05/10/2011 Politics Scotland

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Manchester for a specially extended

edition of Politics Scotland. Over the next couple of hours we'll be

taking in the Prime Minister's speech to Conservative party

conference live and in full. We'll also have all the latest news from

Holyrood, including a statement in the chamber on fuel poverty. 4th

first two events here in Manchester where within the next half an hour

David Cameron will be making his keynote address to the Conservative

Party conference. The reps are already queuing up. We have three

of them here. We want to discuss what the Prime Minister will say it.

Thank you very much for joining us. Michael, if I can then we get --

begin with you, what do you want to hear the Prime Minister tell the

conference? In terms of the Union, I would like to see more of the

Prime Minister up in Scotland. I believe it is 8%...

Focusing on the Union, being in Scotland and Wales more often and

So, do you think that the Prime Minister is not doing enough?

think he has done a much for Scotland and he has supported us

during the elections and helped the economy. But I would like to see

him more in Scotland as he a the Prime Minister of the whole country.

Strengthening the union is the main priority. The Prime Minister I

think, over the coming years, should be coming up to Scotland and

helping out with the Scottish Bhartu, aiding the new leader of

the Scottish party. The economic message will be, we have taken

tough decisions, not all of them And also help businesses. It is

felt that perhaps he could be taking the gloves off a little bit

to fight and protect the union. it is an interesting time. We have

the SNP a. I think... say, we support the Union and one

to keep the UK together and promote Scotland's place. Thank you. I will

let you get back into the queue and we will see how much the Prime

Minister says on the question of the Union. One of the topics here

is, who will be the new Conservative leader. We had a

hustings for all four candidates putting...

And what they would like to see if the Conservatives are to recover.

Our colleague had a look in at that Leadership for a better future as

this year's Tory party conference for sot who will be the future

leader after this lady steps down? It is a great pleasure to introduce

the lady herself, Annabel Goldie. This old bird might be doing her

last chirrup as leader, but there are trees to chair -- perch on and

songs to sing still. I will never tire of Megan the case for Scotland

and Britain. I will Birkwood all Who back this course. It is bigger

and more important than any political party. The race is on to

find a successor and party members will decide who becomes leader at

the Scottish Conservative and union party. Welcome to a Scottish

Conservative and Union party conference. They take to the podium.

He does not want to be leader at all. If he wins he would disband

I have said that my vision and I will do so again today. It is up to

you, the members, to reach the decision on the future. What if our

members to side in this election, it is up to each and every one of

us to agree to stick by the decision taken by our members and

party has to stick together, or it is nothing. My vision is of a new

centre-right party for Scotland. A new start. A party that with new

direction and a new name and new relationship with the UK

Conservative Party as a sister party, and crucially, one that will

stick to Conservative and centre right values. Why do we need to do

that? Because we know from research that it is a lack of a distinct

Scottish identity that is a barrier for people boating. And that will

for the first time give us a chance to be heard, and people will open

the door to us. It is up to us to have the policy vision that will

make them come back and food for us. I want to see a belief in

decentralisation, pushing power down to families and communities,

giving parents a proper say in the running of their schools, giving

control to local people over local health services in the economy,

using the powers in the Scotland Bill to lower the rate of income

tax. Kick-start and are a -- economic recovery and stand up for

Scotland was no place in the United Kingdom and take a Alex Salmond and

defeat him in the independence referendum. -- take on Alex Salmond.

Ruth Davison wants to offer generational change within the

party's current structure. I am standing to lead our party, our

party, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, because I

believe I have the vision, the energy and the drive to take our

party for it and build a decade of success. All four leadership

candidates will talk about change. We recognise the changes needed.

But you must decide what sort of change you want for our party. Is

it a name change? A divorce from the rest of the Conservative

family? Or the generational change that allows us to present a new

face to Scotland, to talking a new voice, with authority and relevance

to the people of Scotland? We don't need to change our name. We need to

change ourselves. We need to be the party which reaches out and brings

people in, which asks for Scots to join the debate for a country's

future. We used to be the party that stand up for no Scots, Fiat's

for United Kingdom -- fights. I will be the leader, putting forward

a positive vision for our party and country's future. I will reform our

party, bringing together members at every level, activists, councillors,

MEPs, MSPs. To speak as one. I will reform our financial structure. I

will reform our campaigning structure, trained agents, no paper

candidates, a new media strategy and the visibility that we have not

had in decades. I will form a policy. Using the experience and

expertise that we have in our ranks that we do not use. Re-establishing

our policy committee, inviting others to join the debate. Margaret

Mitchell has her eye on next to's local government elections. She

says people policies will persuade voters. Can I say at the outset

that I am proud to be a member of the Scottish Conservative and

Unionist Party. This is the party I joined at the age of 17 and since

then, I have held office within the party's voluntary sector, as the

chairman of the local government advisory committee, and as a member

of its executive. I have been an elected councillor. I am now and

MSP. Can I say right now, and put this on record, the Tory and

Conservative membership in Scotland is among the most loyal and hard-

working that any party could ever hope to have. But despite this, we

are now on down to not just our core vote, the absolutely bare rump.

The rest of my colleagues' response to this has been, a change of name,

a change of party, more consultation with members. And a

fresh face on the block that will mean we will win in 10 years' time.

Ladies and gentlemen, we do not have 10 years to improve out for

ages. None of them were arguing about working for people. For me,

politics is all about people. Let me tell you the direction I want to

see cut the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party going in.

Starting with a recognition that the Scottish parliamentary election

earlier this year represented a sea change in Scottish politics. People

voted for unexamined for First Minister. The next day, they were

cut to be told him and Alex Salmond and anybody else that would listen

to him, that they voted to independence. That means that come

the local government elections next year, they face a stark choice. Let

us be under no illusion. If they vote SNP at that election, it will

immediately be taken as a vote for independence. Jackson Carlile said

the debate over the party's name is a distraction when the future of

the union is at stake. I'm not standing to stop any other

candidate. I believe that over 30 years of experience and -- as the

youth leader, constituency chairman, the deputy chairman under four of

our leaders, and as a parliamentarian, gives me the

experience and judgment to lead the recovery of our party to an to lead

a party in the face of the biggest challenge of her generation, the

referendum that is going to be held on whether or not we review our

partnership with the rest of the United Kingdom or whether we

separate from it. I am sorry it is impossible to ignore the elephant

in the room. Because to embark upon an 18 month quest for the illusory

holy grail of a new name that will at a stroke give us a new identity,

past and future, in some miraculous moments of revelation, is

preposterous. It is a distraction. We cannot reunite as a party by

dividing amongst ourselves for the next 18 months over a quest for a

new name. When politicians have -- of all parties will see, it doesn't

matter what you call yourself. We will be Col U the Scottish Tourist.

-- we will be calling you the Scottish Tories. What matters is a

conscience just rebuilding of our party. New policy, policy that

involves a councillors, activists, and those who are none of that,

people with an expertise in their field. A policy which reaches

beyond those who have been voting for us. Those who the public

perceived as being rich. Boats will be tallied on November are 4th in

Edinburgh where the winner will be They will -- they will no doubt be

encouraged that David Cameron knows all the names. I can name all of

them. I will not put the fickle finger of fate of a black mark on

any body. It is for the Scottish Conservatives to decide. But

whoever it is, I will happily work The Prime Minister ending that

report. One postscript, the ballot papers for the Conservative

leadership contest in Scotland go out to the membership next Monday.

They all the -- they are expecting to fill them out quickly. We will

not know the results on to 4th November. We saw David Cameron in

that report. He will present his keynote address to the conference

probably in about a quarter of an hour's time. They are queuing to

get in the hall. There has been more business at the conference

this morning. We have had foreign affairs, William Hague, addressing

the representatives here, and also, something which is always keep...

Liam Fox has addressed the conference as well. On the night of

6th August, and for three further nights, the behaviour of a mindless

violent minority brought shame to the streets of Britain. These

criminals made headlines around the globe. But over the very same

period, our soldiers and marines in Afghanistan, many of them the same

age as the rioters, bravely sustained and defeated 62 enemy

attacks. On those same nights in Libya, RAF jets flew 81 visits,

strikes on command bunkers deep in And the Royal Navy continue to

patrol seas around the world, and the deterrent submarines provided

continues protection against any nuclear threat. It was these brave

men and women who truly represent Britain at its best. That is why I

want all of you to join me in paying tribute to the courageous

servicemen and women, their loyal families and dedicated civilian

support in our armed forces. And let us not forget, our veterans,

the dignified widows and loved ones of those who have fallen, those

with life-changing injuries, seen and unseen, and most importantly,

to those who never made it home. You will never be forgotten.

Not a day passes, without me thinking how lucky I Iran to work

with the men and women in uniform, or how humbled I am by this great

responsibility. The it is why I have been determined to get the

Ministry of Defence back into shape, after a decade of chaos under

Labour. We knew it was going to be hard, with a �38 billion black hole

in the MoD budget. But the national deficit left behind by Labour also

has a direct impact on our national security and standing in the world.

You cannot be strong if you are broke. That is what Labour always

fails to understand. George Osborne has been stair fast in his

determination to deal with the deficit, and he has my full support.

The nation must lead within his means, and every department has to

do his bit. Even after the MoD's contribution to deficit reduction,

we still have the 4th largest defence budget in the world, and

will continue to be one of only five countries out of 28, in the

tour, meeting the 2% GDP obligation. By the end of the decade, the Royal

Navy will not only have its world- beating Type 45 destroyer has and

cutting edge Astute Class submarines, but a career service

that will be available for 50 years. The RAF will have the Joint Strike

Fighter and that battle tested typhoon fighter which has done so

magnificently in Libya, and the ageing couch of these and TriStar

police will be replaced by Voyager transport and tanker aircraft. We

have just announced we're spending over �1 billion on a new tuna

Keller coppers. Unlike the previous Government, we are funding and

delivering on the promise of more helicopters, and we will remodel a

properly equipped Ahmed. But, few parts of the armed forces were more

neglected by Labour than our reserves. That is why we will

commit more than 1.8 million bound -- �1.8 billion over 10 years, to

revolutionise the reserve forces. I want to increase the size of the

Territorial Army by 50%. And this party will never allow the reserves

to reach such a sorry state of affairs, ever again.

APPLAUSE and that is not all. Resources for the world-renowned

Special Forces are increasing. We are investing �600 million in cyber

security. We are setting up a new joined forces Command and the first

ever UAD Squadron in the RAF. And we'll renew the submarine-launched

nuclear deterrent, based on the Trident missile.

We cannot and we will not take a chance on the security of future

generations. Our programme is both affordable and achievable and, to

fund our commitments, we will raise the defence equipment budget by 1%

over and above the rate of inflation. However, it is not just

the armed forces that need to change, but the Ministry of Defence

itself. The past year has seen some of the most radical reforms in a

generation. I wonder if you can really believe that, for years, the

Defence Board, the primary the surgeon making body in the MoD was

not even chaired by the Defence Secretary. It is now! For years,

there was no real Time Control on major equipment programmes to stop

spiralling costs and constant delays. There is now. The major

projects Review Board monitors the projects, the top 20 predicts, and

let me tell you, those programmes and companies that are not

delivering will be named and shamed. We have restructured the MoD,

reform procurement, championed export promotion and boost its

support for small businesses. And we have carried out a long overdue

basing review which will ensure that her Majesty's armed forces

will continue to be represented throughout the whole of the union.

Furthermore, we have reversed the injustice done to the pilots killed

and the families in the Mull of Kintyre tragedy. And that was long

None of these could have been a -- he could have been achieved without

my ministerial team, and while all these changes are important, we

cannot forget that defence is much more than a projection of power,

the number of tanks, planes, ships or submarines. We need new and

strong alliances, and we need to revitalise some older ones, too.

Since becoming Defence Secretary, we have signed 27 defence

agreements around the world and I hope to sign eight more, this year.

We have established the Northern group with our northern and Baltic

friends. We have signed the UK- France that its duty and we have

put defence diplomacy at the heart of policy. -- defence treaty. I was

appalled to discover many key allies around the world have been

soaring leap neglected. I was the first Defence Secretary to have a

bilateral visit to India in five years, and to Turkey, in seven

years, and in January, William Hague and I made the first of a

joint foreign and defence secretary trip to Australia and New Zealand,

two of our key allies. But of course, our special relationship

with the United States is and will continue to be the UK's number one

bilateral relationship and the cornerstone of our security. As

Fiona pointed out, nowhere is this corporation seen better than in

Afghanistan, where British and American troops are fighting side

by signed in Helmand Province. By helping the Afghans manage their

security and by preventing the use of Afghanistan as an international

base for terrorism, we make it safer for us all. Last night we and

bust the European allies tabled a resolution in the UN Security

Council calling on the President aside regime to stop the violence

in Syria, after months of unacceptable killings, torture and

abuse. The decision of Russia and China to veto this resolution and

to side with a brutal regime, rather than the people of Syria is

deeply mistaken and regrettable. We will redouble our efforts to work

with other nations, to increase the pressure on the regime wherever we

can and we are sure -- we are sure the people of Syria that the they

will never be forgotten -- assure. We call for a new, bold and

ambitious relationship with the countries of the Middle East and

North Africa so that, as they growing freedom, they can join us

in prosperity. Our ambition in this Government is still greater, not

only to make the right decisions for today, but to create a new way

of conducting foreign policy and to give the country the means to do it

for tomorrow. We start with a clear sense of what went wrong under

Labour. They strutted on the world stage whilst saddling the nation

that debt. They left a black hole in defence expenditure bigger than

the entire defence budget and signed away the rights of this

country to the European Union, while neglecting what they were

morally and politically obliged to do, to consult the people of this

They sidelined and ran down the Foreign Office. In an endless

merry-go-round of ministerial musical chairs, they closed more

than 40 officers and posts around the world, and axed the foreign of

his language school, and agonised about whether they were influential

in Europe and the United States without being effective than either.

They deal to prepare for their aftermath in Iraq and connived in

the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Two years ago, we said the decision

to release him was wrong, and now the entire world can see that we

So, this Government is changing the way we conduct foreign policy in

four important ways. First, we created a National Security Council

which brings together the key ministers, chief of defence staff,

heads of intelligence agencies and, on Libya alone, this council has

already met 16 times. We work together every day, we consult the

experts, and decisions are formally and properly made and minuted.

Cabinet government is back, and Second, we are connecting Britain

up to the fastest growing regions of the world, launching ambitious

try to get small businesses exporting, intensifying links with

India, Indonesia, Turkey, China, Brazil and the rest of Latin

America. Their economic growth of the future is not going to come

from government spending, nor is it going to come from more boring, it

will come from tree, and giving people the freedom to trade -- and

that is something that we should strongly support. -- it will come

from trade. And there, in our approach to the European Union, is

one in tune with the instincts of the British people. All the

advanced national interests by preventing the EU from acting to a

disadvantage, but also by making sure that it works to our advantage

in trade, and in free markets, such as the new trade agreement with

South Korea, worth up to �500 million per year to the economy. We

are putting forward the real growth agenda, which is what Europe

desperately needs. It does not need any more institutions, costly

institutions, regulations are a single extra bureaucrat, but it

does ease burdens on businesses, the expansion of the single market

and a passionate belief in the It is now acknowledged that, when

we said joining the Euro would be a And when we said that Labour should

not have led -- let us get sucked into the eurozone bailout, the were

right, and now, thanks to David Cameron, European bailouts for

Greece will not call upon the British taxpayer. When we said the

costs of the EU budget were out of control, the were right, and now we

have had unprecedented success in bringing it under control. And when

be said that no more areas of power should go to the youth, we were

right, and thanks to the European Union Act, 2011, by law, that

cannot act without a referendum -- that cannot happen without a

referendum, in this country. And we are just as right that the European

Union has more power in our National Life than it should have.

And I believe as strongly as I ever have that, when the right moment

comes, this party should set out to APPLAUSE 40 years ago, I predicted

that the eurozone have become a burning building with no exits.

across the euro-zone are our friends and neighbours and because

there stability and prosperity is tighter there's, we must support

them in their air force to quench the flames. But we will never make

the mistake of thinking in one else can be relied upon to stand up all

the interests of Britain. We will continue to work closely with

European allies, and in particular in defence treaties with France, we

have forced the closest relationship with our neighbours as

the Second World War. Of course, our Defence will always be anchored

in our unbreakable alliance with the United States of America, and

then the primacy of NATO, and that is why when others propose an EU

military headquarters the summer, on behalf of the United Kingdom, I

4th in what we are changing, not the at... We are opening six new

embassies and closing a nun. We are expanding a diplomatic presence

intended to countries and breathing new life into neglected announces

such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and working to reinvigorate

that great institution, the Commonwealth.

We will use our influence in the world to pursue our own interest

and that of common humanity. Seeking a global deal on climate

change. The international arms trade treaty and a completed Doha

trade ground. I will host the first meeting of government to address

the challenges posed by Cyrus place to protect our citizens against

cyber crime and cyber attack while ensuring that the internet remains

open to all. We now have the Government determined to restore

the health of our Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our foreign

policy, to rescue its wealth -- finances, reopen a language centre

and see through the biggest drive ever seen in Britain to build up

traditional diplomatic skills of negotiation and analysis. That is

the job of our diplomats to be immersed in the culture and history

of other nations, not to be ensnared in administration and

management speak. And if we have... If we have these skills as a to

negotiate a treaty it will be done correctly. -- when we want to

negotiate a treaty. When we want to intervene over scene we will do so

successfully. -- overseas. It will remain the best diplomatic service

in the world, the British and common of office. -- Commonwealth

Office. We have brought new energy to British diplomacy, with the

ministers of the foreign office visiting 97 countries since the

general election. I have visited nearly 40 countries myself. I have

been the first Foreign Secretary to visit Australia since Douglas Hurd.

The first ever to visit a united Yemen. The first to make a bowler

short visits to Tunisia and New Zealand in 30 stop but he is more

energetic and more pleasant than it has been for decades -- British

diplomacy is more energetic. This is our foreign policy. Giving

Britain that leadership it needs to thrive as a confident, outward-

looking, prosperous nation, a reliable ally in military power, at

the heart of international institutions, and pursuing a

distinctive British foreign-policy that supports our economy, built up

our skills and influence in the world, and advances hour barriers.

This Government would use Britain's unique network of alliances and

partnerships, our embassies career development programmes, cultural

influence, superb armed forces and diplomatic services, and all our

national talents, to the very full in support of a future for this

country that is strong, safe and prosperous. This is our foreign

policy. Thank you. The Foreign Secretary, William Hague,

addressing the conference a little earlier. And before that, we heard

the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox. a few moments David Cameron will be

getting to the stage to deliver his keynote conference. A few minutes

ago he and his wife Samantha walked through the back preparing to make

his speech. What should he be saying and what does he have to

say? To discuss those topics and joined by Kevin Schofield from the

Sun newspaper. This is a difficult one for him today, isn't it? Yes,

it is a bit of a high-wire act that he has to before. He has to go it

took up straight, tell us that we Be overnight we were sighing that

individuals and families had to carry off the debts. And yet lo and

behold, we heard that no that was not the case. As soon as the story

hit the front pages, and it was a major story, the reaction came in

thick and fast. People pointing out that the economy would be her at

love and St. That caused a lot of They have managed to find money for

things like the weekly rubbish bin collections. The Lib Dems have

managed to push for more for school stimulus on infrastructure but the

Conservatives have resisted that. But there has to be some kind of

boost to the economy because at the moment, things are not going to

plan. The here in Manchester, we are now preparing for the Prime

Minister's speech. He will be getting on his feet within the next

few minutes. War to come from here in Manchester but for now, back to

Andrew in the studio. -- more to come. I am joined by Professor John

Curtice of Strathclyde University. Let's pick up a couple of the

points Kevin made. Unfortunate or the Prime Minister that he had to

rewrite his speech after that credit card being offered this

fiasco thing. It is a score draw as far as mistakes in leaders'

speeches in the party conference are concerned. Last week, Ed

Miliband said that he was not one of Lear which created a measure of

the cheers and applause. It goes to show that giving these high-profile

speeches is a difficult business and occasionally, even experienced

politicians make quite serious mistakes. It is incredible such and

is asked us such a mistake can be made because he has the best speech

writers and it does this and yet these things still happen. -- in

the business. Mr Cameron is having to come across with this message

about getting bet than. He is trying to defend what the

Government is doing. He's trying to use the household analogy which got

him into trouble. But he has to try to convince us that eventually,

growth will return. One thing we have learned from this conference

is that, 16 months into office, it is reaching the stage of this

Government brewing it is beginning to be difficult -- where it is

beginning to be difficult to blame the problems on your predecessor's

rather than things that have happens subsequently. The economy

is not growing as fast as the Government would hope. Economic

growth is down yet again this morning. The Prime Minister is

saying that things will work out in the end, but saying that becomes

more difficult. Over to all livid, with a new scheme to help carers

with their electricity bills has been announced by the Scottish

Cabinet. The cabinet secretary for infrastructure and capital

investment is speaking. universal home insulation scheme.

We wish to build upon a stronger relationship with councils across

Scotland, and put this at the heart of future programmes for tackling

fuel poverty. Despite this, presiding officer, warned its to be

done. Dramatic increases in fuel prices have pushed up to 170,000

additional households in Scotland, into fuel poverty, taking the total

to nearly 2 million. We must consider how these projects can

work alongside the new green deal and energy company obligations when

the might come to fruition next year. For these reasons I am

instigating a review of the fuel poverty strategy, to ensure that we

are able to assist fuel poorer households in Scotland. The

Scottish fuel poverty forum will look at the success of this review

and will lead it. There will be three strands to the review. A

review of the nature of fuel poverty and its drivers. Future

options for fuel poverty programmes, and how to maximise the leverage of

external funds, and examination of engagement on reserve matters. I

will report back to Parliament early next year with a state that

the policy and an action plan resulting from the review. The

spending review this year confirmed that this Government is determined

to tackle fuel poverty head on and make increased funds available to

do so. I am pleased to announce that funding for Scottish

government fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes will be �65

million in 2012-13, and in 2013-14, rising to 66.2 �5 million in 2014-

15. That is a 35% increase in the �48 million being provided in 11-12,

and the mystery is clearly the importance we are placing on

supporting households affected by fuel poverty. More generally, this

funding will enable us to fund domestic energy efficiency

commitments in the climate change back report on policies on

proposals. The Spending Review also provided additional funding to

establish the Worm homes fund. This fund, are �50 million, well assist

those living in communities affected by fuel poverty. The fund

will focus on the potential of renewable energy to provide a long-

term, sustainable means to address fuel poverty, development of the

fund will be considered, alongside the fuel poverty strategy review.

And finally, presiding officer, I am pleased to be able to announce

today an additional �5 million for this year, taking the total spend

two �53 million, and the extra �5 million will be for insulation and

heating systems, targeted at the most vulnerable and fuel poor

people in Scotland. We're doing everything in our power to

eventually eliminate fuel poverty in Scotland. Alex Neil, setting out

the Government plan to cut down on fuel poverty. I am joined by

Professor John Curtice. We will be hearing more about that later. Let

us return to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. We are

waiting on the Prime Minister to speak. How much will his speech

focus on the economy and problems in the euro-zone? A undoubtedly the

economy is going to be central to his speech, because it is the

biggest problem confronting the Government and the country. The

implications of the debt crisis in the eurozone, and the potential

wash out of that coming across the English Channel is undoubtedly

preoccupying ministers. On the one hand the Prime Minister is going to

have to say, he's won to have to admit to us, getting out of this

recession is going to be more difficult than getting out of other

recessions because the Government cannot spend his way out of it, but

at the same time, he has to present it that things are going better.

Some of the fears about this and about the Bank's is in danger of

being self fulfilling and the British Government is annoyed that

Euro zone finance ministers have not made the decision about Greece

and are aware that the continuing uncertainty is fuelling more

uncertainty in markets. Whatever the British Government's views

about the Euro, the success of its structural economy is in part

dependent upon what euro-zone ministers do. David Porter is in

Manchester for us. The economy is fundamental to this Prime

Minister's speech, isn't it? Over all the three main party conference,

the economy has been the big story. Lots of things have been happening

in Europe, and the financial markets have been in turmoil. David

Cameron will be very aware that he has to tell it as it is, on the

economy. He is walking a political tightrope. He has to tell people

how it is that there will probably be tough times ahead, but at the

same time, he does not want to leave it on too thickly. He will

want some optimism to put into his speech. That is why we have had

some of the confusion over the past 24 hours, and some of the re-rating

of that speech, people giving him that we want to go to be Spain of

credit card and store card bills, that suddenly was seen as the wrong

message in the middle of an economic recession. We have a

situation that we should be telling people not to go out and spent but

to pay or does, that could make things worse. We had figures this

morning that showed that in the three months from April to June,

the economy grew by just 0.1%, which is a revision down from 11 a

year. And it is something ministers will be pretty worried about, the

fact that the number of businesses going out of businesses, small

companies, businesses which are ceasing to trade, that has

increased as well. There is no doubt that it is pretty grim of

their economic late. The Prime Minister will want to acknowledge

that. But, he will say that if we stick to the course, we have reason

to be optimistic. He will not want to overdo that, but the message

will be that, if we stick to this course, there is reason to be

optimistic in the future. It is difficult for the Prime Minister to

be up front with voters about what is happening in the economy, but to

try to look to the sunny uplands in the future, because he does not

want to be tarred with the brush of a devastated economy. That is one

of the arts of leadership. He will try to persuade us that he is,

indeed, a leader for hard times. If he didn't acknowledge the reality

and the fact that by many people, probably most people, prices are

rising more quickly than their incomes, if you do not acknowledge

that difficulty, people say, you do not understand what is going on.

But if he was to say that it was all doom and gloom, he there is no

doubt, the Government, now, because the economy has not grown, because

of the market turmoil, is facing a more difficult situation than

anticipated, and inevitably, the pressure that has been growing to

say how are you going to achieve that, simply reducing bills, it is

gradually going to feel that pressure, and we have seen from the

Lib Dem conference and from this conference, small measures to say

that, as a Government, we are using such influence as we have, in a way

that we think might help promote economic growth. David Potter, it

has not been a unified conference. We saw a difference of opinion, the

cat flap argument yesterday between Theresa May and Ken Clarke on the

Human Rights Bill. Do you think the Prime Minister will have to avoid

any of that in his speech this afternoon? As far as he can,

anything to do with Europe, he will try to steer clear of. Europe is

still a divisive issue at the Conservative Party conference.

Something the present leadership of the party has wanted to disguise as

far as it can. David Cameron, when you interview him I just mention

Europe, he says, it is vitally important to us, keeping the Euro

together is vitally important, but there are people in this conference

hall just a few yards away from us who would dearly love to see the

clock went back on Europe, and certain powers repatriated from

Europe to the UK. That was underlying the discussion he had

yesterday. One person had managed to avoid being deported because the

and I said they had a pet cat and it would go against their rights to

our family life at that person was reported. Ken Clark said that that

had not been the case and that the deportation had failed on other

grounds and that the cap was ancillary to all that. But when you

put that type of thing in the context of Europe and the European

Commission on Human Rights, it touches a very raw nerve with many

people in this conference. We have William Hague in his speech, for

many people, he is far closer to many members a positive use,

perhaps taking a tougher line. He is the one member of the cabinet

that Conservative activists will listen to on the question of Europe.

David Cameron, he will probably have to mention it in the context

of the European crisis, and the European financial markets, but it

is not something he will want to dwell upon. He knows that the

important thing is the economy. That is the issue he has got to

address this afternoon. John Curtice, it has been tricky for the

Prime Minister. We saw Nick Clegg at the Lib Dem conference saying

that he was going to keep the Human Rights Act, then we have from

Teresa May appealing to representatives out there in the

audience, then Ken Clarke comes along and messes it up for the

Conservative Party, in the view of some people. Is this problematic

for the Prime Minister? Does this show up some splits in his party?

Sometimes Ken Clarke is suggested as the 6th a Liberal Democrat

member of the Cabinet. He is well known to have pro-European views.

He has liberal views over his brief of justice can put to members of

his party. Teresa May can express a personal view on changing the gin

and rice at, and the Conservative Party has long said that it wanted

to change it, but I think the thing, the thing we need to watch out

about his, the Conservatives and Lib-Dems have very different views

about Europe. Almost part, they have been able to put the coalition

together on the premise that they will not change anything and do not

anticipate being asked to being -- to make any decisions about Europe

anyway. But the longer the euro- zone crisis goes on, and the longer

it seems that the European countries want to get more together

in terms of fiscal policy, it raises the question as to whether,

at some point between now and 2015, the UK Government might have to

make a decision about your upon which the two parties find it more

When you were speaking to Kevin Schofield earlier he mentioned that

some cash had been found down the back of the couch, as it were. The

Conservatives were keen to point out this was not a plan B, but they

did find some efficiency savings to put into Project, did they not?

They did. The Chancellor, George Osborne, said on Monday he had

found up to �8 million in savings in white or, that he decided the

vast majority of which he would use for a freeze next year on council

tax in England -- in Whitehall. the Scottish Government has announced

that there would be a freeze as well next year. Their time to so

they realise there are problems, we share the economic pain. Where we

can, we will make life easier. They say they are not going to borrow to

spend. They will make savings, and they are keen at the moment to say

that any money we do save, they will put forward for infrastructure

projects, projects they call the shots already, that they can start

quickly and get people involved -- projects they call a shovel ready

projects. What we will hear next month is when the Chancellor

delivers his Autumn Statement, and that in many ways is like a mini-

budget, when he Updates the House of Commons and MPs and the rest of

us for where he sees the economy going. Most who will think he will

have to revise his growth figures downwards. -- most people. That

means the Government will be getting in less tax revenue and

will have to borrow more. Of the obligation is that they will be

wanting to use the money to pump certain projects -- the implication

is. They are saying deficit reduction is their main aim and

they will continue with that. If the economy takes a turn for the

worse, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister will come under a lot more

pressure to do more to actively help the economy Foster I can see

the Preece weed video playing behind you so I don't think it will

be too long -- I can see the Preece Beach video. The Prime Minister

made an attempt to reach out to women voters and apologised to some

of his behaviour in the conference, did he not? Yes, and because some

people feel that some of the cuts the coalition is engaged with a

disproportionate. I look at some of the data. It is true there are a

couple of recent polls that suggest the Conservative Party's doing less

well among women but others that do not substantiate that. Too much has

been made about one particular opinion poll it was published in

the Sunday Telegraph. I'm not sure that they have that much to worry

about. One other thing is, around 36 or 37%, the kind of medicine

this Government is having to give out to people, the Conservatives

have been remarkably successful at Holden the support they had just

over 12 months ago. To that extent, in terms of their electoral

position, they must regard the first 16 months as quite a

reasonable success. We showed some clips of the hustings that took

place on Monday at conference. The Prime Minister was very keen to

name the candidates but was not going so far as to support one of

them got particularly, with murder Fraser and his controversial plans

to rebrand the party -- Murdo Fraser. That clearly is going to be

a crucial decision for the party. This is not now simply going to be

an election about who might be the best man or woman to do the job.

Murdo Fraser, by making his call for a party to eventually reform

itself, and to become much more small in its attitude toward

Scotland's constitutional powers and the role the Scottish

Parliament has effectively proneness up into an election about

what is the future direction of the Scottish Conservative Party. Does

it remain relatively traditional? Orders have become what Murdo

Fraser is saying it used to be, a centre right, small and Nationalist

Party. That is a big decision for the party to make. Murdo Fraser is

trying to sell his case to the section of the Scottish electorate

that you expect to be least likely to buy into it and to that extent

he has given us have at -- has given himself a considerable task.

The video is still playing behind you. You're talking to the Prime

Minister about the Scottish leader sip contest and the Scottish

representatives. What has been you're feeling from the Scottish

people about the leadership contest north of the border? I think they

are very interested and energised. I was at the hustings which we

played a little bit of earlier this week... I will have to stop you. We

can go live to the conference hall where the Prime Minister, David

Cameron, is being applauded now. He is a podium now. -- he is at the

This week in Manchester, this party has shown the disciplined, the

unity and purpose that is the mark of a party of government. I am

proud of my team. I'm proud of our members. I am proud to lead this

party. But most of all, I am proud of you. You have made this week the

success that I believe it has been for a party and for our country.

People have very clear instructions for this Government. Lead us out of

this economic mess. Do it in a way that is fair and right. And as you

do it, please build something worthwhile for us and our children.

Clear instructions, clear objectives, and from me, a clear

understanding that in these difficult times, it is leadership

we need. To get away economy moving. To get our society working. And in

a year, the Olympics year, when the world will be watching us, to show

everyone what Great Britain really means. But first, I want to say

something to everyone in this hall. Thank you. Despite the predictions,

you want elections all over our country this may, so let us hear it

for those great campaigns that you fought and won.

And thank you for something else. In that AV referendum, you did

Britain a service. And you kicked that excuse for voting system off

the political agenda for a generation, so thank you for that

And next year, let us make sure we beat Ken, we back Boris, and we

But you're not just winners. You would do us. This summer, as before,

Conservatives went to Rwanda to build classrooms, teach children,

help build businesses, social action. That is the spirit of the

modern Conservative Party. And here at this conference we have been

recording audio books for the Blind. I looked very carefully at the

books that my colleagues chose. George knew exactly what he wanted.

He went straight for the man Who Would Be King. I'm afraid Boris

missed out. Instead he chose the joy of... Cycling. There was one

chose personally. I said Ken, this is called crime and punishment, and

I want you to read it, twice. I think after yesterday we should

probably have a group reading of more go look at. Although if you

read that book to your children at bedtime, you'll remember the cat

helps the police to catch the burglar, not keep him in the

This is a party, and ours is a country, that never walks on by.

Earlier this year, some people said to me, Libya, that is not our

concern. Don't start what she cannot finish. Some people even

said to me, Arabs, they don't do democracy. But if we had so the

side this spring, people in Benghazi would have been massacred

-- if we had stood aside. And don't let anyone say this was not in our

national interest. We remember what Gaddafi dead. He gave Semtex to the

IRA. He was behind the shooting of a police of the cell in a London

square, responsible of a bombing in Lockerbie. I say, let us be proud

of what we did to help the Libyan In Afghanistan today, there are men

and women fighting for Britain as Brophy as any in our history. They

come from across our country. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern

Ireland. They now have the equipment they need and we are on

target to bring them home by the end of 2014. Theirs has been a

campaign of incredible courage and sacrifice. And I know that

everybody in this whole will want to send a message to everyone who

serves and everyone who has served, to those in uniform, in our armed

forces and in our police, and to those not in uniform who keep us

safe from terrorism on our streets. We thank you, we salute you, we are

proud of what you do for our But leadership in the world is

about more strength as much as it is about moral might. I was in

Algeria on a trade Nissan. I visit a vaccination clinic. It is an

experience I will never forget. It was hot and basic. The lights kept

going off. But to the rows of women cuddling their babies, this place

was a godsend. One of the nurses told me that if it wasn't for

British aid, many of those beautiful babies would be dead. In

four years' time, this country will have helped vaccinate more of the

world's poorest children than there are people in the whole of England.

Of course, we will make sure your money goes to people who need it

most. Been aware that is transparent. But I believe that in

spite of all Arab difficulties, this is the right thing to do. --

of all our difficulties. We never turn our backs on the world's

poorest. I believe everyone in Leadership in tackling tourney,

leadership in fighting poverty. But when it came to that decision, to

help the Libyan people, there was something dispiriting about the

debate here in Britain. It wasn't that some people thought we

shouldn't do what we did. That is their right, a point of view. It

was that so many people actually thought Britain could not do

something like that any more. And to hear that kind of pessimism

about our economic future, our social problems, political system.

That our best days are behind us. But we are on a path of certain

decline. I am here to tell you that simply isn't true. Of course, if we

sit around and head for the best, the rest will lead us behind. If we

fool ourselves that we can grow our economy, mend our society, Dewar

children a good future, if we fall ourselves we can do these things

about Efford, without correcting mistakes, confronting vested

interest, we will not get anywhere. But if we correct the mistakes,

confront the vested interests and take on the failed ideas of the

past, I know we can turn this ship around. Nobody wants false optimism.

I will never pretend there are short cuts to success. But success

will come with the right ideas, the right approach, the right

leadership. Leadership from government to set up the direction

we must take and the choices we must make, but leadership also from

you. Because the things that will really deliver success are not

politicians and government but the people of Britain and the spirit of

Britain. Some people say that to succeed in this world, we need to

be more like India or China or Brazil. I say we need to be more

like us, the real us. Hard-working, pioneering, independent, adaptable,

optimistic, can do. But is a spirit that has made this United Kingdom

what it is. A small country that does great things for --. It is a

spirit that is alive and well. I sit in the head teacher amateur

Norwich who started the free school from scratch and is four times over

subscribed. Her ambition is to do it all over again. But his

leadership. I see it in the grip of GPs in Bexley who have taken more

control of their budgets and they have the patience, some of the

poorest in the country, free treatment in Harley Street on the

NHS. I see it in all that we saw this summer. Dan Thomson watch the

riots unfold in television. But he didn't sit there and think, I will

leave it for the council to clear up. He got on the internet, sent a

trickle. And he started a social movement. -- sent out a call.

People picked up brooms and reclaim streets. The argument is,

leadership works. I know how tough things are. I don't for one minute

underestimate how worried people feel, whether it is about making

ends meet for the state of the world economy. But the truth is,

right now we need to beat energised, not paralysed by gloom and feel.

The world is booming, half of it. Many communities are thriving. They

are so much that is great about a country. We don't have to accept

that success in this century automatically belongs to others. We

just have to remember the origin of our achievements. The people of

That is why so much of my leadership is about unleashing your

leadership. Giving everyone who wants it, the chance to seize their

opportunity, the support and the freedom to get things done. Giving

everyone who wants to believe it the confidence that working hard

and taking responsibility will be rewarded, not punished. With us

reject the pessimism, and bring on the can-do optimism, and summon the

energy and appetite to fight for a better future for our country,

Now, of course, that starts with the economy. As we meet here in

Manchester, the threat to the world economy and to Britain is as

serious as in 2008, when the world recession loomed. The eurozone is

in crisis. The French and German economies have slowed to a

standstill. Even mighty America is questioned about have theirs. It is

an anxious time. -- about her best. Prices, bills, petrol, electricity,

the weekly shop, keep going up. On the news it is job losses, cutbacks

and closures. Thing about tuition fees, house prices, and you wonder

how our children are going to manage. Of course, Government can

help, and this one is. We have cut petrol duty, kep the winter fuel

allowance, kep the cold weather payments, froze council tax

payments this year, and as George said in that excellent speech on

Monday we're going to freeze up all over again next year. -- breeze it.

-- freeze it. But we need to tell the truth about the overall

economic situation. People understand that, when the economy

goes into recession, times get tough, but normally, after a while,

things pick up, strong growth returns, people get back into work,

and this time it is not like that. People want to know why the good

times are so long in coming. The answer is straightforward but

uncomfortable. This was not a normal recession. It was a debt

crisis. It was caused by too much borrowing, by individuals, banks,

businesses and, most of all, by governments. When you're in the

debt crisis, some of the normal things governments can do to deal

with a normal recession, like boring to cut taxes, or increasing

spending, -- borrowing. These things do not work because they the

to more debt, which makes the crisis worse. Because it takes the

risk of higher interest rates and less confidence and higher taxes.

The only way out of the debt crisis is to deal with your debt. That is

why households are being done the credit card and store card bills.

It means banks getting their books and order, and it means governments

all over the world, cutting spending and living within your

means. This coalition government Conservatives and Liberal Democrats,

Nick Clegg and I, we have led the way, you have that it. Our plan is

right. Our plan will work. I know that you cannot see it off feel it

right now, but think of it like this - the new economy we're

building, it is like building a house. The most important part is

the part you can't see. The foundations. Slowly, but surely, we

are laying solid foundations for a stronger future. And the vital

point is this - if you don't stick with it, it won't work. And there

something else. -- it is something else. Something else, that we have

to stick to. Because we are not in the Euro, we can ladies foundations

on our own terms, in our own way. So let me say this. As long as I am

Prime Minister, this country will And I will not let us be sucked

into endless bailouts of countries that are in the Euro. We are

members of the IMF, and we have responsibilities there, but when it

comes in any Euro bailout mechanism, my approach is simple. Labour got

us into it, and I have made sure we Now, of course, the deficit

reduction programme is one big bail-out of the last Labour

government. We have been subjected to a sort of national apology tour

by Labour these past few months. Sorry for sucking up to Gaddafi,

for not regulating banks, crushing civil liberties, failing to go

green, not building enough Houses, sorry for the in Beijing that made

it the most dysfunctional Government in this country's

history. And you know what? Nothing. Not a peep on the thing they might

make to say sorry for - wasting billions and billions of your money.

You know what the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, said last week? That

Labour didn't spend any more money than they had available. Hello, it?

You spent �428 billion more than you had available. And that --

there is only one conclusion you can draw from this. We must never,

ever let these people anywhere near the economy ever again. APPLAUSE

As before, it falls to us, to clear up after the Labour Government. I

have insisted that we do it in a way that is fair. You cannot cut it

ever sit the size of hours, without asking everyone to next sacrifice.

But those with the most money appearing the biggest burden. We

have imposed a permanent levy on the banks, getting them to pay more

every year than Labour ever did in one year. We have raised taxes on

people who make money overseas but to live here, and, at the same time,

we have given real help to the poorest and the most vulnerable. We

are seeking 1 million of the poorest people out of tax

altogether, and after the 75 p raised for pensioners scandal, were

linking pensions to earnings so that elderly people will be �10,000

more better off in their retirement. This is a one-nation deficit

reduction plan for a One nation And, my friends, there is something

else that we, the Conservatives have done. The National Health

Service is the most precious institution in this country, the

most precious institution to my family, to your family. At the last

election it was Labour policy to cut the NHS. It was Liberal-

Democrat policy to cut the NHS. It was our policy, Conservative policy,

to protect the NHS and spend more on it, this year, next year, and

the year after that, because we are the party of the NHS, and as long

as I am here, that is the way that But, will term this isn't just

about what the state spends. It is about the link between what you put

in and what you get out. And, as we debate what people get from the

state, we must remember how we generate taxes in the first place.

To do know is planning to strike over public sector pensions, I say

this, you have every right to protest, but the population is

ageing, the public sector pension system is unaffordable. The only

way to go public sector workers that this unsustainable pension

system which I want to, and to do right by the taxpayer, is to ask

public servants to work a little longer, and pay a little more. That

is fair. What is not fair, what is not right, is going on strike and

putting at risk the very people who are helping to pay for your future

He dealing with our debts, that is just line one, Clause 1, or the

plan for growth. But it is just the start. We need jobs. We are not we

get jobs by growing Government. We need to grow businesses. Here is

our growth plan. It is to do everything we can to help

businesses start, grow, five, succeed. When that means backing of

and cutting regulation, we will do that. Where it means intervention

and Investment, we will intervene and invest. Whatever it takes to

help businesses takeover the world, we will do it. Do global economy

has been transformed in recent years. It used to take companies

decades to become world leaders. Now some of them do it in just a

few years. When you step off the plane in Delhi, or Shanghai or

Lagos, you can feel the energy, hunger, drive to succeed. We need

that here. There is too much cannot do, soggy mess around. We need to

be a sharp, focused, can-do country. As we go for growth, the last thing

I want is to pump the old economy back up with the banking sector at

of control, manufacturing squeezed and prosperity confined to just a

few parts of the country and the few industries. Our plan is to

build something new and better. We can do it. Look at what is

happening in East London. Europe's financial capital is now matched by

Europe's technology capital. Goodall, Facebook, all these see

potential in investing right here. Look at what is happening across

the country. The wings of the World's biggest jumbo jet, made in

Wales. The JCB, made in Staffordshire. And Formula One.

Whether it is marked whether, Michael Schumacher, Rubens

Barrichello, they all have one thing in common, when they get into

their car, it is make right here in Britain. -- made. This is the new

economy we must build up, leading an advanced manufacturing, Life

Sciences, Green Engineering, inventing, creating, exporting. It

is easy to talk about these things. It is more difficult to deliver

them. For a start, you do not deliver it just by providing a

industries into Saints and sinners. That is not just an insult to the

accountancy firms and professional services that make us billions of

pounds and employ millions of people, it is too simplistic. I am

always arguing that we need businesses to be more socially

responsible, but, to get proper growth, to rebalance the economy,

we have to put some important new pieces into place. We have got to

take action now to get credit to the small businesses that are the

engine of the economy. We have to ring-fenced banks saw they can win

say to the real economy. We are setting up technology and

innovation centres were scientists and academics can work with

entrepreneurs to bring brilliant inventions into successful products.

We have reformed taxation to encourage enterprise. But, we are

also going to have to take some controversial decisions, and to

challenge some vested interests. When companies need to adapt

quickly to win orders, to win contracts, we cannot go on with the

rigid, outdated employment legislation of the past. I know

that critics will say, what about workers' rights? We mustn't forget

the important worker right of all, the right to have a job in the

When, in modern business, you are either quipped of it, it is

hopeless that the transport infrastructure lags so far behind

that in Europe. That is why we need to build high-speed rail, and why

we need to get the best broadband network in Europe, too. And when a

barrister economy needs workers with skills, we need to put an end

to the old snobbery about vocational education and training.

This Government is providing funding for an extra 250,000

apprenticeships across this Parliament. But we're not getting

enough back from big business. So, here is a direct appeal. If you

want skilled employees, we will provide the funding, Cup the red

tape, but you have got to show the leadership and give us the

apprenticeships this country so Unlocking growth, rebalancing the

economy, but also requires change in Brussels. The EU is the biggest

single market in the world, it has amazing potential. But it is not

working properly. Almost agree day, I see pointless new regulation

coming away. A couple of weeks ago, I was up, early in the morning,

preparing for work, going through paperwork, and I came across an EU

directive. It was about whether people with diabetes should be

allowed to drive. What on earth has this got to do with the single

market? Do you suppose anyone in China is thinking, I know how we

will grow the economy, let's get those diabetics off the road!

Europe has got to wake up. I want us to push this at every meeting,

Council and summit. That is the alarm call that Brussels needs.

There is one more thing. That business needs. Businesses need the

space to grow, literally. And that is one of the reasons why we are

reforming the planning system. It is hard to blame local people for a

pause in developments when they get so few of the benefits. We are

changing that. It's a new manufacturing plant is building

Euro area, you Council will keep the business rates. If new homes

get built, you keep the council tax. This is a local list plan for the

local his party. I know what people are worried about, what this means

for conservation. And let me tell you, I love the countryside. I

would never do anything to put it at risk. But we have got to get the

balance right. The proportion of land in England that is currently

built up his 9%. 9%. There are businesses out there, desperate to

expand, to have thousands of people, but they a stock in the mud of the

planning system. We're open to constructive ideas about how to get

this right, but to those who oppose everything we do, my message is

this - take your argument down to the JobCentre, because we're going

We knew economy we a building, it must be an economy for everyone --

of this new economy we are building. You know the real tragedy of

Labour's economy? Not adjusted to was overwhelmed with debt and

umbrellas. It left suddenly people behind. They talked a lot about

opportunity. But they've ripped the ladders of opportunity away. We had

an education system that left hundreds of thousands and prepared

for work. A welfare system that attract thousands in dependency --

trapped. We had a housing system that failed to meet demand, so

prices shot up and killed an unsustainable boom. And we had a

government, oh boy did we have a government, that creamed the taxes

of the boom to splurge back into the benefits, redoubling the

failure again. Labour, who tell us they care so much about fairness,

justice, who so they want to hit the rich and help the poor, it was

Labour who gave us the casino economy and a welfare society. So

who, who is going to lift the poorest up? Get our young people

back to work? Create a fairer society? Not you, the self-

righteous Labour Party. It will be us who bills the economy for

everybody and gives hope to everybody in our country -- builds

That will start with a good education for everybody. It sounds

so simple. Property chain, a good discipline. Rigorous exams --

proper teaching. But it is hard. It is hard because our education

system has been infected by an ideology that is said on insisting

on every child's success, it has too often made excuses for failure.

They say poor kids can't learn. Black boys can't do that well. In

this community, you cannot expect that much. You really must

understand. I do understand. Oh yes I understand. But believe me, I'm

disgusted by the idea that we should aim for any less for a child

from a poor background than a rich I have content for the nation we

should accept narrow horizon for a black child and a white one. It is

the age old irony of the liberal left. They practise oppression and

they call it equality. So we are fighting back and something really

massive is happening in our country. There is now irrefutable proof that

with the right schools, with the right freedoms and the right

leadership, we can transform the education of the most deprived

children. You heard yesterday from that inspirational student from

Burlington Danes Academy in Hammersmith. Inner-city school,

deprived area. Almost half of the children on free school meals. But

this year, three-quarters got five good GCSEs, including English and

maths. Now, that his way better than what the majority of state

schools in Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire got last year. Some of

the most affluent counties in our country. Why? Because the head

teacher, her staff, the parents, they all rose often said, we are as

good as anyone. Our children can achieve anything. Leadership works,

and we will make it work in all of We are backing more headteachers to

turn schools into academies. We want more parents, entrepreneurs,

charities, to come into our education system and set up the new

free schools' too. Changes under way. For the first time in a long

time, the numbers studying those core and vital subjects, history,

geography, language, are going up. Pupils exams will now be marked on

their punctuation and grammar. And teachers will be able to search

people's backs for anything banned in schools. Mobile-phone, weapon,

anything. It is a long, hard road back to rigour, but we are back on

And here is something else we're going to do. In Britain today, we

do have a group of schools that are utterly intolerant of failure. When

90% of pupils get five good GCSEs. Yes, private schools. You have

heard me talk about social responsibility. I want to see

private schools start to cannabis and sponsor them in the state

system -- start academies. The apartheid between private and state

education is one of the biggest wasted opportunities in our country

today, and let it be us, the Conservative Party, who help to

Rigour back in learning, standards back in schools, teachers back in

control. The Conservatives are back An economy that works for everyone

mean sorting out welfare and immigration as well. Welfare begin

as a lifeline for. But for too many it has become a way of life.

Generation after generation, in the cycle of dependency, and we are

determined to break it. Part of our answer is controlling immigration.

So we put a cap on the number of a non- EU immigrants and had to come

and work in our country. We must look out talent. I want the best of

the brightest entrepreneurs, scientists and students from around

the world, to get the red carpet treatment, and they will. But the

fake marriages, the people arriving for a month and stay for years, the

criminal who use the human rights act to try to stay in a country, we

are clamping down on each and every one of them. We have got to get

some sense back into a Labour market and get British people back

into work. For years, you have been conned by governments. To keep the

unemployment figures down, they have parked as many people as

possible on to the SEC. 2.5 million people to be exact. Not officially

unemployed, but claiming welfare, no real questions asked. Today, we

are asking those questions. And it turns out that of the 1.3 million

people who have put in a claim for the new sickness benefit in recent

years, one million are either able to work all stop their claim before

the medical assessment had been completed. Under Labour they got

something for nothing. With us, they will only get something if

they give something. If they are prepared to work, we will help them,

and I mean really help them. If you have been out of work and on

benefits for five years, a quick session done the job centre, help

with your CV, that is not going to cut it. That will not help you. He

need to get your esteem and confidence back. You need training

and skills. Extensive personal support. Previous governments

whenever willing to make commitments, sign the cheque to get

this done. Never willing to break the Treasury rules to make it

happen. We have. We are investing now so we do not pay later. We are

going to spend up to �14,000 on individual people just to get the

untrained and back into work. I know that is a lot of money. But it

is worth it. Letter to be us. Let it be this Government, the

Conservatives, that build an economy where no one gets left

behind. And for most people, that means also a home of their own. Not

just any old home, but a decent one. A place with a proper front door.

Room for the kids to play. But the percentage of British people that

and their own home is going down. Unless you get help from your

parents, the average age of a first-time buyer in a country today

is 37. You hear some be able saying, why can't it be like in Europe

where everybody rents? I disagree. The failure of the housing market

is bound up in the debt crisis. Because the lenders will not

learned, the builders will not build and the buyers cannot buy. We

are going to sort this out. We will bring back the right to buy your

council house, used that to buy homes. Macmillan made the party or

other property owning democracy. Margaret Thatcher gave people the

right to buy. Let us in this generation inspire a new Tory

And while I am on the subject of those great Conservative figures,

let me say this. I am incredibly fortunate in leading this party

that I have had the full throated support of a previous leaders.

Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith, William Hague, Sir John Major, and

of course, Lady Thatcher. And you know what, in this party we do not

do our leaders. We are proud of what they have done for a party and

what they have done to our country. A few months ago, we were all

shocked by the scenes are now streets in London and in other

parts of the country. But perhaps almost the most shocking thing is

that people were not that surprised. There was no great call for a

public inquiry to find out what had gone wrong to. Instead, what I

think you could here, was the angry, consistent, overwhelming cry of the

country shouting to its leaders. We know. We know why this happened. We

know what has gone wrong. We know that if the system keeps pushing

the plane, we will not -- if the system keeps fudging the difference

between right and wrong. And if parents do not meet their

responsibilities, their kids will get out of control. What people

were saying to us is, yes, we know what has gone wrong, and we want

you to put it right. One of the things that people want is speedy

justice. After the riots, those responsible were put straight into

court and tough sentences were quickly handed out. And I have made

it clear to the police, the prosecution services, the Ministry

of Justice, the Attorney-General, if we can do that then, let us do

it all the time Kuwaiti in, year We all know the problems go deeper.

And that is why my travelling mission in politics is to build

that bigger, stronger society. It starts with families. I want to

make this the most family-friendly government the country has ever

seen. All childcare, health visitors, relationship support,

help with parenting. For the 120,000 families that are most

troubled and frankly caused the most trouble, a commitment to turn

their lives around by the end of this Parliament. Today, I can

announce this. Another new focus. There are 65,000 children in care.

Do you know how many children there are in care under the age of one?

3660. And do you know how many children under the age of one were

adopted in our country last year? 60. This may not seem like the

biggest issue facing our country. But it is the biggest issue for

these children. How can we have let this happen? We have people flying

all over the world to adopt babies while the care system at home

agonises about placing black children with white families. With

the right values, the right Efford, let us be the ones who end this

scandal and help these, the most memorable children of all -- the

For me, leadership on families also means speaking out on marriage.

Marriage isn't just a piece of paper. It pulls couples together

through the air and flow of life. Gives children stability. It's as

palpable things about what we value. -- it says powerful things. We also

doing something else. I stood before a Conservative conference

once and I said it shouldn't matter whether it commitment was between a

man and woman or a man and a man or a woman and a woman. And you

applauded me. Five years on we are consulting on legalising gay

marriage. And to anyone who has reservations, I said this. Yes, it

is about equality. But it is also about something else. Commitment.

Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us, that society is

stronger when we make vows to each other and we support each other. So

I don't support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I

support gay marriage because I am a We will you community spirit and

social action. We see every day and our communities. It is one other

great things about Britain. Over the last five years of Labour

Government, the number of people volunteering came down. Now, the

proportion of people who say they feel they might belong strongly to

their neighbourhood is the highest for a decade. If you are single --

if you go to Wythenshawe a few miles from here, it used to be

ravaged by drugs, crime and graffiti, but the local people got

the kids of the streets, cleaned up the graffiti, kit out the drug

dealers, and of course, Government cannot legislate for this, but we

can support the leadership that makes it happen. That is why we're

giving Labour IDS new powers to take over the running of

playgrounds, pubs and parks, it is why we're making it easier for

people to give time and money to good causes, others why you want

elected mayors in our great cities and by their drawing up other no

plans to open up public services and give more power to people. --

radical plans. What are the biggest things holding people back from

playing an active part in society - health and safety. I was told

recently about a school that wanted to buy a set of highly depends.

With these pens came -- of highlight pens. But these came with

a warning, to make sure you include plenty of fresh air, and hand and

eye protection. You try highlighting with all of that. This

was not how a great nation was built. Britannia didn't rule the

waves with her arm bans on, so the vetting and barring scheme, we're

scaling it back. And at last, let's bring some common sense to

Building strong the communities, that is why we introduced National

Citizens' Service, and you sort yourself but the start of this

afternoon's session. One of the people who took part, Owen Carter,

wrote to me and said this - this has changed my perspective of life.

You can do anything, if you work hard and have a supportive team

around you. You can do anything. That is the spirit I am talking

about. That is why we are tripling the scale of National Citizens'

Service. That is how we will build the Big Society and that his

leadership. Next year, were going to welcome the world, for the

Olympics, and of course for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. These

events say a lot about Britain - tradition and modernity, all in one.

Today, we can choose to be a country that is back on its feet

and striding forward, paying down debt and earning a living, getting

people off welfare and into work, breaking new ground in education

with excellence for Everyone, not a police view. We can be a country

where people look back on the life, and say, I work hard, I raised a

family, I am part of a community and it was worth my while. We are

too far from Knapp today, but we can get there. It is not

complicated, and it is not easy either, because nothing worthwhile

is one easily. We have been told we were finished before. They told us

when we lost an empire, we could not find a role, but we took on

communism and help bring down the Berlin Wall. The cold as the sick

man of Europe, but we could this country into a beacon of enterprise.

We have never had the greatest amount of resources, but we had the

spirit, it is not the size of the dog in a fight, it is the size of

the fight in the dock. And yes, confounding the sceptics,

reinventing ourselves. -- dog. That is what we do. It is called

leadership. Let this time of challenge be turned into a time of

opportunity. Not sitting around watching things happening and

wondering why, but standing up and making things happen and asking,

why not? We have the ideas, the people and now we have a Government

that is backing those ideas and freeing this people. Let us show

the world some fight. Let us pull together, work together, and

letters, together, League Britain said better days ahead. -- let us

together lead Britain to greater days ahead.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, receiving a standing ovation at the

party conference in Manchester. He focused on leadership, saying that

leadership work, he wanted to unleash the leadership in his party.

He said he would sell the truth about the economy and made clear he

was dealing with the debt, and that he was building the foundations of

a better economy. He also said his driving mission in politics was to

build the Big Society. The Prime Minister with his wife, Samantha,

there. I am joined in the studio by Professor John Curtice, of

Strathclyde University. Europe initial reaction to that speech?

One slight surprise is that although the first half of it was

about the economy, and the second half, he talked about social policy,

education, emigration, health and his big personal favourite, the Big

Society. David Cameron is still very interested in these topics,

despite the predominance of the economy to do a Conservative

government. What was less surprising was that it was rather a

defensive speech. This was a Prime Minister having to say that times

are tough, that yes, eventually, I can get them better, and this is

what we will try to do. In particular, trying to that end his

Government against the claim that it is unfair. With the public

seeing the opinion polls that they might kill the cuts are not fairly

distributed. And secondly he was defending himself against the

argument that the Government does not have any idea how to get back

economic growth. To that extent, it was a defence of speech, and it was

not a speech to Rosehall. The occasional gibe against Labour, but

for the most part, this was a speech that was listen to quite

quietly. What is this better vision of Britain that he promises to lead

us to? The Prime Minister's critics would say that this demonstrated

how pragmatic a Prime Minister he is. People would say that we are

not clear there is much of a clear threat to his speech in terms of a

vision as a poster Prime Minister demonstrating a willingness to deal

pragmatically with the range of issues that confront him.

reporter has just rushed out from the conference hall in Westminster.

There was a big focus on leadership in a speech. That has been the

theme of this week. Leadership for a better future. David Cameron

wanted to get across that we are in straitened economic times. It is

going to be a struggle, he said. He said no one wants false optimism.

He said, I am not going to soft- soap you and tell you that things

will be all right, it is going to be harder and longer than that. But

he was resolute. He said the Government we stick his guns. He

explained why the debt had to be brought down, why you could not

just borrow more to stimulate the economy. He said, we are in this

for the long haul, there will be tough times, but he was trying to

betray himself as a leader who is strong enough and resolute enough

to do this and to take that in forward. That was an interesting

message that followed on from that leadership - reject pessimism, and

bring on can-do optimism. Before the speech, he had to try to blend

optimism into the speech. One of his crucial tasks was to say that

things are more difficult anticipated, and yes, by the way,

you might not be able to see the progress, that difference to

building the foundations. He was trying to say, trust us, and

eventually things will get better. He did have one good news story

from the last of months that he could use, and he tried to use that

in order to demonstrate that things can get better and that was the

intervention in Libya. He tried to use that to say, people who said we

no longer had that defence capability, we demonstrated that we

do. That was the one thing he could use in his speech to say that we

have, as a Government, demonstrated that we can deliver. And that was

quite important to him, to be able to say that in his speech. A couple

of jibes in his speech about Ed Miliband's speech at the Labour

conference last week. You cannot divide industry into Saints and

sinners. That was the commit about predators. And he made a reference

to the booing of Tony Blair. It was the but that got the biggest

applause, the biggest year, when he listed the previous Conservative

leaders, ending of course with Lady Thatcher. He is no doubt that the

Conservative Party still feels comfortable with the legacy of its

past, in a way that the Labour Party isn't, and for a variety of

reasons, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, once might have been

regarded as the great Segers of Labour, are not seen that way now.

That is an indication of the difference between the two parties

and where they are at. And that Ed Miliband criticism of predators and

those who are good, that has been a very easily misinterpreted. We can

go back to David Porter who has got some representatives of the party

with him. The representatives are streaming out. I managed to grab

hold of two. What did you think of what you heard? I was struggling to

support this is bees to do. I am aware of the problems he has caught

the problems that are so severe, but there was mind some good things.

You think he should have been tougher and said that it is going

to be worse than we have Leger to believe? We need to get at the

truth, and we know that it is bad. You come from a London perspective,

so was a tough enough or should he have been saying that I am going to

be very firm with you, it is going to be laudable for the next couple

of years. That was an inspiring, uplifting speech that was ill-

received by the vast majority of the audience. His message was right

on, particularly in the beginning. We have a very clear message and

David Cameron said what that message is, but the young people

are the future of the United Kingdom, and only the Conservatives

can get us out of the mess that Labour put us in, to help the young

people of Britain. It is all very well saying that you want a can-do

attitude. How do you go about bringing it back? The Prime

Minister David Cameron gave some very clear indication of what the

Conservative Government is doing. He is giving young people the

inspirational advance of joining the National Citizens' Service.

What more can the Prime Minister do to inspire young people? There was

a team of young people in their from all different backgrounds,

social and economic. That is what Britain is about, about young

people, about their future, we're a small but the country and that was

the message that the the Cameron Gate. Will this help you sell the

Tory cause in Scotland? We shall see. As you know we are in the

middle of a leadership election. And one candidate wants to go it

alone. Not because we hate the English, my father was a cockney,

but because we cannot get the message through in Scotland to the

Scottish people. At council level they want to vote for us, but not

at the next level up. We will let you join the throng of people