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Tough choices ahead, Tories warn Tough choices ahead, Tories warn
(about 2 hours later)
David Cameron has warned an incoming Tory government will have to make "tough choices" on public spending.David Cameron has warned an incoming Tory government will have to make "tough choices" on public spending.
And he said cutting public debt - not taxes - would be his top priority, in a keynote speech on the economy.And he said cutting public debt - not taxes - would be his top priority, in a keynote speech on the economy.
Mr Cameron said a "credible strategy" to bring the public finances under control was essential for recovery. He criticised "quango fat cats" and said he would examine the tax credit system - as some were reaching people earning more than £50,000 a year.
He also attacked the "culture of quango fat cats" and criticised the £417,581 salary of media watchdog Ofcom's chief executive. Labour says the Tories would cut spending, which would be "economic madness" in the middle of a recession.
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." In his speech Mr Cameron said a "credible strategy" to bring the public finances under control was essential for recovery.
I am a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. But in today's fiscal circumstances, the priority must go to debt reduction David Cameron 'False prospectus'
The Tory leader, who ditched the Conservatives' commitment to match Labour's spending plans in the light of the economic downturn, stressed that fiscal responsibility had to have a "social conscience."
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".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 David Cameron
He said without addressing public debt, 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."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.""Put simply, our overriding objective will need to change from sharing the proceeds of growth, to paying down our debt."
He told the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson: "I don't want to be elected on a false prospectus in promising things I cannot deliver."
Financial disciplineFinancial 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 addressing family breakdown, benefit dependency and failing education. "I want to say clearly to the British people, there are going to be tough decisions, we will take those decisions as compassionate Conservatives, not hatchet faced accountants."
But he said he would "examine" tax credits as he believed the original purpose of the system had been "confused to the point where tax credits can now reach people earning over £50,000 a year". He said he would not "balance the budget on the backs of the poor" and said plans to reduce public debt would be "fair for all".
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." Some things would have to be cut - such as the planned ID card scheme and a database of children's details.
Under a Conservative government the Treasury would be responsible for "driving financial discipline across government". David Cameron's plans for cuts in apprenticeships, housing and transport in the middle of a recession are economic madness Yvette Cooper
This would include clauses in civil servants' contracts compelling them to spend responsibly. The only spending plans he was committed to beyond 2010 were real-term increases in spending on the NHS and a cross-party agreement to boost overseas aid to 0.7% of GDP by 2013.
'Volatile' polls He was asked if schools or defence spending would be ring fenced but replied that while the Conservatives had announced what they would do this year they were not making "detailed announcements" for future years.
He also criticised the "vast quangocracy that has mushroomed under Labour" and said he would "call time on the culture of quango fat cats". 'Fat cats'
Mr Cameron said they had already identified money to provide new schools and said they would stick by their pledge to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m.
He said social reform plans would not be abandoned but said he would "examine" tax credits as he believed the original purpose of the system had been "confused to the point where tax credits can now reach people earning over £50,000 a year".
You cannot compare the salary of a part-time chairman of a narrowly focused organisation covering TV with that of the CEO of Ofcom Ofcom spokesman
He also 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 chairman of the Independent Television Commission - one of the regulators Ofcom replaced - in 2001.He compared the £417, 581 salary paid to the chief executive of the regulator Ofcom, with the £77,590 paid to the chairman of the Independent Television Commission - one of the regulators Ofcom replaced - 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. Mr Cameron said the Ofcom figure was "a staggering example" of the growth in public sector salaries.
In a question and answer session after the speech, Mr Cameron was asked if he was saying he would not ring fence spending on departments like education and defence after 2010. But Ofcom said it was not a fair comparison. A spokesman said: "You cannot compare the salary of a part-time chairman of a narrowly focused organisation covering TV with that of the CEO of Ofcom, a regulator covering the whole communications sector worth five times the value.
Mr Cameron said the Conservatives had announced what they would do this year - but were not making "detailed announcements" for future years. "In any case, the ITC's chief executive was earning £295,000 in 2002."
In an article for the Spectator on Thursday, Mr Cameron warned Conservatives the next general election, which must be called by June 2010, was "far from won" and said the party must offer voters a "positive mandate for change". The government criticised the Conservatives for sticking to their inheritance tax plans.
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 support for the Tories on 41% - 10 points ahead of Labour on 31%. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper said: "How can David Cameron talk about fairness when he is still committed to a tax cut for millionaires' estates, won't back our £1.2bn help for the unemployed to get back into work, and wants to cut Sure Start?
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. "David Cameron's plans for cuts in apprenticeships, housing and transport in the middle of a recession are economic madness that would cost us all more in the long run."
He said he believed Labour had a "compass" for the way ahead while the Conservatives did not "have the solutions the country needs".