Cameron must energise voters

DAVID Cameron faces a formidable task today when he responds to last week’s game-changing party conference speech by Ed Miliband in which the Labour leader promised a price freeze on household energy bills.

Even though the practicalities remain to be seen – there are fears that it will undermine investment in new energy schemes – Mr Miliband did recognise the extent to which household incomes are being squeezed.

The Tory leader knows this; some of his closest advisors have suggested that it would be strategically wrong for the Conservatives to side themselves with the “big six” energy firms who are persona non grata with so many.

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Yet here is the Prime Minister’s predicament. While he needs to extend his party’s support base and neuter the electoral threat that continues to be posed by Ukip, his Ministers have been saying this week that austerity will remain for a further seven years – despite the promise of a further freeze in fuel duty.

In that regard, any giveaways by the Tory leader are likely to be dismissed by some as electoral gimmicks – even more so in the context of America’s budget crisis.

However, if the Conservatives are to secure an outright majority at the next election, the PM needs to redouble his party’s efforts in the swathe of marginals along the M62 corridor.

That means using today’s speech to demonstrate how the whole country can benefit from the economic recovery – and why the Conservative approach is still a price worth paying.

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Significantly, its title is “the land of opportunity for all”. Yet, while there is growing evidence to suggest London and the Home Counties are on the road to recovery, regions like Yorkshire are still coming to terms with the scale of the public sector cuts that stem from Labour’s over-extravagance.

As such, Mr Cameron needs to prove that there is real substance to his carefully chosen theme. It does not matter whether he reads from an autocue or speaks from memory – his task is energising his party, and the whole country, with a clear vision that persuades companies to invest in Britain. Much rests on this, not least the outcome of the next election.

The priceless value of local produce

IT is thanks to the persuasive powers of the National Farmers’ Union that supermarkets such as Yorkshire-based Morrisons now place such a great premium on British produce, and work closely with more than 5,000 dairy, poultry and beef farmers.

As such, it would have been a surprise if the major retailer had not signed the NFU’s Back British Farming Charter – the latest phase of a long-running awareness campaign which has already compelled the major supermarkets to introduce “country of origin” labelling.

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It is important that the political pressure is maintained – it is an anomaly that Britain is importing more than £37bn of food and drink each year when there are scores of farmers across Yorkshire, and further afield, who are struggling to eke out a financial existence from

their land.

The reasons for this are three-fold. First, there are still countless public sector bodies – including schools and hospitals – who do not insist on local produce as part of their lucrative catering contracts. This mindset needs to be changed as a matter of urgency.

Second, supermarkets continue to squeeze farmers on cost, particularly suppliers of dairy produce. Is this justifiable, or necessary, when Morrisons still recorded a profit of £344m in its latest half-year results?

Third, the public need to realise that they, as consumers, are in a prime position to make a difference. They have the power en masse to tell supermarkets to promote local produce more prominently – or turn their backs on those restaurants, and eateries, which serve imported food in bulk.

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The NFU’s challenge is persuading other supermarkets to follow the example set by Morrisons and Waitrose.

If they have an appetite for change, they will not hesitate to do so.

Substance must trump snazzy style

THERESA May was not the person who was out of step when the Home Secretary delivered her keynote address to the Conservative conference in an eye-catching Vivienne Westwood trouser suit and a pair of snazzy shoes.

The fashion faux pas was committed by those political commentators who were more interested in Mrs May’s attire rather than the content of a hard-hitting speech in which she promised to repeal the Human Rights Act if her party wins the next election.

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What would their reaction have been if the Home Secretary had not looked the part, and was scruffily dressed, when she took to the podium?

It is regrettable that female politicians still face such scrutiny in contrast to their suited and booted male counterparts.

Yet, irrespective of wardrobe, Mrs May is earning a reputation as a politician who does put substance before style. Given the roll-call of former Home Secretaries who tried, and failed, to deport the terror suspect Abu Qatada, it is worth recalling the hate preacher’s words when the terror suspect finally left Britain: “Is crazy May flying with me?”