Conference Special Daily Politics

It is seven months to the election. The Tories are stuck behind Labour

in the polls, under attack from UKIP. What can David Cameron fade

today which will bring him victory next May? -- say today.

Morning, folks. Welcome to the daily politics live from the final day of

the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. It is the Prime Minister

's opportunity to reach out to be wider public to say why he deserves

to stay in Ten Downing Street. Yesterday I asked the Health

Secretary is the NHS would be ring fenced in the next Parliament. He

would not tell me stop the Prime Minister will say health spending

will rise each year, at least in line with inflation if the Tories

win the election. I imagine he will not forget to mention the economy. I

will be speaking to Michael Gove. He got around to applause yesterday for

his work as Education Secretary. He is now the Conservative Chief Whip

which means his main job is to spot and eliminate UKIP traitors. That

should keep him busy! This week has not been a piece of cake for the

Conservatives. Quentin Letts sketches it out for us. We had a

defection to UKIP, we had a sex scandal. We journalists arrived

expecting the Tories to be flattened and dejected. Far from it. All that

in the next 2 hours of public sector broadcasting at its finest. We are

not so much Made In Chelsea, more Made travel to what do you make of

this conference? UKIP choreographed deflection to inflict maximum damage

on David Cameron. There has been a lot more energy at this conference

rather than at the Labour conference. They are furious with

Mark Reckless for defecting to UKIP. They feel he has lied to them and

betrayed them. There is not much love lost. Why are they more furious

with Mark Reckless? They felt Douglas Carswell was a maverick. He

did it in a more honourable way. He lied to the faces of colleagues and

constituency neighbours. I agree that when we travelled up on

Saturday, this conference should have been an absolute disaster. A

resignation of an MP and a defection by Mark rests this. -- Mark

reckless. I tell you what, at the risk of sounding like the

Conservative Party press officer, the reason why it is going well,

despite all the outside noises, they have a plan. The plan is, they would

say, look, we have started to deal with a deficit. Going forward we

have an economic plan to secure the future. They are sticking to that.

They would say, we are occasionally going to be knocked off track.

Because we have that plan of moving to the future, they would say that

message is getting through. How does that sound? I think you have the

job. It probably plays -- pays more. They are now going to cut the

welfare benefits, not just of those who do not work but those who are in

work. Is that sensible? It is interesting. Ministers are nervous

about the gamble the Chancellor is taking. These are the people that

Mrs Thatcher used to call the strivers. You'll could George

Osborne could not accuse these voters as being skydivers. -- George

Osborne could not. They have now been told their lives will get

worse. It is a massive risk, and untested risk. You wonder with

George Osborne where once again politics trumps everything. Why did

he make the announcement about the extra welfare cuts. He is assessed

with the idea of controlling the fiscal baseline. Labour did that in

2001 and 2005 and they won. The fiscal baseline is essentially... It

is essentially saying, here it is essentially the tax and spending

framework going forward for the next Parliament. He believes the winner

of the election controls that. The political challenge he wants to put

to Labour is, we are going to have a surplus across the whole budget by

2018. This is how we will achieve it. The danger is that he will end

up hitting the working poor whilst allowing very nice pension pot

arrangements and transfers down the generations for people who richer.

This announcement we will get that he will once again ring fenced

health spending. I guess he had no alternative to do that, particularly

after Labour decided to make health spending and NHS the centre of their

campaign. Yellow macadamia you need to neutralise this. If they talk

about the deficit, Labour struggle. -- they need to neutralise this. The

NHS is so difficult. There will be a million more people in the next

decade over 70. Even in a ring fenced budget which is rising in

line with inflation, the only way you can get back that Dan is to make

it ring fenced. Labour are doing more than that. They are promising

an extra ?2,000,000,000 a year on top of what is planned. What was

important about the Labour announcement is that they had

numbers. It is tangible. It is easy for voters to see and think, they do

care. It was, we will have 10,000 more tractors and 50,000,000 bushels

of wheat, as long as we are in for 10 years! Don't people 's eyes glaze

over when politicians on the left and right make these are Mrs? Labour

would say, we are going to fund this with taxes people would not argue

with, which is people who have properties over 2 million. Will it

really yield that sort of money? If it fails to yield that sort of

money, there are obviously difficulties for them meeting this.

Mr Cameron has not had the best of relationships with his activists and

his backbenchers. Do they realise he is an activist? -- he is popular? it

is telling the hall why he is conservative. They often doubt his

beliefs. They do not know why he is a Tory. The fundamental challenge

for David Cameron is that he is an emotional guy. He speaks from the

heart. He does not seem to be able to connect to people. People do not

know what he thinks. He was a cuddly, Guardian moderniser five or

6 years ago. Then that changed. There is not 1 sense of direction.

Thank you very much. Here I am in the conference hall. I am just

outside, where David Cameron will give his speech. The conference hall

began -- the conference began in less than auspicious circumstances.

They have put a brave face on it. Here is our conference sketch. We

had a defection to UKIP and a sex scandal. We expected the Tories to

be flattened and dejected. Far from it. There are more people. They have

been in a good mood. Andrew Davies showed them the way to go. He gave a

speech worthy of Henry V. Henry V, he was Welsh as well. Never bow

down, always go forward. Together, we are one hell of a force. We also

heard from the fragrant, fruity, Liz truss, new Secretary of State for

the environment. I, conference, rebelled. I became a Conservative.

As a practical, Yorkshire girl, I believe that rather than talking, we

should be about getting things done. The conference also heard from

William Hague, the former leader of the party, giving his last speech to

the conference. They have not ignored the UKIP threat or pretended

it did not exist. They confronted it head-on. That is exactly what

William Hague did. Let us be very frank. Let us say it like Yorkshire

man. It is not only self-defeating and counter-productive, it is also

hypocritical and dishonest to say you want to give people a choice on

Europe and then help the election of a Labour government that would never

give people a choice. Bitter? In his interview with Newsnight, the Prime

Minister admitted he faces to France, the blue on blue with UKIP

and the blue on red with Labour. Those 2 characters behind me. I say

this to Ed Miliband correct your inability to put the country before

your party means you are not fit to hold the office of Prime Minister of

the United Kingdom. It has been noticeably serious conference. In

the end it comes down to showmanship. No 1 does that better

than the old panto dame himself, Boris Johnson. Amazingly, unusually

loyal to David Cameron. Take it away, Boris. Is everybody here? Are

we all here, by and large, proud conservatives? Are we proud of the

oldest and most successful party in western democracy? Do we intend to

fight for the next election under the Conservative banner and no

other? Are there any defect is here? Are there any quitters or

splitters? Anybody been feeling a bit yellow around the edges, like a

keeper? Conference is not just about the politicians. It would not

actually happen without the party faithful. Most of them have gone

into the hall already, waiting for David Cameron to deliver his speech.

I caught up with these 2 ladies. You are the party faithful. How long

have you been coming to conference? 60 years plus. I was a young

conservative and I have been a Conservative all my life. Are you

excited about the speech? Yes. Everything is going very well. When

I have gone to my hotel, I have thought what I have seen on

television, they have been to a different conference than me. It is

upbeat. Parties? It has been a very good atmosphere. What about those

defections? We have just seen a chap with a banner. If somebody wants to

defect, fine. It is a free country. What do you think David Cameron

needs to say to unify the party? He is young. He has children. He has a

good future, quite honestly. He is there to lead us. All good points. I

will let you go in and take your seats. If we can get in! You can

write to the BBC if you do not get to your seats. Really enjoyed. At

the other end of the scale, is this your 1st conference? It is.

Expectations? Sign it has been a brilliant atmosphere and I have

really enjoyed it. Much better than I expected. It was nice to see how

optimistic he was about industry. What about David Cameron? It cannot

be just about jokes. He has two come across prime ministerial. He needs

to say he is the best option. What does he need to say? What will win

it for voters out there? I think probably the economy. He has shown

that the Lib Dems cannot deliver. A Conservative government can do a lot

more. The voters will respond. Who is a threat? UKIP Labour? UKIP. They

are nicking our votes. It is quite worrying. I think when it comes to

the election, I think, I hope their vote will die away. One word for

today 's speech? What do think it needs to be? Fine macro confident.

Prime ministerial. That is it from outside the hall and

we will bring you some post-match analysis after the speech. Andrew.

Thanks, Jo Co. Welcome to the daily politics Special. You have now got

the most influential right-wing politician in the country, Nigel

Farage. A poll came out this week saying he is in the 100 most

influential right-wingers. As far as we're concerned as the Conservative

Party, we have a bigger job to do, which is governing the country and

winning the next general election and taking the country forward with

our long-term economic plan. The reality is, we are a party that is

very focused in terms of what we're doing and what needs to be done to

address the big problems this country faces. This isn't about...

Look, I am not here to say I disagree with UKIP. Because you

don't? Only the Conservative Party can deliver the change this country

needs, whether it is on Europe, immigration, the economy, the issues

the members of the public feel strongly about. If David Cameron

doesn't give details of the negotiations in his plan, are you

prepared to leave? I have a view that we have to fight for change

within. But if you lose, would you vote to leave? Europe as it stands

today is not working. There is a broad recognition of that is not

just in this country but across EU states as well. We have to fight to

bring about the change, not just for the UK but actually for other

European countries as well. I understand the case for change. What

I'm saying is, if you don't get that change, will you come out? I am an

optimist, Andrew, so we have to fight for change. We have to fight

Britain's corner. It is hypothetical. We are not there yet.

You have a statement today that he will continue to ring-fence the NHS,

but that is the least you can do, isn't it? That simply means that

keeps pace with inflation. You need to do more than that, don't you? No.

We have set the trend and we have been very clear in funding for the

NHS. ?12 billion over this Parliament. We have established the

Cancer Drugs Fund. And the Prime Minister has alluded to this in his

remarks today. I know we are before his speech but it is about the value

of the NHS and the fact that it is there for everybody, and we have to

continue to invest in the NHS, and your previous panellist said this as

well. We are getting older, we are living longer... I get all that but

that is all boilerplate. The point is that you have already ring-fenced

the NHS and there is a massive black hole in the NHS, even with

ring-fencing now. Acute hospitals are heading for a ?1 billion

deficit, so why does more ring-fencing really solve the

problem? Well, it does of the problem if you spend the money in

the right way. Don't forget, we have actually change the NHS and move

money from the backroom going to the front line. We have recruited more

doctors, more nurses and I've mentioned the Cancer Drugs Fund as

well. But you have all those targets? Well, we have new health

centres across the country and we have the GP hours. These are the

front line facilities the public expect at their local level and

access to primary care is vital. If you ring-fence it and keep it rising

in pace with inflation, given that NHS inflation is much higher than

the CPI measure of inflation, the average, it is basically a cut and

you will continue to run deficits and the NHS will continue to be

underfunded. It is certainly not the case that we are cutting the NHS. We

are a government that has consistently invested in the NHS. In

real terms as well we are seeing a spending increase and money... Money

has gone from the back room into the front line. So why is there a ?1

billion deficit in acute hospitals? These deficits have not been created

overnight. If you look at the running and the PFI contract, look

at the way they have been set up over the last decade. That is why

they have these deficits. And we have putting -- been putting our

focus on bringing the focus from the back room to the front line and,

most importantly, putting patients first. So why is it said that we are

heading for an annual deficit of ?5 billion a year in the NHS? 30

billion by the end of Parliament? Well, as nobody explained, we had

deficits before in the way that the NHS was invested in and also the

contracts, GP contracts and hospital contracts as well. It has not been a

rosy history. We are now tackling some of those endemic problems with

the structure of the NHS and taking money from the back room into the

front line to provide real services that will transform people's lives

at local community levels. So why are you missing your five major

targets on waiting times? This is about demand. We are ageing. The

demand in the NHS is expanding... We are spending money. It is wrong to

say we aren't spending enough. The money is there. It is always about

how the money is being used in the NHS. We have Clinical Commissioning

Groups and it is for them to make the right strategic decisions about

how the money is allocated from central government to local

government to their communities, and it is vital that money is spent on

the front line putting patients first. How much deeper will the cuts

in other departments now have to be if you ring-fencing on health? I

cannot speculate on cuts. We are making difficult decisions and what

we have heard this week through all speakers at our Conference, there is

no denying that times have been tough. We are making difficult

decisions. We have spoken about the economy this week as well. We have

to get the deficit down. We have big issues still when it comes to public

finances, so there will be departmental cuts at some stage,

absolutely. According to The Times this morning, with the ring-fencing

of the NHS budget, there will have to be real-time cuts of more than

20% across all other departments in this Parliament. That is not a

figure I am familiar with and they are speculating on that. I did read

that. You say you have taken hard decisions but the fact is, if you

win again, there will be massive cuts in other departments in the

next five years, right? Because most of the deficit is still there. The

job is not yet done. There is more to do. The job is not yet on when it

comes to securing the financial base of this country. We have been facing

tough choices are making tough decisions and we recognise times

have been tough for people across the country as well. If that is

true, why are you making lower paid people suffer even more by freezing

welfare benefits? Look, that there is way too reduce the welfare bill,

and it is growing and growing, we have to make sure benefits are not

rising faster than wages. -- way to produce. As I said, there is no

denying this is a difficult position. We recognise people have

had a very difficult time over the last four years... You are about to

make it more difficult? Well, Iain Duncan Smith two days ago announced

Universal Credit will roll out next year and that will take away the

complexity within the benefits system. Tax credits, working tax

credits, all these benefits people find difficult to access, we are now

rolling them into one and that will help families access benefits in a

much easier way which didn't exist before. But if you are a lower paid

worker, the reason you get a welfare top up is because your pay doesn't

come to very much, so you get extra in-work benefits. Your pay hasn't

been rising in real terms now for five or ten years. You are now going

to hit the welfare top up that they get as well. You're going to cut

that in real terms, too, so they pay is not rising and their benefits are

not rising. They are in work and it is a double whammy for the lowest

paid in this country. What have you got against them? I forget is wrong

to say we are against hard-working people. We for them. -- I think it

is wrong to say. Why are you cutting the welfare? These are not your

famous skivers. These are people who are actually going out to work. Many

of them will be cleaning this building here. They have not had a

real pay rise in living memory and now you are going to cut their

welfare benefits. Why is that... I thought we were all in this

together. Well, actually we are, and these people will also benefit from

the increase in the personal allowance as well. Rather think you

can then depend on a welfare system that is complicated... -- rather

than keeping them. We're trying to streamline the system and make it

much more efficient and effective. Well, you are streamlining it by

cutting their welfare. Well, Universal Credit is a very good way

we are providing support for them. That was out April next year. When

will everybody get it? April 2016. The roll-out starts next year. Are

you sure about that? I've been told that is absolutely true. And there

is more employers could do to support... Putting the minimum wage

up by a small amount is not keeping pace with inflation. It is an

important increase and one we should welcome. With the deficit, what

sacrifice are you making? We are all working across government to make

sure we're not spending money in an irresponsible way. It is about

making tough decisions. But you are not having your pay cut? I work hard

like everybody else. We'll go out to work and work hard. And there are

sacrifices we all make. I am trying to work out what sacrifice you are

making. I know the sacrifices other people making but I'm trying to work

out what are doing? Well, we all make sacrifices. Thank you very

much. And I like the jacket. It is actually that colour! Thank you. Now

it is time to look at the highs and lows of the Conservative year.

On the day we can see there are 1 million more people in work in our

country, that is 1 million reasons to stick to the economic plan we

have. It is one thing for people to come and take up a job offer but

actually the freedom to claim benefits, that is not a freedom we

should recognise. The committee has recommended that I

apologise to the House for my attitude to the commission's

inquiries, and I of course unreservedly apologise.

I accepted his assurances, I gave him a job, it was a second chance.

It turns out to be a bad decision and I'm extremely sorry about that.

This is a bad day for Europe. I'm today leaving the Conservative

Party and joining UKIP. Today I'm leaving the Conservative Party...

CHEERING I've got to find a seat now. I think

people can feel like it's a bit like a general election. That you make a

decision and five years later you can make another decision if you are

fed up with the Tories. Just as the people of Scotland will

have more power over their affairs, so it follows that the people of

England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over theirs.

There is no more serious an issue than asking our armed Forces to put

themselves in harm's way to protect our country. And I want to set out

today why I believe that is necessary.

And we're joined now by viewers from the BBC News channel. You are

watching this BBC Two Daily Politics special live from the Conservative

Conference in Birmingham. David Cameron is about to give his final

speech to the Tory faithful before next year's general election. We

expect him to be on centre stage in about ten minutes time. Though the

way things go, they tend to run late. Anyway, we have plenty to talk

about. That's get the thoughts, or as Homer Simpson once said, the

thought of these guys. So, they have released this they went about

ring-fencing the NHS, clearly a response to Labour who are putting

the NHS is centre stage. Of course they are going to do it and I don't

think it is a response to Labour in the sense that they were going to

talk about it sometime, and Labour will say that their so-called levy

or mansion tax will be on top of what the Tories are doing. That

won't be the centrepiece of this speech. There is clear you going to

be a policy centrepiece of this. Interestingly, behind-the-scenes, I

am told the Cameron team have argued about whether he used this speech

for arguments and themes and narrative and joined it up and found

it is a bit unsubstantial. I suspect it is a tap 's measure -- tax

measure and having happy slap round the face from George Osborne, the

Prime Minister wants to go back to the sense that by the time you get

to the election after this election, things will be better, and one way

of doing that is tax. I genuinely have no idea what the policy is but

here are two possibilities. Firstly it is that they will do what the Lib

Dems have done and continue to raise the amount you can earn before you

pay any income tax. The logic is the personal allowance, take it up to

the level of the minimum wage so nobody on the minimum wage pays any.

And more intriguing as a possibility, interestingly a more

progressive possibility, is that you deal with national insurers.

It is a pot of money that goes into the Treasury. The poor pay more of

it. You start to pay that earlier than income tax. It would be

politically bold to raise the level because you are having to educate

people about how the system works. It may be too complicated for a

pre-election conference. The problem with any announcement based speech,

you have to find the money. It cuts across the message that there is not

any. David Cameron has too tried to get the election message right.

Britain is on the right track. He needs to look Prime Minister Ariel

and make sure that he takes Labour on on the economy, which is where

they are weakest. They are his 2 big targets. The announcements are in

service to that. People do not really pay attention to them. They

have to get the impression that this Prime Minister is the Prime Minister

and the party knows what it is doing. That is what he will be

trying to convey. I think the individual measure about freezing in

work benefits that some of the lowest paid people in the country

faced may well be the right measure, remember that expression George

Osborne and David Cameron used to use, we are all in this together? It

has not felt like that this week. UKIP is a phenomenon of people who

are not doing well from globalisation, who feel the economy

is no longer working for them. The Conservatives, every successful

Conservative leader, Margaret Thatcher in particular, she appealed

to that kind of voter. She did think the Tories were the party of the

rich. She saw the changes that John Major was making to be Conservative

party, a party that finally understood them. That is what I

think David Cameron has to do. He has two show awareness in his speech

that he has lost that section of the community. We have not heard

anything of that this week. It is getting too late to put that right.

The most important opportunity is about to come. I do not doubt that

you are right. The measures that George Osborne put down our

difficult. What he feels is the main thing you have when you are

Chancellor of the extent is the ability to set the baseline for an

election. If you laid down a very tough baseline, the problem for UKIP

and the Labour Party is, what will they do that is different for that

-- from that? Often their changes will look riskier than the

Government in power. I'm sure that is part of the thinking. The truth

is, it would be very difficult whoever is elected. The thing is who

you get the money from. Everyone must feel we are in this together.

Richard pensioners, high earners, are not really being asked to make a

contribution in the way the low-paid. I worry that we are using

money to pay down the deficit in the way we are. The political difficulty

you raise is correct. If you look at any grass at what happened in the

last five years, the most well-off have paid the biggest amount. The

squeezed middle have been the people who have actually seen our share

increase, even though it has been very difficult for the least well

off. It is very friendly! What is interesting about it, David Cameron

has struggled to rediscover what his old mate, Steve Hilton, told him to

do, which is sunshine. That sense that he gave you a sense about

sunshine. The thing that President Reagan had so brilliantly. That is

what Boris Johnson has. Events have not helped. What the idea of these

various announcements, many of which were buried by an affection with

helping people to buy their homes, tax-free inheritance of pensions.

They are hoping to say, there is something in this for you. It is not

about the Tories they hope being seen as a plumber who comes to fix

the blocked up blue. They want to say the House will smell nice and it

will look good and they have a few plans for you in the future. This

has been the Tory problem ever since Winston Churchill won the Second

World War and lost the peace in the 19th 45 general election. The Tories

have been bad at painting a picture at the kind of Britain they want to

govern and create. It is important not to lose the sense that people

have that this is a risky and difficult time and they need to

choose security. This is the reason for the secure in the future. They

need to choose security over risky change. You have a very difficult

balance. You need to give people a sense of hope and a sense they will

gain out of all of theirs and all of this hard work will be shared by

them and not just taken by the elite and rich people. You have to say to

people the situation is very difficult. At this moment you cannot

trust Labour in particular with this. You have to stress risk but

also say in the distance there is an opportunity for something. Why would

you think this party is on your side? You have not had a real pay

rise for ages. Now you are going to cut welfare benefits in real terms.

These are people getting up early in the morning, going to work for a

pittance, they are not seen their pay go up. Now you're going to take

away a chunk of that in work benefits. Why would you think this

conference is on your side? It is an analysis that we should expect

something on tax. There will be an attempt to suggest working people

would benefit out of a Conservative government. The answer to your

question is, the Conservative party is the party of economic growth and

dealing with competitive challenge making sure the country is not left

behind while the rest of the world grows. The Conservative party has

been successful in dealing with an economic crisis and putting the

country back on track. There are any number of political difficulties

which we are discussing with that message. Getting this balance

between realism and optimism is the most tricky bit. Nevertheless, the

message about what you do for working people is not very

difficult. What is the Conservative election strategy going to be?

Labour is two, three, four points ahead. UKIP is in double figures in

the polls. The right is divided. You need for an overall majority about

39%, maybe 40%. Are you ever going to get that? I have no idea. The

next person who asked me who will win the next general election, I

will hit. It is asked all the time by people. The Conservatives have to

offer reassurance to lower income people. They need to pass some of

the burden onto employers. Not huge rises but a sense the Conservatives

understand how hard it is to make ends meet at the moment. What they

learned from Scotland is that when the stakes are incredibly high, you

get a good turnout. When the stakes are high, you can persuade people to

make a really serious choice. What they are betting on is the 2 things

that are in their favour and have since this parliament began is that

Cameron is way ahead of Ed Miliband in terms of leadership in terms of

opinion polls and the Tories are ahead of Labour in economic

confidence. I think they are banking on a 1992 effect, a last-minute

effect, which constantly says to the country, this choice you are about

to take really matters. This is a big one! Now decide, do you want him

or him? Do you want economic security or the risk they claim that

Labour will be? They constantly have to channel... What is interesting

is, giving you have just had to Tory MPs defecting, you have not had what

you saw in the 90s and the 80s, which is a panic about the Tories

have a new immigration policy, let's have a new line on Europe. You would

have predicted that last Sunday. On the fringes you would have had

Redwood, David Davis and Liam Fox saying, tether strategy up and start

again. They have not. They think even the Tory right is thinking, the

only thing that will win them is the central choice. Can a claim of

economic confidence and a claim of a growing economy, that things are

getting better, can that claim get you to a percentage in the polls

where you win an overall majority? Winning an overall majority is

difficult. It is not impossible but it is difficult. I do think you can

become the largest party and take office. I am just trying to get a

piece of analysis. They want to have a majority. What they will be trying

to do is increase the salience of the 2 issues they talked about,

economic confidence in Ed Miliband and salience is important. If you

talk about, is America on track under George Bush? People are

reminded about George Bush. What they will try to do is say to

people, would Britain be better off under Ed Miliband? They are going to

try to make sure they push that issue. What does account for the

confidence is a widespread feeling in the party and I think a lot of

media people can question that Ed Miliband had a very poor week. He

did illustrate he is very vulnerable to the attack about being Prime

Minister. To get an overall majority they have to increase their share of

the vote. Who was the last sitting prime minister to do that? Was it

Harold Wilson? I do not know. Anthony Eden in 1955. That is the

mountain you have to climb. We are seeing 1 political party collapse,

the Liberal Democrats. We are seeing 1 new party emerge. We are seeing

potentially Labour collapse in Scotland. They face a very serious

challenge from the SNP. Crucially, it is not just because of UKIP. It

is UKIP and the SNP. Commentators are suggesting that SNP could make

massive gains. That is where they did well in the referendum, in the

Central Belt, in Glasgow and so on. The greens are coming up fast. 6% in

the last polls and talk of doing well in Brighton, Norwich and

Bristol. Some of our benchmark for how you win an election will be

wrong. People who know the Scottish electoral system better than the UK

one, where it has been a full party contest for a very long time, albeit

with the Tories way down force, the predictability of 4 parties

competing in some areas compared with 3 means you can have really

quite strange results emerging. The parties are all on about low 30s

with 1 creeping over the edge. It is unpredictable. What is the strategy

for handling UKIP? What the Prime Minister needs to do is concentrate

on the fight against Labour and try to get momentum in that fight, in

the hope of pulling people towards him. You may say that does not work

completely. The truth is, just because there is a problem does not

mean there is a solution. It is hard to solve the problem with UKIP but

the best attempt at a solution, as far as I am concerned, is to go off

on the right track and increase the saliency of the economy and Ed

Miliband, focus on the battle between Ed Miliband and David

Cameron. I do not think that moving away from centre and chasing after

those votes with UKIP will win. Beat Mark Reckless in Rochester and

Strood as well. It is about populism and seriousness. They are offering

popular solution to big problems. If the Tories looked like they are the

grown-ups, that is the best place for them to be. Talking about the

deficit as George Osborne did, saying he is being honest. It is not

balanced. At least he is being direct and honest. The tough party,

making tough decisions. Were you tempted when you are in

Doncaster? No. Did they not dangle it in front of you? No! It is a

great tragedy. I have been coming to these conferences for 20 years and

lots of these people used to be at the Tory Conference, and this

historic split on the right side of politics is the great sadness.

Right, here is the Prime Minister now. He enters this massive

auditorium in Birmingham and takes the applause of his party faithful.

He is going to use a podium and I don't think he has memorised the

speech he is going to -- memorised the speech, so he will read from an

autocue. I think you will speak for about an hour, so let's go straight

in to hear David Cameron address the Tory Conference of 2014. I am so

proud to stand here today as Prime Minister of four nations in one

United Kingdom. APPLAUSE

I was with clear about why we called that referendum. Dock the fight and

our union could have been taken apart bit by bit. Take it on and we

have the chance to settle the question. This party has always

confronted the big issues for the sake of our country. And now

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland - we are one people in one

union and everyone here can be proud of that.

And I think we can all agree that during that campaign, a new star, a

new Conservative store, was born. Someone who is going to take our

message to every corner of Scotland. Our very own Ruth Davies. --

Conservative start. The lead up to that referendum was

the most nerve wracking week of my life. But I can tell you the best

moment of my year. It was June the 6th, the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

Sam and I were in France with my constituent Patrick Churchill. No

relation to the great man but a great man himself. Patrick is 91

years old. And 70 years ago, she was there fighting fascism, helping to

liberate that town. -- he was there. And I will never forget seeing the

tears in his eyes as he talked about the comrades he had left behind but

also the pride they all felt in the job that they had done. As we walked

along the streets, he pointed out where he had driven his tank, and

all along the roadside, there were French children waving flags. Union

Jacks. The grandchildren of the people he had liberated. Patrick is

here today with his wife, and I know like me you will want to give them

the warmest Conservative welcome. APPLAUSE

. When people have seen our flag in

some of the most desperate times in history, they have known what it

stands for. Freedom. Just is. Standing up for what is right. They

have known that this isn't just any old country. This is a special

country. -- justice. June the six this summer, Normandy. I was so

proud of Great Britain that day. And here today, I want to set out how in

this generation we can build a country whose future we can all be

proud of. How we can secure a better future for all. How we can build a

Briton that everyone is proud to call home. -- a Great Britain. The

heirs to those who fought on the beaches of Normandy are those

fighting in Afghanistan today. For 13 years, young men and women have

been serving our country there. This year, the last of our combat troops

come home. And I know that everyone here will want to show how grateful

and how proud we are of everyone who served.

But the end of the Afghan mission does not mean the end of the threat.

The threat is Islamist extremist terrorism. And it has found a new

hellish crucible with ISIL in Iraq and Syria. These people, they are

evil. Pure and simple. They kill children, raped women, threatened

non-believers with genocide, the head journalists and aid workers. --

be head. Now, some people think we can opt out of this. We can't. As I

speak, British servicemen and women are flying in the skies over Iraq.

We saw action yesterday. And there will be troops on the front line up

they will be Iraqis, Kurds and Syrians fighting for the safe and

democratic future that they deserve. We are acting in partnership with a

range of countries including those from the region, because let us be

clear - there is no walk on by option. Unless we deal with ISIL,

they will deal with us, bringing terror and murder to our streets.

And, as always with this party, we will do whatever it takes to keep

our country safe. And to those... To those who have had all the

advantages of being brought up in Great Britain but who want to go and

fight for ISIL, let me say this. If you try and travelled to Syria or

Iraq, we will use everything at our disposal to stop you. Taking away

your passport, prosecuting, convicting, imprisonment. And even

if you are there already, we may prevent you from coming back. You

have declared your allegiance. You are an enemy of the UK and you

should expect to be treated as such. When it comes to keeping Britain

safe, I have had one man by my side for the last four years. We all

remember those lyrical tones in a hall like this all those years ago.

Some of you won't be here in 30 years time. All right! All right, I

won't give up the day job! Now, when he was a teenager, he didn't only

address the Tory Party Conference, he read Hansard in bed and had a

record collection that apparently consisted of one album by dire

Straits and dozens of speeches by Winston Churchill. His dad said he

was just a normal, happy boy! Well, all I can say is this. That boy

became an amazing parliamentarian, a brilliant Foreign Secretary, our

greatest living Yorkshireman and someone to whom I owe an enormous

debt of gratitude. William Hague! Now, William, there is one more task

I want you to carry out. Bringing fairness to our Constitution. During

that referendum campaign, we made a valve to the Scottish people that

they will get more powers and we will keep our foul. -- our promise.

But here is my promise to the people of England, Wales and Northern

Ireland. I know the system is unfair. I know that you are asking,

if Scotland can vote separately on things like tax and spending and

welfare, why can't England, Wales and Northern Ireland do the same?

And I know you want this answered. So this is my promise. English votes

for English laws. The Conservatives will deliver it.

Now, we have delivered a lot these past four years. But we have had to

do it all in a coalition government. And, believe me,

coalition was not what I wanted to do, it is what I had to do, and I

know not just what I want next but what the country needs next. I want

to be back here in October 2015 delivering Conservative policies

based on Conservative values, leading a majority Conservative

government. So where do we want to take our

country? Where do I want to take our country? During these four years, I

hope that the British people have come to know me a little. I'm not a

comp located man. I believe in some simple things. -- comp located.

Families come first. They are the way you make a nation strong from

the inside out. I care deeply about those who struggle to get by but I

believe the best thing to do is to help them stand on their own two

feet and no that this is not saying you on your own, but we are on your

side helping you to be all can. And I believe in something for

something. Not something for nothing. Those who do the right

thing, who put the effort in, who work and build communities - these

are the people who should be rewarded. And all of this, all of

this is underpinned by a deep patriotic them. I love this country.

And my goal is this. To make Great Britain a country that everyone is

proud to call home. That doesn't just mean having the fastest growing

economy or climbing some international league table. I didn't

come into politics to make the lines on the grass go in the right

direction. I want to help you live a better life. -- lines on the graph.

And it comes back to those things I believe. A Great Britain that

everyone is proud to call home is a Britain where hard work is really

warded, not a freefall, but a chance for all. -- really rewarded. A good

chance in life wherever you are and wherever you are from. And, by the

way, you never pull one person up by pulling another down. So this...

This party does not do the politics of envy and class war. We leave that

to others. We believe in aspiration and helping people to get on in

life. What is more, we are proud of it.

Now, the past four years have been about laying the foundations for

that Britain. The next five will be about finishing the job. Put another

way, if our economic plan for the past 4 years has been about our

country and saving it from economic ruin, our plan for the next 5 years

will be about you and your family and helping you to get on. But

conservatives know this, nothing comes easy. There is no reward

without effort, no wealth without work, no success without sacrifice.

We credit the British people with knowing these things too. Other

parties, they will preach to you about a brave new world. We

understand that you have to start with the real world and make it

better. I let other politicians stand on stage like this 1 and

promise an easy life. Not me. I am here today to set out our

conservative commitment for the next 5 years. -- Conservative. If you

want to provide for yourself and your family, you will have the

security of a job but only if we stick to our long-term economic

plan. If you work hard, we will cut taxes but only if we keep cutting

the deficit, so we can afford to do that. For those wanting to buy a

home, yes, we will help you get onto that housing ladder but only if we

take on the vested interests and build more homes, however hard that

may be. We will make sure your children get a great education, the

best education, but only if you keep on taking on everybody he gets in

the way of high standards. For those retiring, we will make sure you get

a decent pension and real wards for your life in work but only if we, as

a country, except we all have to work a bit longer and save a bit

more. -- accept. It is pretty simple really, a good job, a nice home,

more money at the end of the month, a decent education for your

children, a safe and secure retirement. A country where you put

in, you get out. A Britain everyone is proud to call home. Above all, a

proper, real, long-term plan to get there. Starts with more decent

jobs. -- it starts. Look how far we have come! Today there are 1,800,000

more jobs in our country than men were in 2010. We are creating more

jobs here in Britain and the whole of Europe put together. -- band

there were. You know what, when Britain is getting back to work, it

can only mean one thing, the Conservatives are back in

government. So, here is our commitment for the

next 5 years, what the economists would call the highest employment

rate of any major economy. I would call it full employment in Britain.

Think what that would mean, those who can work able to work, standing

on the own two feet, looking at their children and thinking, I am

providing for you. We can get there but only if we stick to our plan.

Companies from all over the world are coming here to invest and create

jobs. That has not happened by accident. It is because they see a

government which is rolling out the red carpet, cutting red tape,

cutting taxes. Here is a commitment with the next Conservative

government we will always have the most competitive corporate taxes in

the grams 20, lower than Germany, lower than Japan, lower than the

United States. That is our commitment. -- the G20's.

George said something really important in that absolutely

brilliant speech on Monday. A message to those global companies.

We have cut your taxes, now you must pay what you owe.

We must stick to the plan on welfare. If you are out of work, you

will get unemployment benefit, but only if you go to the job centre,

update to a CD, attend interviews and accept the work you are offered.

As I said, no more something for nothing. Look at the results of what

we have achieved so far. 800,000 fewer people on the main out of work

benefits. In the next 5 years, we are going to go further. You heard

it this week, we will not just aim to lower youth unemployment, we aim

to abolish it. We have made clear decisions. We will reduce the

benefits cap and say to those 21 and under, no longer will you have the

option of leaving school and going straight into a life on benefits.

You must earn or learn. We will help by funding 3,000,000

apprenticeships. Let us say to our young people, a life on welfare is

no life at all. Instead, here is some hope, a chance to get on and

make something with your lives. That is our message to young people in

Britain today. APPLAUSE

And, what do our opponents have to say? They have opposed every change

to welfare we have made and I expect they will oppose this one as well.

They sit there pontificating about poverty and yet they are the ones

who left a generation to rot on welfare. While we are at it, while

we are at it, let us prepare our records. Under Labour, unemployment

rose. With us, unemployment is falling faster than at any time for

25 years. Under Labour, inequality widens. With ask it has narrowed.

Those are the facts. Let us say it proudly and loudly with Britain

getting off welfare and back to work. The real party of compassion

and justice is not the Labour Party, it is the party in this hall, the

Conservatives. And you know what? It is not just

the job numbers that matter. It is the reality of working life for

people in our country, especially the lowest paid. Anyone, anyone in

our country should be free to take on different jobs so they can get

on. When companies employ staff on 0 hours contracts and then stop them

from getting work elsewhere, that is not a free market, that is a fixed

market. In a Britain that everyone is proud to call home, people are

employed. They are not used. So those exclusive zero hours

contracts, we will scrap them. But, as Iain Duncan Smith and others

have pointed out, there is still more injustice when it comes to

work. It is even more shocking. Criminal gangs trafficking people

halfway around the world and making them work in the most disgusting

conditions. I have been to see these. Houses on our terraced

streets, built for families of four but cramming in 15 people like

animals. Those crime lords who think they can get away with it, I say,

no, not in this country, not with this party. Our modern slavery Bill

means we are coming after you and we will put a stop to it once and for

all! Once you have a job, I want you to

take home more of your own money. If you put in, you should get out and

not and so much of it to the taxman. That is why these past 4

years, despite everything, I have made sure we provide some relief to

tax payers in our country, especially the poorest. Knowing

contacts until you earn ?10,000 a year and from next April, ?10,500 a

year. -- no income tax. It has been a tax cut for 25,000,000 people. Our

commitment to you for the next 5 years, we want to cut more of your

taxes. But we can only do that if we keep on cutting the deficit. This is

common sense. Tax cuts need to be paid for. Here is our plan. We are

going to balance the books by 2018 and stop putting aside money for the

future. To do it, we will need to find ?25,000,000,000 worth of

savings in the 1st two years of the next Parliament. That is a lot but

it is doable. 25 billion is just 3% of what government spends each year.

It is one quarter of the savings we found in this Parliament. I am

confident we will find the savings we need through spending cuts alone.

We will see the job through and we will get back into the black. As we

do that, I am clear about something else. We need tax cuts for

hard-working people. And here and now, I have a specific

commitment. Today, right here today the minimum wage reaches ?6 50 an

hour and before long we will reach our next goal of ?7 an hour. I can

tell you now that a future Conservative government will raise

the tax-free personal allowance from ?10,500 to ?12,500.

That will take 1,000,000 more of the lowest paid workers out of income

tax and it will give a tax cut to 30,000,000 more. With us, if you

work 30 hours a week on minimum wage, you will pay no income tax at

all, nothing, zero. Lower taxes for hard-working

people. That is what I call a Britain that everyone is proud to

call home. But... We will also do something Alice. The 40p tax rate

was only supposed to be paid by the most well-off people in our country.

In the past decade, far too many people have been dragged into it.

Teachers, police officers. Let me tell you this today. I will take

action that is long overdue and bring back some fairness to tax.

With a Conservative government, we will raise the threshold at which

people pay the 40p rate. It is currently ?41,900. In the next

Parliament, we will raise it to ?50,000.

So, here is our commitment to the British people. No income tax if you

are on minimum wage, eight ?12,500 tax-free personal allowance for

millions of hard-working people and you only pay 40p tax when you earn

?50,000. Let the message go out, with the Conservatives, if you work

hard and do the right thing, we say you should keep more of your own

money to spend as you choose. That is what our long-term economic plan

means for you. And while I am on the subject of big

economic questions our country faces on spending, on tax. Did you hear Ed

Miliband last week? He spoke for over an hour but did not mention the

deficit once. Not once. He said he forgot to mention it. Look, people

forget their car keys, my children sometimes forget their homework. I

once even forgot that I left Nancy down the pub. Samantha, I am sorry,

it won't happen again. But let me say this, you cannot be Prime

Minister of this country and forget the most important issue that we

face. A few weeks ago, Ed Balls said

something interesting. LAUGHTER

He said in 13 years of government, Labour had made some mistakes.

"Some" mistakes?! Excuse me?! You were the people who left Great

Britain with the biggest youth -- peacetime deficit in history, who

destroyed our pension system, bust our banking system, left 1 million

people out of work, 5 million out of work benefits and hundreds of

billions of debt. Labour was just one big mistake.

And five years on, as Michael Gove just said in that brilliant speech,

they still want to spend more, borrow more and tax more. It is the

same old Labour. And you know what? They say that madness is doing the

same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Well, I

say madness is voting for this high spending, high taxing, deficit

ballooning shower of an opposition and expecting anything other than an

economic disaster. APPLAUSE

In a country that everyone is proud to call home, you should be able to

buy a home. If you are willing to save. It shouldn't be some

impossible dream. But we inherited a situation where it was. Young people

watched Location, Location, Location not as a reality show but as a

fantasy. We couldn't solve this housing crisis without some

difficult decisions. The planning system was stuck in the mud so we

reformed it and last year nearly a quarter of a million houses were

given planning permission. Young people needed massive deposits they

just couldn't afford, so we brought in help to buy schemes. Of course

there were those who criticise them. Usually speaking from the

comfort of the homes they had bought some years ago. But let's see what

actually happened. They said Helped By would just help people in

London, but 94% of buyers lived outside the capital. They said it

would help people with houses already but four fifths of

first-time buyers are these people. They said it would cause a housing

bubble but the Bank of England says it hasn't. So here is our renewed

commitment to first-time buyers. If you are prepared to work and save we

will help you get a place of your own. At this Conference we have

announced a landmark new policy. It is called Starter Homes. We are

going to build 100,000 new homes and they will be at least 20% cheaper

than normal. But here is the crucial part. Buy to let landlords won't be

than normal. But here is the crucial able to snap them up. Wealthy

foreigners won't be able to buy them. Just first-time buyers under

the age of 40. Homes built for you, made for you. Our party, the

Conservative Party, the party of home ownership once again!

In a Great Britain that everyone is proud to call home, you wouldn't be

able to tell a child's GCSEs by their postcode or by what their

parents do. There must be a great education for every child. A month

ago, I had this wonderful moment. Florence is now four and just

starting school, so for the first time, all three of my children are

at the same primary school. And it was such a joy to take them all

there together. Florence sort of clinging on for dear life until

suddenly she saw a new friend and rushed into her classroom, not a

backward glance, something dads have to get used to! And it is hard to

describe what a relief it is as a parent to find a decent school for

your child. But it shouldn't be a lottery. What we have, what Sam and

I have in our state primary in London, I want every child in our

country. And we are getting there. More children in good or outstanding

schools. More children studying sciences, language and history. A

new curriculum with five-year-olds learning fractions, 11-year-olds

coding computers. Like me, you are probably finding the homework ardour

and harder every night it comes back! But you know what? The biggest

change, the biggest change that first Michael and now Nicky and her

team are bringing about, the biggest change is the culture. We have got

teachers who feel like leaders again. You say, this is our school,

we are proud of it, the children behave in it and we will not

tolerate failure within it. We have come so far. And make no mistake -

the biggest risk to all this is Labour. You know what drives me most

mad about them? It is the hypocrisy. Tristram Hunt, their Shadow

Education Secretary, like me, had one of the best educations that

money can buy. But guess what. He won't allow it for your children. He

went to an independent school that wasn't set up by a local authority,

but, no, you doesn't want parents and charities to set up schools with

your children. He had the benefit of world-class teachers who happened

not to have some government certificate, but, no, he wants to

stop people like that from teaching your children. I tell you. Tristram

Hunt and I have both had an education at some of the best

schools in our country. But here is the difference. You, Tristram Hunt,

like the rest of Labour, want to restrict those advantages. I want to

spread them to every child in our country. Now, we know Labour's real

problem on education. Every move they make, they have to take their

cue from the unions. That is who they really represent. The unions.

Well, I've got a bit of news for you. It is something we've never

really said before. We in this party, we are a trade union, too.

And I tell you who we represent. This party is the union for

hard-working parents, for the father who read his children stories at

night because he wants them to learn, the mother who works all the

hours God sends to give her children the best start. This party is the

trade union for children from the poorest estates and the most chaotic

homes. This party is the union for the young woman who wants an

apprenticeship, for the teenagers who want to make something of their

lives. This is who we represent, these are the people we are fighting

for, and that is why on education we will not let Labour drag us back to

square one. We are going to finish what we have begun.

A real education is not just about exams. Our young people must know

that this is a country where if you put in, you will get out. Now, I

have got in some trouble before for talking about Twitter. In fact, I've

got in trouble for talking about quite a lot of things recently but

we will pass over that! But I want a country where young people aren't

endlessly thinking, what can I say in 140 characters, but what does my

character say about me? And that is why I'm so proud of National

Citizens' Service. Every summer, thousands of young people are coming

together to volunteer and serve their community. We started this.

People come up to me on the streets and say also some things. And

believe me, they say also something is! But one thing I hear a lot is

parents saying about National Citizens' Service, thank you for

what this has done for my child, and I want this to become a rite of

passage for all teenagers in our country. So I can tell you this. The

next Conservative government will guarantee a place on National

Citizens' Service for every teenager in our country.

APPLAUSE Now, that rule that if you put in,

you should get out - more than anywhere it should apply to those

who want dignity and security in retirement. But for years, it

didn't. There were, I think, three great roles. Number one, the Pension

Credit that was basically a means test, so the more you saved, the

lest you got -- the less you got. Compulsory annuities, which meant

you couldn't spend your money as you wish. When people passed away, their

pension was taxed at 55% before it went to their family. Three wrongs

and we are putting each one right. The means test, it is going. In its

place, a new single tier pension of ?142 a week. Every penny you save

during your working life you will keep. Those compulsory annuities

scrapped. Giving you complete control of your private pension. And

as for that 55% tax on your pension, you heard it this week - we have cut

it to 0%. Conservative values in action.

But when it comes to our elderly, there is perhaps one thing that

matters above everything. And that is knowing the NHS is payable for

you. Now, from Labour last week, we had the same old rubbish about the

Conservatives and the NHS. -- the NHS is there. They were spreading

complete and utter lies and I just think, how dare you?! It was the

Labour Party who gave us the scandal at Mid Staffs, elderly people

begging for water and dying of neglect. And for me, this is

personal. I am someone who has relied on the NHS and whose family

knows more than most of our important it is. Who knows what it

is like when you go to hospital night after night with a sick child

in your arms knowing that when you get there, there are people who will

love that child and care for that child as if it were their own. And

how dare they suggest I would ever put that at risk for other people's

children! How dare they frighten those who rely on our National

Health Service! We in this party, I believe we can

be proud of what we have done. We came in and we protected the NHS

budget. We funded six -- 6500 more doctors, over 3000 more nurses, a

cancer drug to save lives, and more people hearing those two magic words

- all clear. And think of those amazing things around the corner.

From the country that unravel DNA, we are now mapping it each

individual. It is called the gene owned. And I have a model of one of

the first ones on my desk in Downing Street. -- genome. This could mean

cracking the code and saving thousands of lives. Our NHS is

leading us on this incredible technology and I understand very

personally the differences it could make. When you have had a child who

is so ill and the doctors cannot work out what he has got all white,

you would give anything to know, and the investment we are making will

mean that parents have those answers and hopefully the queue is that go

with them. -- what he has got or why. But all this is only possible

because we have managed our economy responsibly. And that is why I can

tell you this today. We will do it again. The next Conservative

government will protect the NHS budget and continue to invest more,

because we know this truth. Something Labour will never

understand and we will never forget. You can only have a strong NHS if

you have a strong economy. A Great Britain that everyone is

proud to call home. A place where reward follows effort, where if you

put in, you get out. But it also means a country that is strong in

the world and in control of its own destiny. And, yes, that includes

controlling immigration. To me, this is all about working on all fronts.

It is about getting our own people fit for work, fixing welfare so a

life on the dole is not an option, fixing education so we turn out to

young people with skills to do the jobs we are creating, and, yes, we

need controlled borders and an immigration system that puts the

British people first. That is why we have capped economic migration from

outside the EU, we have shut down 700 bogus colleges that will

basically these factories, we have kicked out people who don't belong

here like Abu Qatada, and let's hear it for the woman who made it

happen, our crime-busting Home Secretary, Theresa May!

But we know, the bigger issue today is migration from within the EU.

Immediate access to our welfare system, paying benefits to families

back home, employment agency signing up people from overseas and not

recruiting here. Numbers that have increased faster than we in this

country want it and at a level that is too much for our communities and

Labour markets. All of this has two change and it will be at the very

heart of my renegotiation strategy for Europe. Britain, I know you want

this sorted. To Brussels, I will not take no for an answer and when it

comes to free movement, I will get what Britain needs. Anyone who

thinks I cannot and will not deliver this, I would say, judge me by my

record. I am the 1st Prime Minister to veto a treaty, the 1st Prime

Minister to cut the European budget. I pulled us out of the European

bailout schemes as well. Around the table in Europe they know I say what

I mean and I mean what I say. We will get our powers back and fight

for our national interests. We will put it to a referendum in or out, it

will be your choice. It is only with the Conservatives that you will get

that choice. APPLAUSE

Now, of course, it is not just the European Union that needs sorting

out. It is the European Court of Human Rights as well. When that

charter was written in the aftermath of the 2nd World War, it set out the

basic rights we should respect. Since then, interpretations of that

Charter had led to a whole lot of things that frankly wrong. Rulings

to stop us deporting suspected terrorists, the suggestion you have

to apply the human rights Convention, even on the battlefields

of Helmand. Now they want to give prisoners the vote. No, I am sorry,

I just do not agree. Our parliament, the British Parliament, decided they

should not have that right. This is the country that wrote Magna Carta,

the country that time and again has stood up for human rights, whether

liberating Europe from fascism or leading the charge against sexual

violence in war. That time and again has stood up for human rights,

whether liberating Europe from fascism or leading the charge

against sexual violence in war. Let me put APPLAUSE

-- at long last, there will be a new British

bill of rights. As for the Labour human rights act, we will scrap it

once and for all. So that is what we offer. A Britain

everyone is proud to call home and a very clear plan to get there. Over

the next 5 years we will deliver the following things. 3 million

apprenticeships, full employment, the most competitive corporate taxes

in the G20. Eliminating the deficit through cuts and not tax rises,

letting you pass on your pension tax-free, ring fencing NHS spending

so not a penny is cut. Renegotiating in Europe, delivering the in-our

referendum and scrapping the human rights act. No income tax until you

earn ?12,500 and no 40p tax rate until you earn ?50,000. If you want

those things, vote for me. If you do not, vote for the other guy. Let's

be clear... Let's be clear, this is a straight fight. It does not matter

whether Parliament is hung, drawn or quartered. There is only 1 real

choice, the Conservatives or Labour. Me in Downing Street or Ed Miliband

in Downing Street. If you vote UKIP, that is really about the Labour.

Here is a thought. Here is a thought for you.

On the 7th of May, you could go to bed with Nigel Farage and wake up

with Ed Miliband. I do not know about you but not one bit of that

works with me. So, here is the big question for that election. On the

things that matter in your life, who do you really trust? When it comes

to your job, do you trust Labour who wrecked our Econ me or the

Conservatives who have made this one of the fastest-growing economies in

the West? -- our economy. When it comes to our future, who do you

trust - Labour or the Conservatives? Who do you trust, the

party of big debt, big spending, big borrowing or the party - our party -

of the first pay cheque, the 1st chance, the 1st home, the 1 that is

delivering more security, more opportunity and more hope? Our

party, the Conservative party, that is the choice at the next election.

APPLAUSE We are making Britain proud again.

Look what we are showing the world. Not just a country that is paying

down its debts and going from the deepest recession since the walk to

the fastest-growing major advanced economy in the world but, at the

same time, a country that has kept its promises to the poorest in the

world, that is leading, not following, on climate change, and

has just saved our United Kingdom are one of the greatest shows of

democracy the world has ever seen. We are making Britain proud again.

Our exports to China doubling, our car industry booming, our aerospace

expanding. Our manufacturing growing, we are making Britain proud

again. Car engine is not imported from Germany but built down the road

in Wolverhampton. New oil rigs not made in China but built on the

Tyne. Record levels of employment, record levels of apprenticeships,

Britain regaining its purpose, pride and confidence. We are, where all

the hard work is finally paying off and the light is coming up after

some long and dark days. Go back now and we will lose all we have done,

falling back into the shadows when we should be striding into the sun.

That is the question next May. Do you want to go back to square one or

finish what we have begun? I do not claim to be a perfect leader but I

am your public servant, standing here, wanting to make our country so

much better for your children and mine. I love this country and I will

do my duty by it. We have the track record, the right team to take this

plan for our country and turn it into a plan for you. I think of the

millions of people going out to work. Wiping the ice of the

windscreen on a winter 's morning, raising their children as well as

they can. Working as hard as they can and doing it for a better

future, to make a good life for them and their families. That is the

British spirit. It is there in our ordinary days as well as our finest

hours. History is not written for us but by us and the decisions we make

today. That starts next May. So, Britain, what will it be? I say,

let's not go back to square one. Let's finish what we have begun. Let

us build a Britain we are proud to call home for you, your family, for

everyone. And Mister Cameron comes to the end

of his speech here in Birmingham. It was full of announcements. You would

not think there was an election coming up in seven months' time. He

had to taxcutting rabbits he pulled out of his hat. He is to raise the

personal allowance. He said the Government would increase that to

?12,500. A very expensive tax pledge. He has just made that. In

the audience he spoke to, he will raise the rate at which the 40p tax

rate clicks in from the current, just shy of 40 50,000 in a

Conservative government. It was a passionate speech from Mr Cameron,

his section on the NHS. He attacked Labour for attacking him on the NHS.

He also tried to re-establish the Conservative Party 's credentials as

the party of home ownership. We had the tough news from the timeslot on

Monday and this was more sunny. There he is, taking the applause of

his troops, as he leaves the hall with his wife, Samantha. He will be

happy with that, I suspect. Many people here thinking it may have

been one of the best speeches he has given to the Conservative conference

in the time he has been party leader. You can see from his face,

he is probably relieved it is all over but he is also happy it has

gone down pretty well. There is the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon.

This is all choreographed as he turns round and ways as he finally

leaves the hall, which is not too far from where we are. -- and waves.

What do you make of it? It was a very good speech, very well

delivered and very well constructed. As a former speech writer, it was

very good. These speeches do not make much impact on the public.

People ignore them and they do not believe promises. That is important

to note for the public. People ignore them and they do not believe

promises. That is important to note for that it not turn back and it is

me versus Ed Miliband. That was very effectively framed, very well put.

There will, of course, then baby after bit of the speech as everyone

analyses the plans and there will be some questions over whether money

will come from with the pledges made. It is clear, first of all, it

is obvious those promises were made for after Britain has managed to

move back into surplus. Really? None of this before 2018? Are you sure?

We will have to analyse the text. I think he did say it would be towards

the end of doing that. There may be a down payment early. I thought

there was no money. I always err on the side of caution. I believe we

have to get public spending down in the long run and taxes down as well.

My view is that once you reach the end of the period of public sector

reform, to get spending down, you keep going guy trying to suppress a

pub expanding and having competitive international tax rates. You are

quite right. -- suppress public spending. You are sensing the NHS,

you have this massive increase in the personal allowance which we

reckon will cost at least 8 billion, maybe more. A massive increase in

the threshold for the 40p rate. Where will the money come from? We

heard the good cop today in David Cameron in giving all these

promises. We had the bad cop the other day with George Osborne. It is

clear there is a lot of pain still to come. Most of these best

measures, the guests promised by David Cameron, will not come until

the latter stages of next Parliament. He is offering a bit of

hope. Compared with the speech we had from Ed Miliband last week, it

was very clearly framed. He framed the election. This choice of risk

versus prosperity, that will be what the Tories will repeat again and

again and again. We are joined by Nick Robinson, who is in the hall.

You say to people, we will sort out the borrowing, get taxes down and

fight with Europe. People will say, hold on just a second, where is this

cash coming from? The answer may be economic growth eventually. It is a

gamble. Labour will say, the deficit was supposed to have been eliminated

before 2018 and is now massive. Therefore there will be those

questions about exactly how this is paid for, when it is delivered, and,

of course, questions about the fairness of removing some people

from the upper rate, not the top rate tax, but the upper rate at the

same time as squeezing benefits of the working in the form of tax

credits. In a sense, the Prime Minister told you his priorities. He

would rather not take from people in one hand in the form of tax and give

it to them back in the form of tax credits. A classic Tory message but

it is a gamble. This last government has shown you

can cut public spending without cutting the quality of public

services and the strategy of the Conservative Party over decades is

to try to drive taxes down, to have lower public spending at the same

time as having better public services, so this is, in a sense,

just delivering that message. Some people don't agree with that. A

little town council is already suffering cuts and the NHS is in

deficit. Yes, some people don't agree with that and in some areas it

has been more difficult. But crime is down even though police numbers

are down, so that demonstrates that link was not right. But hasn't

Dileep haven't they just change the terms of the argument? -- but

haven't they just? Why one Labour now say, we are going to use the

money for extra public spending? -- why won't? Well, he has a lot of

this won't happen until 2018. You make a bit of a downpayment before

then but he has said, stick with the medicine, keep making the cuts, and

they will be difficult, but if you stick to this course there will be

reward at the end and it won't just be a reward for those at the top

like the 40p taxpayers. He is going to lift the income tax threshold for

poorer workers. Can I just check with Nick. Is it not explicit that

these tax goodies come into the Budget is balanced in 2018 or do

they start right away if the Tories re-elected? Or win an election in

May? I don't think it is explicit. It was implied they would come in

after the deficit is sorted. Because his opening explanation of what the

Tory offer was, he was very careful to keep saying "if". We can do that

if... But the sound bites we used on the television news, the things

people will see, didn't have that conditionality for the "if" word. It

was the sort of thing you would see one platform at a Tory Conference in

the 80s under Margaret Thatcher - vote for us, we will cut your taxes.

And not just the working people, in other words, those people out of tax

by the personal allowance, but those on higher salaries who have been

dragged into paying up attacks. They would not describe themselves as

well off. Many would say they are stretched. -- into paying higher

tax. But it is a choice. That is enough pundits for the moment!

Let's hear what the Tory Party faithful maid of that. Jo Co has

some in the war with her. -- made of that.

Let's talk to a few who heard the speech and see what they thought. I

think that was the best speech I have witnessed that any Tory Party

Conference. That is going to knock out UKIP and win us the next

election. Were you scared before? I am a realist about where we are but

I think you will be in 10 Downing Street next May. Did you believe his

pledge on Europe? I do and I believe that aspect. I believe we should

stay in Europe, though. I thought that was absolutely amazing. If you

don't know what the Conservatives will be promising next you -- I

don't think you ever will! The fact that people on the minimum wage

won't be paying tax at all. That is outstanding. Your thoughts on the

speech? I thought it was a really good speech. Especially the minimum

wage, taking people out of tax completely. How will that be paid

for, do you think? With the savings he announced, the 25 billion of

spending cuts. There will be no tax rises for anyone, which is

fantastic. Traditional Tory speech from David Cameron making that

pitched - him or me. Yes, it is so important we win this election and

have another five years to finish the job we set out to do. Hello!

What are your thoughts? Extremely mediocre for Mr Cameron. It is

already well taking people out of the ?12,500 income tax threshold but

then the 50,000 under 40p rate. I don't think it is a policy that

should be prevented. Well, a variety of thoughts generally welcoming of

those thoughts on tax. We're joined now by the Chief Whip

Michael Gove. Welcome to this Daily Politics special. Increasing the

daily allowance, how much will that cost? I think it will cost just over

?5 billion. It will actually cost 8 billion. Are you sure? Yes, because

it will cost 2 billion this year and you are going to do it by four times

that so I would suggest that is closer to 8 billion. Well, we will

check that. How much will bringing in the ?50,000 40p tax rate? I think

2 billion. I think more like 3.5 billion. Quite a significant sum.

Where does it come from? Well, we reduce welfare spending and continue

to reduce the bureaucracy, waste and so on in government departments. We

have already got a significant amount out and there is more to

come. As Secretary of State, I was able to reduce it... Well, the

deficit is actually rising this year so the deficit is still going up, at

around 100 billion, and suddenly you are spraying all this money around.

Is it imaginary? No. But firstly we are making clear that for the first

three years of the next government we will continue to bear down on

spending, because, as you rightly pointed out, the work on the deficit

reduction hasn't been done. But it is also the case that we have seen

reduction in government spending in variety Asch Mac in various

departments and we have seen the deficit reduced and we have made

progress towards that goal, and then also at the end of the Parliament,

we will be running a surplus on the money we have saved in order to

reward people for working hard, a principle that I hope you would

endorse. Whether I endorse anything is neither here nor there! It may

matter to you but not to many other people. Can I just ask you, is it

the case that none of these tax cuts take place to you supposedly balance

the Budget in 2018? Yes. So there will be no tax cuts in 2015...?

Well, the promise was laid out by the Prime Minister in 2020. Every

minister would say this. I'm not going to say what is in each

progressive Budget but there is a target which be hit and tax policies

which will be delivered by the end of the Parliament, by 2020. Let's

just look at the caveat. You at the moment store providing over a Budget

which is north of ?100 billion. -- still presiding. You have to do that

before that happens. Then you say you are going to run a surplus after

2018. And yet you are still going to give tax cuts of around ten billion

and ring-fence the NHS, so you will have to one very big surplus to do

all that? If we go back to the initial calculations you made on the

back of your envelope, they will be less. But they will store be

significant. There were also some people who were cynical about our

capacity not only to reduce the deficit but create jobs, and those

cynics and sceptics have been proved wrong. -- they will still be

significant. You said I couldn't take 50% out of the cost of running

the department, the bureaucracy cost, and at the same time run the

service, but we did. And one of the striking things about the last four

and a half years is that what we have achieved has been achieved with

far greater flair than others. Spending has been cut. Even on your

current spending plans, budgets will have to be squeezed by 25% in the

next Parliament in real terms. You say you would want to one surplus.

Add another 20 billion to get that. Then you are going to cut the taxes

by 10 billion. You need a massive amount of money to be able to do

this. Yes, we do need to be able to make some significant changes to

make sure we can bear down on government costs but we made some

tough decisions this week. On Monday when George Osborne gave his speech,

you and others were drawing in your breath and saying, phew, that is

brave, that is be saying to the public... Excuse me! I never said

that! Neither did I draw in my breath. Where did you get that

from?! You must have been watching another channel! I've told you not

to do that! I never watch any other channel when you on, Andrew. But

most commentators said the Chancellor was very brave in

stressing in a way that no other politician has this season or this

year that deficit reduction would require additional cuts, and he also

spilled at cuts in welfare which are not going to be popular with some

but which are necessary. -- spilled out cuts. So it is not fair of you

to say we have shied away from levelling with people about the

scale of the change, but I would say again that we owe it to the BBC to

check those figures you used right at the beginning. Well, you would

have them right at the beginning so we could have checked them, that's

what I would have thought. He said your government is paying down the

debt. Can we clarify that actually you are massively increasing the

debt and that it is heading from 1.3 trillion to 1.5 trillion. You are

not paying down the debt. We are reducing the size of the deficit and

that is what you need to do before you reduce the size of the debt. So

you would want to correct the Prime Minister on that. Why did you not

put that in the speech? I thought you were marking it! The difference

between debt and deficit. As long as you run the deficit, you are

reducing the debt. You are the chief whip, right? So while all these

people... Two people have defected to UKIP since you became chief whip.

Why are you so useless as Chief Whip? You need to keep them in line!

I try my best but you will have to ask them... Your best is just not

good enough! That is what my mother always told me. Mr reckless was

prime suspect number one. -- Mr Reckless. He assured me and others

repeatedly that he was not going to defect. If someone decides that they

are going to leave a political party or perhaps leave any organisation,

and in their heart they have already made that decision, then of course

they are going to disassemble, and I am sorry he took that decision. You

took him to lunch? Where did you take an? The House of Commons. Maybe

you should have taken somewhere better. You might have stayed! Even

if I had fed him foie gras, oysters and champagne, he would have

defected. He has made his bed. Who else of your MPs do you think are

lying to you? I don't think they are. Well, you said Mr Reckless did,

so who else? Well, I am a politician... You have significantly

more risk -- experience than I have, Andrew. The one that I would say to

you is that as a public servant, I recognise people go into public

service with the best of motives. So you are not going to lose any more

MPs to UKIP? I do but then I can to remind people that the Conservative

family can only prosper if we stay together. That is it from the

Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. The one o'clock News is

starting on BBC One. Jo Co will be back tomorrow with more Daily

Politics. I will be back tomorrow night, or actually tonight, just

after Newsnight, and back on BBC One tomorrow night with This Week.

Goodbye. Ladies and gentlemen,

we have liftoff. QI is back with a series all about L,

so loosen up your laughing gear,