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Election 'far from won' - Cameron Tough choices ahead, Tories warn
(about 2 hours later)
David Cameron has warned Conservatives the next general election is "far from won" and said the party must offer voters a "positive mandate for change". David Cameron has warned an incoming Tory government will have to make "tough choices" on public spending.
In an article for the Spectator, he said they were not just "sitting back waiting for Labour to lose". And he said cutting public debt - not taxes - will be his top priority, in a keynote speech on the economy.
Instead they offered a "radical" idea - a "massive transfer of power" from Whitehall to people and communities. Mr Cameron said a "credible strategy" to bring the public finances under control was essential for recovery.
He also attacked the "culture of quango fat cats" and criticised the £417,581 salary of media watchdog Ofcom's chief executive.
Mr Cameron, who has ditched the Conservatives' commitment to match Labour's spending plans in the light of the economic downturn, stressed that his party would not behave like "turbo-charged, flint-faced accountants" and fiscal responsibility had to have a "social conscience."
I am a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. But in today's fiscal circumstances, the priority must go to debt reduction David Cameron
As official data suggested the UK's budget deficit had widened to £8.99bn in February, Mr Cameron said an incoming Conservative government would have to deal with "the worst set of public figures in our peacetime history".
He said without addressing public debt, investor confidence would be undermined and it could lead to a sharp increase in the cost of borrowing - meaning higher interest payments on mortgages and business loans.
"I am a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. But in today's fiscal circumstances, the priority must go to debt reduction," he said.
"Put simply, our overriding objective will need to change from sharing the proceeds of growth, to paying down our debt."
Financial discipline
He said social reform plans would not be abandoned and controlling public spending in the long term would be achieved by reducing demands on the state by reducing family breakdown, benefit dependency and failing education.
A "clear and compassionate philosophy" would underpin his plans but he warned: "There will be tough decisions to make, and there will be people to disappoint. I would never claim that controlling public spending can be a pain-free process."
Under a Conservative government the Treasury would be responsible for "driving financial discipline across government".
This would include "transparent" budgets for all spending over £25,000 and clauses in civil servants' contracts compelling them to spend responsibly.
'Volatile' polls
He also criticised the "vast quangocracy that has mushroomed under Labour" and said he would "call time on the culture of quango fat cats".
He compared the £417, 581 salary paid to the chief executive of the regulator Ofcom, with the £77,590 paid to the head of its predecessor, the Independent Television Commission, in 2001.
Mr Cameron said increases in salaries for doctors and nurses was "money well spent" but the Ofcom figure was "a staggering example" of the growth in public sector salaries.
In an article for the Spectator on Thursday, Mr Cameron warned Conservatives the next general election was "far from won" and said the party must offer voters a "positive mandate for change".
The election must be called by June 2010. A YouGov poll on Sunday suggested the Tories had a 10% lead.The election must be called by June 2010. A YouGov poll on Sunday suggested the Tories had a 10% lead.
Mr Cameron said the main idea on which the party would campaign would be to give people power over their own lives.
'Obscenely bloated'
He said people were being "smothered by a stultifying blanket of bureaucracy, bossiness and the arrogant belief that the political elite ... really do know best".
He criticised "Labour's obscenely bloated quango state" and said more progress could be made when people were trusted to do things themselves.
One example he gave was efforts to tackle climate change - while the government had made "endless" announcements and employed "armies" of analysts and inspectors, carbon emissions had gone up.
He contrasted that with examples of pilot schemes were people were provided with information about the amount of energy they used at home - then went on to reduce it by at least 10%.
If we achieved that kind of change in Britain, we would save the amount of electricity produced by two large nuclear power stations David Cameron
"If we achieved that kind of change in Britain, we would save the amount of electricity produced by two large nuclear power stations," he said.
Mr Cameron has previously announced plans for a "smart grid" and smart meters in homes - which monitor kitchen appliances every second, altering the amount of power that is sent down the line to ensure only the minimum necessary is used.
In the article he said efforts to tackle poverty through central government programmes and cash had still led to the "poorest getting poorer".
'Pretty optimistic'
Instead he said there was a need to understand the causes of poverty and give people and local organisations powers to "help themselves and each other".
And he said the party would set out next week how it planned to properly regulate capitalism "without crushing its wealth-creating benefits".
On Sunday Douglas Alexander, the minister in charge of Labour's election planning, was asked about a YouGov poll in the Sunday Times that put the Tories ten points ahead of Labour on 41%.On Sunday Douglas Alexander, the minister in charge of Labour's election planning, was asked about a YouGov poll in the Sunday Times that put the Tories ten points ahead of Labour on 41%.
He told the BBC the polls were "very volatile" at the moment and he remained "pretty optimistic" about Labour's chances at the next general election.He told the BBC the polls were "very volatile" at the moment and he remained "pretty optimistic" about Labour's chances at the next general election.
He said he believed Labour had a "compass" for the way ahead while the Conservatives did not "have the solutions the country needs".He said he believed Labour had a "compass" for the way ahead while the Conservatives did not "have the solutions the country needs".
The election is widely expected to be held in spring 2010, but there have been persistent suggestions that a successful G20 summit at the start of April could lead to Mr Brown deciding to call an election in May - or to coincide with the European elections - in June this year.