Cameron's 'big society' vision pledges power for the people

DAVID Cameron sought to create a new dividing line in British politics yesterday as he promised a Government which would deliver radical change as power was transferred from the state to the people.

In his first conference speech as Prime Minister, the Tory leader defended the coalition Government's programme of spending cuts as necessary and dismissed Labour's plans for slower deficit reduction as "selfish and irresponsible".

A week earlier the new Labour leader Ed Miliband had claimed that all Mr Cameron offered was a "miserable and pessimistic view" on what Britain could achieve.

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However Mr Cameron's speech yesterday was not one focused on the need for cuts but on selling his vision for a big society to the nation.

He told the conference that although his party had not won an overall majority in the General Election, the result had still represented a victory for those who believed in the role of society over the state.

COALITION

Mr Cameron's acknowledgement of former Tory party leaders drew warm applause from the audience – especially when he revealed that Lady Thatcher would be celebrating her 85th birthday in Downing Street next week.

But the hall was muted as he paid tribute to Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg for his role in forming the coalition Government.

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Mr Cameron told his party that a Tory minority Government would have limped through Parliament and that the country had needed leadership and not partisanship after the election had delivered a hung parliament.

He said: "Nick Clegg is not just sitting in government trying to win a few concessions here and there.

"The Liberal Democrats are proper partners, getting stuck in, making big decisions, shaping what we do and taking responsibility.

"That's why we can form a proper government and you can be proud of what we've done together."

DEFICIT

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Mr Cameron was defiant in his defence on the spending cuts his Government is undertaking which he said everyone would feel the benefits from in the years to come.

He told his audience that Ministers had inherited catastrophic public finances and dismissed Labour's plan to halve the deficit in four years as failing to tackle the problem.

He said: "This year, we're going to spend 43bn on debt interest payments alone – 43bn, not to pay off the debt, just to stand still.

"Do you know what we could do with that sort of money? We could take 11 million people out of paying income tax. We could take every business in the country out of corporation tax.

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"That's why we have acted decisively – to stop pouring so much of your hard-earned money down the drain.

"And it's stopped us slipping into the nightmare they've seen in Greece, confidence falling, interest rates rising, jobs lost and in the end, not less but more drastic spending cuts than if you'd acted decisively in the first place."

He said that in the long run dealing with the deficit now would mean: "More money in your pocket. More investment in our businesses.

"Growing industries, better jobs, stronger prospects for our young people.

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"And the thing you can't measure but you just know it when you see it, the sense that our country is moving forwards once again."

CHILD BENEFIT

Mr Cameron's speech rounded off a conference in Birmingham which has been dominated by Mr Osborne's announcement on Monday that child benefit was to be abolished for higher-rate taxpayers.

The PM had been forced into a TV apology for failing to be upfront with voters about the need for the cut, which will cost three-child families with a parent earning over 44,000 around 2,500 a year from 2013.

But yesterday he mentioned the furore only in passing, telling activists: "As we work to balance the budget, fairness includes asking those on higher incomes to shoulder more of the burden than those on lower incomes.

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"I'm not saying this is going to be easy, as we've seen with child benefit this week. But it's fair that those with broader shoulders should bear a greater load."

LABOUR'S RECORD

His speech was at its most passionate as he delivered a stinging attack on Labour's record in power.

He told his party, the opposition had racked up more debt in 13 years in power than previous Governments had done in three centuries and he warned they "must not be allowed anywhere near the country's economy, ever ever again".

Mr Cameron also launched into a list as he told the Tories: "They left us with massive debts, the highest deficit, overstretched armed forces, demoralised public services, endless ridiculous rules and regulations and quangos and bureaucracy and nonsense.

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"They left us a legacy of spinning, smearing, briefing, back-biting, half-truths and cover-ups, patronising, old-fashioned, top-down, wasteful, centralising, inefficient, ineffective, unaccountable politics, 10p tax and 90 days detention, an election bottled and a referendum denied, gold sold at half price and council tax doubled, bad news buried and Mandelson resurrected, pension funds destroyed and foreign prisoners not deported, Gurkhas kept out and extremist preachers allowed in."

DEFENCE

The Prime Minister pledged to "take no risks with British security" as his Government looks for ways to slash billions of pounds from the defence budget.

However he said there would inevitably be "some big changes" a day ahead of a crucial meeting of his National Security Council which is expected to reach final agreements in some key areas.

Up to 10 per cent savings are being sought from the Ministry of Defence and Mr Cameron told the Conservative Party conference the UK would "match our commitments with the resources we've got".

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He also renewed his commitment to renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent system "based on" the Trident missile system and to withdrawing British combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2015.

Discovering the "catastrophic state" of defence spending under Labour was the biggest shock he faced after becoming Prime Minister, he said.

The UK would "not stay a day longer than we need to" in Afghanistan, he went on, paying tribute to those who have fought and died in the conflict.

"For those who have served, for those who bear the scars and for those who will never come home, this country has gratitude beyond words."

GROWTH

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The central theme through Mr Cameron's speech was that of the big society. He told his audience this was not just a cover for the cuts but how he believed Britain's economy could be restored.

He said: "Tackling the deficit is what we have to do.

"But transforming our country is what we passionately want to do. Here again we need the big society spirit – of activism and dynamism.

"It will be the doers and grafters, the inventors and the entrepreneurs who get this economy going.

"So we are acting to build a more entrepreneurial economy."