08/10/2012 Today at Conference

Good evening and welcome to Today at Conference. This week we're in

Birningham for the Conservative Party Conference where, trailing in

the polls - and facing a Labour Party suddenly looking confident

and comfortable behind their leader - Cameron and co need a plan. The

answer: a hyperactive show of being in Government and in charge,

pouring out so many policies and promises their mums would probably

tell them to calm down. Two big rival attractions today. In the

blue corner: George Osborne, hoping to please the faithful, the public

and save money by getting even tougher on welfare. And in the

other blue corner, the man some here like - and the media loves -

to talk up as the right stuff for future leader. Elsewhere, the

minister David Cameron hoped to move from the welfare job, but who

wouldn't budge, Iain Duncan Smith laid into Labour and benefit

George Osborne's reputation in the media and among the Tory troops as

a master of strategy - a political game-changer - has been somewhat

tarnished since the Tories started their slide in the polls. To be

fair, he always expected a good strong dose of mid-term

unpopularity. Unfortunately for his party, that was one call he got

dead right. The prayer that's whispered here is that we may, just

may, be through the worst of the recession. But healing the economy

will take time, and today George Osborne was using his time on stage

to play to the gallery, in the hall and in the country, who want a

tougher welfare system. And on the way, doing his bit to reclaim the

"Party of One Nation" tag for the Tories. In 1972, when a

Conservative Prime Minister two years into office was faced with

economic problems and over-powerful unions, we buckled, and we gave up.

The result was higher inflation, more strikes and the three-day week.

A decade later, in 1981, when another Conservative prime minister

and Conservative Chancellor two years into office were faced with

economic problems and powerful unions, we did not give up, but

pressed on and overcame. APPLAUSE.

Today in the face of the great economic challenges of our age, we

hear resolve that we will press on, we shall overcome.

A APPLAUSE. We made a promise to the British

people that we would repair our badly broken economy. That promise

is being fulfilled. The deficit is down by a quarter. There are 1

million more private sector jobs. The economy is healing. The that

healing is taken longer than we hoped, because the damage was

greater than we feared. But let the message from this conference be

clear. We will finish the job that we have started.

And there is another promise we made. On the eve of the conference,

on the eve of the election, I told this conference we are all in this

together. It was more than a slogan. It spoke of our values and of our

intent. That there would be sacrifices and cuts that would be

tough to make. That everyone was going to have to play their part,

and that in return, we would build an economy that works for all. We

took the risk. Few political parties anywhere in the world are

prepared to take that risk before an election. Quite simply, we told

the people the truth about the hard road ahead. Some say we paid a

price for that. But of this I am sure. Our country would have been

all but ungovernable if we had not been straight with the public

before asking them to cast their So, three years later, my message

remains the same. We are not going to get through this as a country if

we set one group against another, if we divide, denounce and demonise.

We need an effort from each and every one, one nation working hard

together, we are still all in this together. Let's be clear. Those

with the most should contribute the most.

APPLAUSE. Each one of my budgets has

increased taxes overall on the very richest. In every single year of

this parliament, the rich will pay a greater share of our nation's tax

revenues than in any one of the 13 years that Labour were in office.

APPLAUSE. And we have achieved that while

getting rid of a cripplingly uncompetitive 50p rate that raised

It is a completely phoney conception of fairness that you

stick with a tax rate you know raises no money, that you know

drives away jobs and investment, that you know weakens the economy

just to say you have kicked the rich. The people who pay the price

for that are not the rich, but the poor are looking for work. And

there is nothing fair about that. It is riser ball to believe that

you can become a party of One nation simply by repeating the

words one nation over and over again. Of course, we all know why

he did it. The Labour leader wants to pretend he is moving to the

centre when all can see he is But as it is revealed as an empty

gesture, people will be more let down by the reality than they were

attracted by the pretence. You can imagine Benjamin Disraeli's

disappointment. Moments after the joy of being told that there really

is reincarnation, he discovers he has come back as Ed Miliband.

LAUGHTER. To the people of Britain, I say

this. Whoever you are, wherever you come from. If you are working for a

better future, we are on your side. Now, I know our plans have been

criticised, but the critics don't seem to agree. Some say we are

going too fast. We should be spending and borrowing even more.

Their curious suggestion is that by borrowing more, we would borrow

less. In fact, in good times and in bad, in boom and in bust, they

always want to spend and borrow more. And they think there is such

thing as a free lunch. They think that extra borrowing can pay for

temporary tax cuts in attempt to put money in the pockets of

consumers. But the extra borrowing would come at the cost of higher

interest rates, and everyone would know that there would be higher

taxes to pay for it coming down the track. Our detailed tax and

spending plans have brought us stability, but they only cover the

next two years. And we must now take some very serious decisions

about what we do after that. Let me tell you about my approach to these

decisions. Are published plans already require us to find �16

billion of further savings. As I have said, the broadest shoulders

will continue to bear the greatest burden. But I am not prepared to

contemplate things that make no economic sense and destroy jobs. So

we won't have some kind of temporary wealth tax. Even Dennis

he thought that was a bad idea. Our future lies with wealth being

something that is not penalised but encouraged. And nor were like tax

people's homes. -- nor will I tax people's homes. It will be sold as

a mansion tax, but once the tax inspector had his foot in the door,

you would soon find most of the homes in the country label the

mansion, homes people have worked hard to afford an already paid

taxes on. It is not a mention tax, it is a homes tax, and this party

of home ownership will have no truck with it. In a government,

this party is achieving something invaluable. We are destroying the

left wing myth that the success of a public service is measured only

by how many pounds we spend on it, not by of whether it heels are sick

or educate our children or makes our streets safe. This is because

we're doing it carefully, and doing it right. And if we want to go on

doing that, and limit the cuts to departments, then we have to find

greater savings in the welfare bill. �10 billion a of welfare savings by

the first full year of the next Parliament. Iain Duncan Smith and I

are committed to finding the savings while delivering the most

radical reform of our welfare system for generations with the

Universal Credit, so that work always pays. Because it is not just

about the money. It comes back to fairness and enterprise. How can we

justify the incomes of those out of work rising faster than the incomes

of those in work? How can we justify giving flat to young people

who have never worked when working people twice their age are still

living with their parents because they can't afford their first home?

APPLAUSE. How can we justify a system where

people in work have to consider the full financial costs of having

another child, while those out of work don't? Our entire economic

policy is an enterprise policy. We will be the government for people

who aspire, like the people who start a new business, and who work

in that business and want to own shares in it. So today we are

setting out proposals for a radical change to employment law. I want to

thank Adrian Beecroft for the work he has done in this area.

APPLAUSE. This idea is particularly suited to

new businesses starting up and small and medium-sized firms. It is

a voluntary three-way deal. You, the company, give your employees

shares in the business. You, the employee, replace your all rights

of unfair dismissal and redundancy with new rights of ownership. And

what will the Government do? We will charge no capital gains tax at

all on the profit you make on your shares. 0% capital gains tax for

Get a shares and become owners of the company work for. Owners,

workers and the taxman, all in it together, workers of the world

George Osborne speaking earlier. Well, straight after the

Chancellor's speech, Andrew Neil spoke to the Treasury minister

Sajid Javid. The Prime Minister spoke yesterday

on the BBC, saying that he was rebalancing the economy away from

debt. I will say that again. Rebalancing the economy away from

debt. In that rebalancing, can you tell how much he has cut our debt?

Andrew, you will know the first step to dealing with the national

debt, which under the previous government tripled, is to deal with

the deficit. That is the amount that we borrow each year that is

added to the debt. The important thing is that the deficit is

falling, and then the last two years, deficit is down by a quarter.

But it is rising this year so far. I want to stick with debt. We don't

talk about is enough. You will know that the figures for debt is that

you inherited and national debt of about �650 billion. By 2015, it

will be 1.4 trillion pounds. In other words, it will double under

your watch. Can you explain to our viewers and that is rebalancing the

I think as the Chancellor just said in his speech, you can't turn

around a deficit which is equal to 10% of GDP, the largest of any

industrialised country, overnight. It has to be a gradual process.

That's what we've been doing. That's why we cut it by a quarter.

The Chancellor is right to continue with that strategy. The first step

to lowering debt so to lower the deficit. We need to do that to

build business confidence. eventual debt was around �900

billion, it was about �650 billion before the ests to stop the banking

system collapsing. My point is it's continuing to rise to reach �1.4

trillion. I don't understand how that's a rebalancing this side of

2015. I would be happy to listen to an explanation. Could we now both

admit, because we know it to be true that you will fail to hit your

target of reducing debt by 2015? have a clear target. We set that

out in the previous budget and the budgets before that. Whether we hit

that target or not, that is really a judgment for the independent OBR.

Because it's independent, unlike previous governments where,

especially under Gordon Brown, he would just fiddle the in urz to

suit whatever he wants to say, this Government can't do that. We set up

an independent process. We'll see what they say in December. I don't

understand how you're make prog gres on rebalancing the economy --

making progress on rebalancing the economy away from debt. Let me

explain. That the deficit is the key part to getting the debt under

control right at the beginning. The deficit is the amount we add to the

debt each year. That deficit was � 159 billion when the Government

came to power. It is now, for the last fiscal year �119 billion.

Sajid Javid talking to Andrew Neil earlier. There's no doubt who stole

the show today, Boris. You just have to hear it spoke ton get a

smile on your face. He emerged from that media bun fight at Birmingham

New Street and made his way here. He performed as only Boris knows

how. I read this morning in the Daily Telegraph that a London

squirrel has savaged a member of a boy band, of whom I've never

previously heard, called One Direction. Have you heard this? Is

anybody aware of this fact? And somehow put his leg out of action.

Unbelievable. One nation, One Direction, one squirrel...

LAUGHTER One leg out of action. And of

course, I have one leg left, I have every sympathy with the chap in

question and his injuries, but I looked at that story and reflected

on what an amazing index it was of the quality of life in London. Not

only do we have such beautiful green space, but such healthy,

well-fed, dynamic and musically discerning squirrels.

LAUGHTER APPLAUSE

While we're talking of unexpected conflict, with otherwise innocuous

and friendly creatures, I want to say something now about being mayor

at a time when my friends, my colleagues are in power in

Westminster. And doing, in my view, a fantastic job. Because it is

sometimes... APPLAUSE

It is sometimes inevitable that the mayor of a great city will find

himself saying things that seem to be at variance or ahead of national

policy. Yes, of course, I'm going to continue to fight what I think

might be ill conceived Lib Dem plans for a mansion tax, when I

read about it in the papers or indeed any other wealth taxes that

could disproportionately affect London, the motor of the UK economy.

Of course, I'm going to continue to lobby for a long overdue solution

to our aviation capacity problems. APPLAUSE

But no-one, no-one, as a result of that, no-one as a result of that

should have any cause to doubt my admiration for David Cameron. Let

me remind you, I was one... APPLAUSE

You will know that I was one of the first people, on that afternoon in

2005, long before Dave announced his candidacy, I rang him up when I

think the number of cam roons could have comfortably fit into a

telephone box had one of them not been Nick Soames. I believe in

tough circumstances, he George Osborne, the rest of the Government

are doing exactly what is needed for this country and to clear up

the mess that Labour left. APPLAUSE

Absolutely right. When I look ahead, I see only one cloud on the horizon,

and that is the possibility that while I am still mayor, no matter

how remote we may think it is, that the two Eds, Balls and Miliband,

could get back into power. No! Unchastened, unpunished, unchanged

in their basic view of what they think the country needs, either

much higher taxes, much more central Government control or much

more borrowing and spending or probably a combination of both.

They got us into this mess. They squandered the cash. They haven't

shown the slightest sign of contrition. Can I ask you - why

would anyone trust them to govern this country again?

APPLAUSE I sometimes think after the great

success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the only way to

keep people amused, we need more things, what's next? Well obviously

one thing we have considered extensively is a politicians

Olympics, where you'd have Jeremy Hunt wanging the bell end. Me for

the zip wire, John Prescott for the croquet, Seb Coe for the 800 metres

and of course, William Hague for the judo and Ed Miliband for the

high jump, my friends. That's what we're aiming for.

APPLAUSE That's what we're after. That's

what we're aiming for. We are going to do it, aren't we? We did it in

London against the odds in 2012. And I think if we can get the

message out over the next two years about what this Government is doing

and why it's doing it, we can save this country from the two Eds, from

the return of the two Eds, as we saved London from Livingstone in

2012. We can deliver on jobs, on growth and we can make sure David

Cameron can deliver on a sensible, moderate, one nation, compassate,

Conservative administration through 2015 and beyond. Thank you very

much. APPLAUSE

Boris Johnson, rallying the faithful and loving it. On the

conference floor we saw two of the party's big beasts, literally and

figuretively. There was the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan

Smith. First up the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. It was the

Conservative Party that helped me get where I am today. Now I want

others to have a chance in life. There is nothing more fundamental

than supporting homeownership. We have re-invigorated the right to

buy, reversing Labour's savage cuts. We're offering families up to

�75,000 discount to buy their home. We're going to use that money from

these additional sales to build more affordable housing. The right

to buy gives something back to families who've worked hard, pay

their rent and play by the rules. Across the country, Margaret

Thatcher's right to buy has given people a sense of pride and

ownership of where they live. Sadly, many Labour councils are keeping

their tenants in the dark about these new extended rights. The

council leaders have pledged to fight tooth and nail against the

right to buy. You know, a right can only be exercised if you know about

it. So, I can pledge that my department will be talking direct

to tenants to inform them of their right to buy. We're also tackling a

great injustice, discrimination against our armed forces. Precisely

because they've served overseas, servicemen and servicewomen don't

have a local connection under housing rules. Amazingly,

immigrants, foreign immigrants, have been given greater priority on

the housing waiting list than those who have fought for Queen and

country. So we've changed the rules to give armed forces first priority

on our first-time buyer and shared ownership schemes and we've given

councils new freedoms to allocate social housing to those who have

worked hard and given something back in society. From armed forces

to community volunteers. You know, it's a very familiar story. In

breach of planning laws, travellers move in over the bank holiday

weekend and it takes years for councils to remove them. A small

minority exploited Labour's human rights and equality rules and cost

taxpayers millions of pounds. Such episodes give the whole travelling

community a bad name and fuel community tensions. So I can

announce today new powers for councils to literally stop these

caravans in their tracks. A new, instant stop notice will allow

councils to issue unlimited fines for those who ignore planning rules

and defy the law. APPLAUSE

Mr Miliband tells us that the Labour Party is now a one nation

Tory party. One nation Tory, balls. LAUGHTER

That will do his Ed in, there's no doubt about that. For those people

who the last Government left behind, such as the long-term unemployed,

we have created the Work Programme harnessing the knowledge, skills

and experience of the voluntary and private sector, the Big Society in

action. Organisations that will deliver. It will support some 3.3

million claimants. Young unemployed people coming up to me, when Chris

was there, with Chris as well, told me time and time again that their

biggest barrier to employment is that no employer would hire them

without work experience. Common sense really. But then they told us

quite right, that they need work however to get the work experience

that the employers won't hire them because they don't have it. In

listening to them we created the work experience programme. Yet

still to come, we haven't finished, universal credit, the next stage,

the most extensive shake up of the benefits system for years.

Replacing many out of work payments, the mess I talked about earlier,

with a single, simple payment. It will be withdrawn at a constant

rate so people know how much and how better off they will be for

every extra hour that they work, to ensure that work always pays more

than benefits. 2.8 million households will gain. The poorest

will be the biggest gainers. 900,000 will be lifted out of

poverty and it will save billions in fraud and error which is rife

throughout the existing system. That's all for tonight. Some policy

for the troops to cheer about, sell on the doorsteps. They need plenty

of both. Of course, the blonde across the water, Boris Johnson,

has arrived. Tomorrow at the conference we hear from the

Education Secretary Michael Gove, from the home secretary, Theresa

May and another blast of Boris. Is it just me, or is David Cameron's

grin when he hears that name starting to look a bit fixed? Tune