David Cameron ordered his Shadow Cabinet to review every Government programme and look for potential budget cuts yesterday, as he pledged to control spending “even in the teeth of hostility and protest.”
Closing the Conservative conference in Birmingham with a detailed and, at times, angry speech, he vowed to end the “spendaholic culture” of Gordon Brown’s Government, claiming it had led to massive debts and contributed to the “financial crisis and economic downturn” facing the country.
Setting out his case for taking over as Prime Minister, Mr Cameron warned it would be necessary to end any spending programme that could not be justified - and to delay any tax cuts, until the nation’s finances were secure.
He also staked his claim to Labour’s traditional territory, claiming his “modern Conservative Party” was now the party of the NHS.
As well as highlighting plans to reform the health service, he promised to strengthen families and improve school standards.
But he hinted that he would have to make unpopular decisions if he became Prime Minister, saying: “I’m a man with a plan, not a miracle cure.”
The Conservative leader said he was ready to lead Britain out of the financial crisis, but claimed that Gordon Brown’s “spending splurge” had left an incoming Government little room for manoeuvre because public debts had risen substantially.
Mr Cameron pledged to rein in borrowing, clamp down on Government waste and scrap “all those useless quangos and initiatives.”
He said: “So I will be adding all my shadow ministers to review all over again every spending programme, to see if it really is necessary, really justifiable in these new economic circumstances.”
The Conservative leader made it clear there would be no immediate tax cut, saying cuts could only come “once it’s responsible to do so, once we’ve made government live within its means.”
He said a Tory administration would have “the grit and determination to impose discipline on government spending, keep our nerve and say ‘no’ - even in the teeth of hostility and protest.”
Mr Cameron answered Gordon Brown’s claim that he lacked the experience needed to see the country through the financial crisis by claiming that what the nation really needed was “values and character”.
He said: “To do difficult things for the long-term, or even to get us through the financial crisis in the short term, what matters more than experience is character and judgement, and what you really believe needs to happen to make things right.
“I believe that to rebuild our economy, it’s not more of the same we need, but change.”
Mr Cameron added: “If we listened to this argument about experience, we would never have a change of government, ever . . . the risk is not in making a chance, the risk is in sticking with what you’ve got and expecting things to turn out differently.”
Despite dedicating much of his speech to the state of the economy, Mr Cameron returned to the theme he has concentrated on since become Conservative leader, the need to strengthen society.
He repeated his commitment to using the tax system to reward married couples, saying society should “cherish” families who stayed together.
And he restated his commitment to helping people who become involved in crime, which his political opponents have ridiculed as a “hug a hoody” policy.
Speaking to his audience at the Conservative conference, he said many of them probably believed in tougher punishments and longer prison sentences.
He said he agreed “to a degree”, but added: “Let’s recognise, once and for all, that such an approach only deals with the symptoms, picking up the pieces of failure that has gone before.”
Many offenders were involved in drugs, had not been educated or came from broken homes, he said.
“If we miss the context, miss the case, miss the background, we will never understand why crime is so high in this country.”
The Tory leader promised to reform schools, declaring “war” on teachers who refused to teach children spelling and grammar.
And he set out proposals to reform public services such as the NHS, angrily telling the story of a constituent who had attempted to complain about the treatment his wife received in hospital as she was dying, only to be referred to a range of different quangos.
Mr Cameron said: “We will not bring about long-term change if we think that all we have to do is stick with what Labour leaves us and just put in some more money.
“Instead of those targets and directives that interfere with clinical judgments, we’ll publish the information about what actually happens in the NHS.”
His Government would give patients “an informed choice”, he said, adding: “We are the party of the NHS in Britain today, and under my leadership that is how it’s going to stay.”
