversial academies programme needed to be speeded up, said Mr Cameron, so all children could benefit from the education he enjoyed at top private school Eton.
He added: “Gordon Brown is putting his foot on the brake when he should be putting his foot on the accelerator and we should be making it easier for these new schools So we will say to churches, to voluntary bodies, to private companies, to private schools come into the state sector.”
And the Tory leader backed scrapping regional assemblies and the creation of elected city mayors that could take on responsibility for policing as part of criminal justice reforms.
He offered support for the NHS and pledged to scrap “top-down” targets and fight to defend district hospitals from closure in his speech, in which he highlighted how the NHS had helped his disabled son.
But there was a tough message on benefits, with Mr Cameron saying people should be barred from benefits if they failed to take reasonable jobs that they could do.
He promised to provide the “strongest family package” of any party, with greater flexibility at work to give parents more time at home and changes in the tax system to support them.
Sensible measures over immigration were promised as well as protection of civil liberties and scrapping of ID cards.
Mr Cameron promised to take the tough decisions needed in foreign and security affairs and put the country before party as Prime Minister.
The Government came under fire for failing to support victims of pension scheme collapses by Mr Cameron, who promised a “lifeboat fund.”
Wendy Morton, Tory Parliamentary candidate for Tynemouth, said it was a “fantastic” speech. Referring to an election, she added: “Bring it on. The Conservative party is up for it.”
But Labour claimed Mr Cameron was not credible because his sums did not add up and that his spending commitments would leave a “gaping black hole in Britain’s finances”.
