:00:13. > :00:15.Good evening and welcome to Today at Conference. This week we're in
:00:15. > :00:18.Birningham for the Conservative Party Conference where, trailing in
:00:18. > :00:24.the polls - and facing a Labour Party suddenly looking confident
:00:24. > :00:27.and comfortable behind their leader - Cameron and co need a plan. The
:00:27. > :00:29.answer: a hyperactive show of being in Government and in charge,
:00:29. > :00:35.pouring out so many policies and promises their mums would probably
:00:35. > :00:38.tell them to calm down. Two big rival attractions today. In the
:00:38. > :00:43.blue corner: George Osborne, hoping to please the faithful, the public
:00:43. > :00:46.and save money by getting even tougher on welfare. And in the
:00:46. > :00:51.other blue corner, the man some here like - and the media loves -
:00:51. > :00:54.to talk up as the right stuff for future leader. Elsewhere, the
:00:54. > :00:56.minister David Cameron hoped to move from the welfare job, but who
:00:56. > :01:06.wouldn't budge, Iain Duncan Smith laid into Labour and benefit
:01:06. > :01:08.
:01:08. > :01:11.George Osborne's reputation in the media and among the Tory troops as
:01:11. > :01:14.a master of strategy - a political game-changer - has been somewhat
:01:14. > :01:16.tarnished since the Tories started their slide in the polls. To be
:01:16. > :01:19.fair, he always expected a good strong dose of mid-term
:01:19. > :01:25.unpopularity. Unfortunately for his party, that was one call he got
:01:25. > :01:28.dead right. The prayer that's whispered here is that we may, just
:01:28. > :01:31.may, be through the worst of the recession. But healing the economy
:01:32. > :01:35.will take time, and today George Osborne was using his time on stage
:01:35. > :01:43.to play to the gallery, in the hall and in the country, who want a
:01:43. > :01:53.tougher welfare system. And on the way, doing his bit to reclaim the
:01:53. > :01:53.
:01:53. > :01:57."Party of One Nation" tag for the Tories. In 1972, when a
:01:57. > :02:06.Conservative Prime Minister two years into office was faced with
:02:06. > :02:12.economic problems and over-powerful unions, we buckled, and we gave up.
:02:12. > :02:19.The result was higher inflation, more strikes and the three-day week.
:02:19. > :02:23.A decade later, in 1981, when another Conservative prime minister
:02:23. > :02:28.and Conservative Chancellor two years into office were faced with
:02:28. > :02:38.economic problems and powerful unions, we did not give up, but
:02:38. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:45.pressed on and overcame. APPLAUSE.
:02:45. > :02:49.Today in the face of the great economic challenges of our age, we
:02:49. > :02:57.hear resolve that we will press on, we shall overcome.
:02:57. > :03:05.A APPLAUSE. We made a promise to the British
:03:05. > :03:13.people that we would repair our badly broken economy. That promise
:03:13. > :03:19.is being fulfilled. The deficit is down by a quarter. There are 1
:03:19. > :03:22.million more private sector jobs. The economy is healing. The that
:03:22. > :03:28.healing is taken longer than we hoped, because the damage was
:03:28. > :03:31.greater than we feared. But let the message from this conference be
:03:31. > :03:41.clear. We will finish the job that we have started.
:03:41. > :03:46.
:03:46. > :03:53.And there is another promise we made. On the eve of the conference,
:03:53. > :04:00.on the eve of the election, I told this conference we are all in this
:04:00. > :04:06.together. It was more than a slogan. It spoke of our values and of our
:04:06. > :04:12.intent. That there would be sacrifices and cuts that would be
:04:13. > :04:18.tough to make. That everyone was going to have to play their part,
:04:18. > :04:23.and that in return, we would build an economy that works for all. We
:04:23. > :04:30.took the risk. Few political parties anywhere in the world are
:04:30. > :04:36.prepared to take that risk before an election. Quite simply, we told
:04:36. > :04:41.the people the truth about the hard road ahead. Some say we paid a
:04:41. > :04:48.price for that. But of this I am sure. Our country would have been
:04:48. > :04:58.all but ungovernable if we had not been straight with the public
:04:58. > :04:59.
:04:59. > :05:04.before asking them to cast their So, three years later, my message
:05:04. > :05:11.remains the same. We are not going to get through this as a country if
:05:11. > :05:17.we set one group against another, if we divide, denounce and demonise.
:05:17. > :05:23.We need an effort from each and every one, one nation working hard
:05:23. > :05:27.together, we are still all in this together. Let's be clear. Those
:05:27. > :05:34.with the most should contribute the most.
:05:34. > :05:40.APPLAUSE. Each one of my budgets has
:05:40. > :05:44.increased taxes overall on the very richest. In every single year of
:05:44. > :05:51.this parliament, the rich will pay a greater share of our nation's tax
:05:51. > :05:55.revenues than in any one of the 13 years that Labour were in office.
:05:55. > :06:00.APPLAUSE. And we have achieved that while
:06:00. > :06:10.getting rid of a cripplingly uncompetitive 50p rate that raised
:06:10. > :06:12.
:06:12. > :06:16.It is a completely phoney conception of fairness that you
:06:16. > :06:20.stick with a tax rate you know raises no money, that you know
:06:20. > :06:24.drives away jobs and investment, that you know weakens the economy
:06:24. > :06:28.just to say you have kicked the rich. The people who pay the price
:06:28. > :06:35.for that are not the rich, but the poor are looking for work. And
:06:35. > :06:39.there is nothing fair about that. It is riser ball to believe that
:06:39. > :06:45.you can become a party of One nation simply by repeating the
:06:45. > :06:50.words one nation over and over again. Of course, we all know why
:06:50. > :07:00.he did it. The Labour leader wants to pretend he is moving to the
:07:00. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:07.centre when all can see he is But as it is revealed as an empty
:07:07. > :07:12.gesture, people will be more let down by the reality than they were
:07:12. > :07:18.attracted by the pretence. You can imagine Benjamin Disraeli's
:07:18. > :07:26.disappointment. Moments after the joy of being told that there really
:07:26. > :07:32.is reincarnation, he discovers he has come back as Ed Miliband.
:07:33. > :07:39.LAUGHTER. To the people of Britain, I say
:07:39. > :07:45.this. Whoever you are, wherever you come from. If you are working for a
:07:45. > :07:52.better future, we are on your side. Now, I know our plans have been
:07:52. > :07:58.criticised, but the critics don't seem to agree. Some say we are
:07:58. > :08:02.going too fast. We should be spending and borrowing even more.
:08:02. > :08:12.Their curious suggestion is that by borrowing more, we would borrow
:08:12. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:16.less. In fact, in good times and in bad, in boom and in bust, they
:08:16. > :08:22.always want to spend and borrow more. And they think there is such
:08:22. > :08:24.thing as a free lunch. They think that extra borrowing can pay for
:08:24. > :08:30.temporary tax cuts in attempt to put money in the pockets of
:08:30. > :08:33.consumers. But the extra borrowing would come at the cost of higher
:08:33. > :08:41.interest rates, and everyone would know that there would be higher
:08:41. > :08:45.taxes to pay for it coming down the track. Our detailed tax and
:08:45. > :08:49.spending plans have brought us stability, but they only cover the
:08:49. > :08:56.next two years. And we must now take some very serious decisions
:08:56. > :09:05.about what we do after that. Let me tell you about my approach to these
:09:05. > :09:09.decisions. Are published plans already require us to find �16
:09:09. > :09:15.billion of further savings. As I have said, the broadest shoulders
:09:15. > :09:20.will continue to bear the greatest burden. But I am not prepared to
:09:21. > :09:26.contemplate things that make no economic sense and destroy jobs. So
:09:26. > :09:36.we won't have some kind of temporary wealth tax. Even Dennis
:09:36. > :09:36.
:09:36. > :09:41.he thought that was a bad idea. Our future lies with wealth being
:09:41. > :09:51.something that is not penalised but encouraged. And nor were like tax
:09:51. > :09:53.
:09:53. > :09:57.people's homes. -- nor will I tax people's homes. It will be sold as
:09:57. > :10:00.a mansion tax, but once the tax inspector had his foot in the door,
:10:00. > :10:04.you would soon find most of the homes in the country label the
:10:04. > :10:10.mansion, homes people have worked hard to afford an already paid
:10:10. > :10:16.taxes on. It is not a mention tax, it is a homes tax, and this party
:10:16. > :10:21.of home ownership will have no truck with it. In a government,
:10:21. > :10:24.this party is achieving something invaluable. We are destroying the
:10:24. > :10:28.left wing myth that the success of a public service is measured only
:10:28. > :10:34.by how many pounds we spend on it, not by of whether it heels are sick
:10:34. > :10:40.or educate our children or makes our streets safe. This is because
:10:40. > :10:44.we're doing it carefully, and doing it right. And if we want to go on
:10:44. > :10:52.doing that, and limit the cuts to departments, then we have to find
:10:52. > :10:57.greater savings in the welfare bill. �10 billion a of welfare savings by
:10:57. > :11:02.the first full year of the next Parliament. Iain Duncan Smith and I
:11:02. > :11:06.are committed to finding the savings while delivering the most
:11:06. > :11:10.radical reform of our welfare system for generations with the
:11:10. > :11:16.Universal Credit, so that work always pays. Because it is not just
:11:16. > :11:20.about the money. It comes back to fairness and enterprise. How can we
:11:20. > :11:24.justify the incomes of those out of work rising faster than the incomes
:11:24. > :11:29.of those in work? How can we justify giving flat to young people
:11:29. > :11:34.who have never worked when working people twice their age are still
:11:34. > :11:41.living with their parents because they can't afford their first home?
:11:42. > :11:45.APPLAUSE. How can we justify a system where
:11:45. > :11:52.people in work have to consider the full financial costs of having
:11:52. > :11:56.another child, while those out of work don't? Our entire economic
:11:56. > :12:01.policy is an enterprise policy. We will be the government for people
:12:01. > :12:06.who aspire, like the people who start a new business, and who work
:12:06. > :12:11.in that business and want to own shares in it. So today we are
:12:11. > :12:17.setting out proposals for a radical change to employment law. I want to
:12:17. > :12:22.thank Adrian Beecroft for the work he has done in this area.
:12:22. > :12:28.APPLAUSE. This idea is particularly suited to
:12:28. > :12:33.new businesses starting up and small and medium-sized firms. It is
:12:33. > :12:38.a voluntary three-way deal. You, the company, give your employees
:12:38. > :12:42.shares in the business. You, the employee, replace your all rights
:12:42. > :12:47.of unfair dismissal and redundancy with new rights of ownership. And
:12:47. > :12:53.what will the Government do? We will charge no capital gains tax at
:12:53. > :13:03.all on the profit you make on your shares. 0% capital gains tax for
:13:03. > :13:06.
:13:06. > :13:10.Get a shares and become owners of the company work for. Owners,
:13:10. > :13:16.workers and the taxman, all in it together, workers of the world
:13:16. > :13:18.George Osborne speaking earlier. Well, straight after the
:13:18. > :13:26.Chancellor's speech, Andrew Neil spoke to the Treasury minister
:13:26. > :13:31.Sajid Javid. The Prime Minister spoke yesterday
:13:31. > :13:36.on the BBC, saying that he was rebalancing the economy away from
:13:36. > :13:43.debt. I will say that again. Rebalancing the economy away from
:13:44. > :13:48.debt. In that rebalancing, can you tell how much he has cut our debt?
:13:48. > :13:51.Andrew, you will know the first step to dealing with the national
:13:51. > :13:54.debt, which under the previous government tripled, is to deal with
:13:55. > :13:59.the deficit. That is the amount that we borrow each year that is
:13:59. > :14:05.added to the debt. The important thing is that the deficit is
:14:05. > :14:10.falling, and then the last two years, deficit is down by a quarter.
:14:10. > :14:15.But it is rising this year so far. I want to stick with debt. We don't
:14:15. > :14:23.talk about is enough. You will know that the figures for debt is that
:14:23. > :14:29.you inherited and national debt of about �650 billion. By 2015, it
:14:29. > :14:34.will be 1.4 trillion pounds. In other words, it will double under
:14:34. > :14:44.your watch. Can you explain to our viewers and that is rebalancing the
:14:44. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:12.I think as the Chancellor just said in his speech, you can't turn
:15:12. > :15:17.around a deficit which is equal to 10% of GDP, the largest of any
:15:17. > :15:20.industrialised country, overnight. It has to be a gradual process.
:15:20. > :15:25.That's what we've been doing. That's why we cut it by a quarter.
:15:25. > :15:30.The Chancellor is right to continue with that strategy. The first step
:15:30. > :15:36.to lowering debt so to lower the deficit. We need to do that to
:15:36. > :15:42.build business confidence. eventual debt was around �900
:15:42. > :15:48.billion, it was about �650 billion before the ests to stop the banking
:15:48. > :15:52.system collapsing. My point is it's continuing to rise to reach �1.4
:15:52. > :15:57.trillion. I don't understand how that's a rebalancing this side of
:15:57. > :16:03.2015. I would be happy to listen to an explanation. Could we now both
:16:03. > :16:09.admit, because we know it to be true that you will fail to hit your
:16:09. > :16:12.target of reducing debt by 2015? have a clear target. We set that
:16:12. > :16:17.out in the previous budget and the budgets before that. Whether we hit
:16:17. > :16:20.that target or not, that is really a judgment for the independent OBR.
:16:20. > :16:23.Because it's independent, unlike previous governments where,
:16:23. > :16:28.especially under Gordon Brown, he would just fiddle the in urz to
:16:28. > :16:32.suit whatever he wants to say, this Government can't do that. We set up
:16:32. > :16:37.an independent process. We'll see what they say in December. I don't
:16:37. > :16:41.understand how you're make prog gres on rebalancing the economy --
:16:41. > :16:44.making progress on rebalancing the economy away from debt. Let me
:16:44. > :16:48.explain. That the deficit is the key part to getting the debt under
:16:48. > :16:53.control right at the beginning. The deficit is the amount we add to the
:16:53. > :16:59.debt each year. That deficit was � 159 billion when the Government
:16:59. > :17:05.came to power. It is now, for the last fiscal year �119 billion.
:17:05. > :17:09.Sajid Javid talking to Andrew Neil earlier. There's no doubt who stole
:17:09. > :17:15.the show today, Boris. You just have to hear it spoke ton get a
:17:15. > :17:20.smile on your face. He emerged from that media bun fight at Birmingham
:17:20. > :17:24.New Street and made his way here. He performed as only Boris knows
:17:24. > :17:30.how. I read this morning in the Daily Telegraph that a London
:17:30. > :17:33.squirrel has savaged a member of a boy band, of whom I've never
:17:33. > :17:39.previously heard, called One Direction. Have you heard this? Is
:17:39. > :17:43.anybody aware of this fact? And somehow put his leg out of action.
:17:43. > :17:47.Unbelievable. One nation, One Direction, one squirrel...
:17:47. > :17:54.LAUGHTER One leg out of action. And of
:17:54. > :17:59.course, I have one leg left, I have every sympathy with the chap in
:17:59. > :18:03.question and his injuries, but I looked at that story and reflected
:18:03. > :18:09.on what an amazing index it was of the quality of life in London. Not
:18:09. > :18:12.only do we have such beautiful green space, but such healthy,
:18:12. > :18:21.well-fed, dynamic and musically discerning squirrels.
:18:21. > :18:27.LAUGHTER APPLAUSE
:18:28. > :18:32.While we're talking of unexpected conflict, with otherwise innocuous
:18:32. > :18:37.and friendly creatures, I want to say something now about being mayor
:18:37. > :18:42.at a time when my friends, my colleagues are in power in
:18:42. > :18:46.Westminster. And doing, in my view, a fantastic job. Because it is
:18:46. > :18:54.sometimes... APPLAUSE
:18:54. > :18:58.It is sometimes inevitable that the mayor of a great city will find
:18:58. > :19:04.himself saying things that seem to be at variance or ahead of national
:19:04. > :19:08.policy. Yes, of course, I'm going to continue to fight what I think
:19:08. > :19:14.might be ill conceived Lib Dem plans for a mansion tax, when I
:19:14. > :19:17.read about it in the papers or indeed any other wealth taxes that
:19:17. > :19:24.could disproportionately affect London, the motor of the UK economy.
:19:24. > :19:26.Of course, I'm going to continue to lobby for a long overdue solution
:19:26. > :19:33.to our aviation capacity problems. APPLAUSE
:19:33. > :19:38.But no-one, no-one, as a result of that, no-one as a result of that
:19:38. > :19:43.should have any cause to doubt my admiration for David Cameron. Let
:19:43. > :19:50.me remind you, I was one... APPLAUSE
:19:50. > :19:58.You will know that I was one of the first people, on that afternoon in
:19:58. > :20:05.2005, long before Dave announced his candidacy, I rang him up when I
:20:05. > :20:12.think the number of cam roons could have comfortably fit into a
:20:12. > :20:15.telephone box had one of them not been Nick Soames. I believe in
:20:15. > :20:19.tough circumstances, he George Osborne, the rest of the Government
:20:19. > :20:21.are doing exactly what is needed for this country and to clear up
:20:21. > :20:31.the mess that Labour left. APPLAUSE
:20:31. > :20:32.
:20:32. > :20:37.Absolutely right. When I look ahead, I see only one cloud on the horizon,
:20:37. > :20:42.and that is the possibility that while I am still mayor, no matter
:20:42. > :20:49.how remote we may think it is, that the two Eds, Balls and Miliband,
:20:49. > :20:55.could get back into power. No! Unchastened, unpunished, unchanged
:20:55. > :20:59.in their basic view of what they think the country needs, either
:21:00. > :21:05.much higher taxes, much more central Government control or much
:21:05. > :21:10.more borrowing and spending or probably a combination of both.
:21:10. > :21:15.They got us into this mess. They squandered the cash. They haven't
:21:15. > :21:20.shown the slightest sign of contrition. Can I ask you - why
:21:21. > :21:30.would anyone trust them to govern this country again?
:21:31. > :21:32.
:21:32. > :21:35.APPLAUSE I sometimes think after the great
:21:35. > :21:39.success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the only way to
:21:40. > :21:44.keep people amused, we need more things, what's next? Well obviously
:21:44. > :21:50.one thing we have considered extensively is a politicians
:21:50. > :21:57.Olympics, where you'd have Jeremy Hunt wanging the bell end. Me for
:21:57. > :22:02.the zip wire, John Prescott for the croquet, Seb Coe for the 800 metres
:22:02. > :22:05.and of course, William Hague for the judo and Ed Miliband for the
:22:05. > :22:11.high jump, my friends. That's what we're aiming for.
:22:11. > :22:16.APPLAUSE That's what we're after. That's
:22:17. > :22:21.what we're aiming for. We are going to do it, aren't we? We did it in
:22:21. > :22:23.London against the odds in 2012. And I think if we can get the
:22:24. > :22:29.message out over the next two years about what this Government is doing
:22:29. > :22:34.and why it's doing it, we can save this country from the two Eds, from
:22:34. > :22:39.the return of the two Eds, as we saved London from Livingstone in
:22:39. > :22:46.2012. We can deliver on jobs, on growth and we can make sure David
:22:46. > :22:48.Cameron can deliver on a sensible, moderate, one nation, compassate,
:22:48. > :22:54.Conservative administration through 2015 and beyond. Thank you very
:22:54. > :22:58.much. APPLAUSE
:22:58. > :23:03.Boris Johnson, rallying the faithful and loving it. On the
:23:03. > :23:09.conference floor we saw two of the party's big beasts, literally and
:23:09. > :23:12.figuretively. There was the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan
:23:12. > :23:15.Smith. First up the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. It was the
:23:15. > :23:23.Conservative Party that helped me get where I am today. Now I want
:23:23. > :23:29.others to have a chance in life. There is nothing more fundamental
:23:29. > :23:37.than supporting homeownership. We have re-invigorated the right to
:23:37. > :23:42.buy, reversing Labour's savage cuts. We're offering families up to
:23:42. > :23:47.�75,000 discount to buy their home. We're going to use that money from
:23:47. > :23:52.these additional sales to build more affordable housing. The right
:23:52. > :23:56.to buy gives something back to families who've worked hard, pay
:23:56. > :24:02.their rent and play by the rules. Across the country, Margaret
:24:02. > :24:07.Thatcher's right to buy has given people a sense of pride and
:24:07. > :24:14.ownership of where they live. Sadly, many Labour councils are keeping
:24:14. > :24:18.their tenants in the dark about these new extended rights. The
:24:18. > :24:24.council leaders have pledged to fight tooth and nail against the
:24:24. > :24:29.right to buy. You know, a right can only be exercised if you know about
:24:29. > :24:36.it. So, I can pledge that my department will be talking direct
:24:36. > :24:40.to tenants to inform them of their right to buy. We're also tackling a
:24:40. > :24:46.great injustice, discrimination against our armed forces. Precisely
:24:46. > :24:52.because they've served overseas, servicemen and servicewomen don't
:24:52. > :24:56.have a local connection under housing rules. Amazingly,
:24:56. > :24:59.immigrants, foreign immigrants, have been given greater priority on
:24:59. > :25:05.the housing waiting list than those who have fought for Queen and
:25:06. > :25:12.country. So we've changed the rules to give armed forces first priority
:25:12. > :25:16.on our first-time buyer and shared ownership schemes and we've given
:25:16. > :25:21.councils new freedoms to allocate social housing to those who have
:25:21. > :25:28.worked hard and given something back in society. From armed forces
:25:28. > :25:31.to community volunteers. You know, it's a very familiar story. In
:25:31. > :25:38.breach of planning laws, travellers move in over the bank holiday
:25:38. > :25:43.weekend and it takes years for councils to remove them. A small
:25:43. > :25:50.minority exploited Labour's human rights and equality rules and cost
:25:50. > :25:55.taxpayers millions of pounds. Such episodes give the whole travelling
:25:55. > :26:00.community a bad name and fuel community tensions. So I can
:26:00. > :26:07.announce today new powers for councils to literally stop these
:26:07. > :26:11.caravans in their tracks. A new, instant stop notice will allow
:26:11. > :26:19.councils to issue unlimited fines for those who ignore planning rules
:26:19. > :26:26.and defy the law. APPLAUSE
:26:26. > :26:33.Mr Miliband tells us that the Labour Party is now a one nation
:26:33. > :26:38.Tory party. One nation Tory, balls. LAUGHTER
:26:38. > :26:44.That will do his Ed in, there's no doubt about that. For those people
:26:44. > :26:49.who the last Government left behind, such as the long-term unemployed,
:26:49. > :26:52.we have created the Work Programme harnessing the knowledge, skills
:26:52. > :27:00.and experience of the voluntary and private sector, the Big Society in
:27:00. > :27:05.action. Organisations that will deliver. It will support some 3.3
:27:05. > :27:11.million claimants. Young unemployed people coming up to me, when Chris
:27:11. > :27:15.was there, with Chris as well, told me time and time again that their
:27:15. > :27:22.biggest barrier to employment is that no employer would hire them
:27:22. > :27:26.without work experience. Common sense really. But then they told us
:27:26. > :27:30.quite right, that they need work however to get the work experience
:27:30. > :27:34.that the employers won't hire them because they don't have it. In
:27:34. > :27:38.listening to them we created the work experience programme. Yet
:27:38. > :27:46.still to come, we haven't finished, universal credit, the next stage,
:27:46. > :27:50.the most extensive shake up of the benefits system for years.
:27:50. > :27:55.Replacing many out of work payments, the mess I talked about earlier,
:27:55. > :27:58.with a single, simple payment. It will be withdrawn at a constant
:27:58. > :28:03.rate so people know how much and how better off they will be for
:28:03. > :28:07.every extra hour that they work, to ensure that work always pays more
:28:07. > :28:13.than benefits. 2.8 million households will gain. The poorest
:28:13. > :28:17.will be the biggest gainers. 900,000 will be lifted out of
:28:17. > :28:21.poverty and it will save billions in fraud and error which is rife
:28:21. > :28:25.throughout the existing system. That's all for tonight. Some policy
:28:25. > :28:29.for the troops to cheer about, sell on the doorsteps. They need plenty
:28:29. > :28:32.of both. Of course, the blonde across the water, Boris Johnson,
:28:32. > :28:35.has arrived. Tomorrow at the conference we hear from the
:28:35. > :28:40.Education Secretary Michael Gove, from the home secretary, Theresa
:28:40. > :28:46.May and another blast of Boris. Is it just me, or is David Cameron's
:28:46. > :28:49.grin when he hears that name starting to look a bit fixed? Tune