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Video: Cameron condemns 'bashing bankers' tactics
DAVID Cameron today hit out at those who have been "bashing" bankers for sparking global financial turmoil.
The Tory leader insisted he would not seek "cheap headlines" by blaming greedy City practices for the current crisis.
But speaking as it emerged that Bradford & Bingley was set to be taken into public ownership, he also warned that the Tories would not sign "blank cheques" for the taxpayer to bail out failing institutions.
"What you won't hear from me this week is the sort of easy cheap lines beating up on the market system, bashing financiers," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.
"It might get you some easy headlines, but it is not going to pay a single mortgage, it's not going to save a single job."
Mr Cameron denied he was steering clear of criticising bankers and hedge fund managers because they contributed heavily to Tory coffers.
"They don't have any influence on my policy at all," he said.
He said there had been "failure of regulation" in the financial sector, and the Government had been wasting time rather than reforming the system.
"I think that we have had a failure of regulation and we have had a debt boom that went on for far too long and it reached into parts of the economy it shouldn't have done.
"The whole thing has become infected and it has got to be dealt with."
He added: "What matters most of all is safeguarding the depositors in a bank like Bradford & Bingley."
Mr Cameron stressed that the Opposition would act "responsibly" and help the Government deal with the crisis.
But he said nationalising institutions such as B&B and Northern Rock left the taxpayer with the "whole risk".
Instead, the Bank of England should be empowered to help struggling banks through without leaving the Treasury liable for billions of pounds in debt.
"I'm not signing any blank cheques," he said.
Mr Cameron insisted Gordon Brown was a "broken" Prime Minister who had been forced to spend Labour's conference last week papering over internal divisions rather than dealing with the economic crisis.
The Conservatives had been offering to work with Mr Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling to bolster regulation and protect depositors, but not enough had been done, he said.
"What have these people been doing for a year?" Mr Cameron added.
Mr Cameron said action had to be taken where the failure of institutions would present a "systemic risk".
But he added: "Taxpayers are facing an incredible difficult time... I don't want us to turn round to the tax payer and say you have got to pick up every last bill for every bad banking decision made by every last financier. That is not right."
Mr Cameron acknowledged that he could not rule out tax rises if a Conservative government comes to power.
But he insisted that his policy of "sharing the proceeds of growth" meant that he should be able to reduce taxes over the longer term.
Asked by Andrew Marr if he could rule out tax increases, Mr Cameron said: "If we win the election, we are clearly going to face an extremely tough time. No responsible opposition can ever rule things out. Of course I can't rule that out.
"But if we hold down the growth in public spending over a whole economic cycle, actually we should be able to give people back some of their hard-earned money."
Mr Cameron said he stood by his pledge to stick to the Government's spending plans to 2011.
But he said that recent spending pledges by Gordon Brown meant that the Prime Minister may not be able to keep to his own "realistic and tight" limit of around 2% annual growth in the budget.
"He (Mr Brown) is pulling the walls of the building around him down onto the ground," said Mr Cameron. "We will stick to those spending plans. My worry is whether he will."
He shrugged off pressure from the right of his party to promise voters up-front tax cuts ahead of the election, insisting that he won the battle on that issue three years ago and that subsequent events had "vindicated" his decision.
Under his plans, a new independent Office of Budget Responsibility would issue regular reports on whether the Government is reducing the budget and paying back national debt, while the Bank of England would have greater power to "call time on debt in the British economy" by telling banks to cut their lending, said Mr Cameron.
This would provide an effective rod for the backs of future Tory prime ministers and chancellors, who would be unable to ignore the independent body's findings, he said.
"We have had 14 years of economic growth and yet we have got the biggest budget deficit inn the industrialised world, apart from Egypt, Pakistan and Hungary," said the Tory leader.
"That is a disgrace and that must never, ever be allowed to happen again.
"We have had a chancellor and prime minister for 11 years who boasted about his fiscal rules. The fact is they have failed. Here we are at the end of 14 years of growth with an enormous deficit - by definition they have failed.
"What we need is independent judgment of how we are doing and a very strong mandate for getting back to a balanced budget."
Mr Cameron insisted he was not complacent about the next election, and said this week's conference in Birmingham gave the Tories an opportunity to show they are "a united and very strong alternative to this Government".
He brushed off the impact of a set of polls which have shown Labour halving the Tory lead following Mr Brown's speech to conference in Manchester last week.
"Polls come and polls go, but what I would say is that after three years, the Conservative Party is in a stronger position, is more united, has a better team of leaders and a better platform of policies and is leading the debate on so many issues and is there ready as an alternative if people want to get rid of this Government," he said.
Mr Cameron said his wife Samantha was "not planning" to emulate Sarah Brown by introducing her husband onto stage for his keynote speech on Wednesday.
And he said he would enthusiastically welcome the chance to take part in a head-to-head televised debate with Mr Brown in the upcoming election, along the lines of the US presidential candidates' debate between Barack Obama and John McCain.
He backed shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve, who said that Britain had been damaged by the policy of multiculturalism.
"State multiculturalism is wrong," said Mr Cameron. "The idea that we keep people separate, I think, is a bad approach.
"Trying to integrate more, trying to bring people together more, to build a strong British identity for the future, I think that's absolutely right."
He said Tory plans to allow churches, voluntary groups and private schools to open up schools within the state sector amounted to a "revolution" in education, which would open up the state monopoly and give parents choice without having to pay fees.
But he declined to estimate how many of the new schools would open, saying that was not a matter for ministers but would depend on how many groups came forward with proposals.
He restated his promise to hold a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty if it has not been ratified by all 27 member states by the time Tories come to power.
And he added: "If it has been ratified and implemented by everyone, we wouldn't let matters stand and we will set out very clearly what we will do."
Full coverage of the Bradford & Bingley crisis
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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