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  • Michael Howard – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Michael Howard – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Michael Howard, the then Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Conservative Party conference on 8 October 2003.

    Introduction

    I want to begin by thanking my team. Howard Flight, Stephen O’Brien and Mark Prisk in the Commons; Maurice Saatchi and Judith Wilcox in the Lords; Theresa Villiers in the European Parliament; and Mark Hoban, our Whip, have all worked hard to help me expose Gordon Brown’s mismanagement of our economy. I am very grateful to them all.

    Of course if you listen to Labour ministers, things have never been more rosy.

    And let’s give credit where credit’s due.

    It’s true that, where they have stopped taking the decisions, like setting interest rates, the decisions have generally been the right ones.

    But where they’ve taken the decisions, they’ve generally been wrong. And our job is to hold them to account.

    Public Services

    Let’s start with our public services.

    In Bournemouth, Labour promised a new Jerusalem for our public services. Just give us more time, they said.

    Yet in the very same week, a 72 year old pensioner won a court case against the Government because she had been forced by the length of waiting lists to have her operation abroad.

    That is the reality behind the rhetoric.

    Six and a half years. And still no delivery.

    · 60 tax rises, but one in three children leaving primary school unable to read, write and count properly.

    · 60 tax rises, but crime up by almost 800,000 in the last five years.

    · 60 tax rises, but almost a million people on waiting lists, and 300,000 people without any health insurance having to pay for their

    treatment every year – three times as many as when Labour took office.

    Is it any wonder that Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: `When we talked about delivery, that may have been something of a mistake’?

    Yes – she did say it.

    You see sometimes they do tell the truth – by accident.

    As we have seen from the Hutton inquiry, this is a Government that only tells the truth by accident.

    Is it any wonder that they’ve lost the trust of the people?

    Tax Rises

    Tony Blair told the British people he had `no plans to increase tax at all’.

    Now, every year they say higher taxes are needed for better public services.

    But every year we just get the higher taxes.

    · 60 tax rises since 1997.

    · 50 per cent more tax than we paid in 1997.

    What does it actually mean for the people of our country?

    It means:

    · Higher taxes for families buying a home.

    · Higher taxes on petrol for people driving to work or to school.

    · Higher taxes on energy for industry trying to create wealth and jobs.

    · Higher taxes on those taking out insurance, including pensioners taking out medical insurance.

    · Higher taxes on IT entrepreneurs and on charities.

    · Higher taxes for getting married.

    · Higher taxes on jobs.

    · Higher Council Taxes

    Tax rises this year alone cost a typical family £568 a year.

    Labour’s Council Tax rises are driving those people on fixed incomes like pensioners into real hardship. Labour talk about relieving poverty – the sad truth is they are creating poverty.

    Is it any wonder that they’ve lost the trust of the people?

    The fact is that people are fed up.

    Fed up with endless tax rises.

    Fed up with endless promises.

    And fed up with failure to deliver.

    Waste and Lack of Reform

    And why is it that Labour are taxing and spending and failing?

    The answer is simple.

    They promised reform.

    They’ve talked about reform.

    But they have failed to deliver reform.

    Without reform of our public services, the extra money Labour have spent just hasn’t made the difference.

    That is the central failure of this Government. They have spent the money – taxpayers’ money – but they’ve not carried out the reform.

    And here are some facts you won’t find in Labour speeches:

    · More bureaucrats than beds in the NHS.

    · A 22 per cent rise in health spending leading to a 2 per cent rise in treatments.

    · And spending on running government departments up by £6.7 billion a year, nearly 50 per cent more than in 1997 – more than double the annual capital budget of every school in the country.

    The cost of running the Treasury alone has doubled.

    Gordon Brown

    It can’t all have been spent on Gordon Brown’s campaign drinks parties.

    Last Monday he delivered his campaign speech.

    In one of his less coded sentences, he told the Labour Conference that ‘TB’ was `a curable disease’ – and that he was the cure.

    By Wednesday he was looking much less hopeful.

    In two days flat he went from the Incredible Hulk to the Incredible Sulk.

    From Brown to green with Blair in between.

    Further Tax Rises

    Now. I want to be perfectly honest with you this afternoon.

    There are splits on tax.

    Peter Hain says Labour should put up taxes.

    Gordon Brown and Tony Blair want him to shut up.

    They all want to put up taxes. They just cant agree on whether they should admit it.

    That’s the real split on tax.

    And that’s what the media should be concentrating on.

    Everybody knows that, under Labour, taxes will rise again.

    Tax rises are at the heart of Labour. Old Labour. New Labour. Any Labour.

    They have put up taxes.

    They are putting up taxes.

    And because of the failure to reform the public services, they will put up taxes for as long as they’re in power.

    Liberal Democrats and Tax

    Of course it’s not only Labour that wants higher taxes.

    Anything Labour can do, the Liberal Democrats can do worse.

    Let me tell you of the taxes they want to pile on.

    · A regional income tax.

    · New regional NI contributions.

    · A new higher rate of income tax.

    · VAT on new homes.

    · A new Development Tax.

    · New toll taxes.

    · New parking taxes.

    · An energy tax.

    · A new capital gains tax on death.

    I haven’t finished yet!

    · A water tax.

    · A higher Landfill Tax.

    · More powers for the European Union to levy taxes.

    · And last but not least they want a local income tax – meaning families with two people at work will see bills soar.

    Of course they don’t spell all this out in their leaflets!

    One Liberal Democrat activist was seen distributing a leaflet which said:

    `Your local Liberal Democrats have succeeded in having speed humps removed from your street’.

    An alert resident said to him:

    `Hang on a minute. Weren’t you distributing a leaflet six months ago which said “Your local Liberal Democrats have succeeded in having speed humps installed in your street”?`

    The Liberal Democrat looked round furtively to make sure no-one was listening and said:

    `You know. You’re the very first person who’s noticed’

    It’s an absolutely true story. The alert local resident is closely connected with our favourite newspaper – the Guardian. He’s in the hall this afternoon.

    Pensioners

    Taxpayers are not the only people counting the cost of Labour’s broken promises.

    Gordon Brown’s pension tax has cost 12 million savers on average around £400 a year.

    A typical pension saver now retires on just half of what he or she would have received five years ago. Yes. Half!

    In opposition, Gordon Brown told the Labour Party Conference `I want the next Labour Government to achieve … the end of the means test for our elderly people’.

    But almost 6 in 10 pensioners are subject to the means test as a direct result of the changes he has introduced.

    In all up to 25 million people could soon be in households on means-tested benefits.

    And that rise in means-testing sends out loud and clear this signal: the more you save, the less you’ll get.

    In opposition, Labour said ‘Britain needs a `savings culture’.

    But the amount people save has halved since Labour came to power.

    Is it any wonder that Labour have lost the trust of the people?

    Labour’s Broken Promises: the Economy

    And what an example Gordon Brown is setting!

    At the last election he said it was partly by cutting interest payments on government debt that he was able to fund health and education.

    But just look at him now!

    Two years ago he forecast borrowing at £30 billion. Last year his forecast went up to £72 billion. This year it went up to £118 billion – a fourfold increase in two years!

    High taxes and falling real incomes mean that families are borrowing more too.

    Taken together, families and Government are now borrowing more than 15 per cent of the nation’s income – the highest amount since records began.

    Yet this is the Chancellor who said `you cannot build the New Jerusalem on a mountain of debt’.

    This is the Chancellor who said productivity growth was a ‘fundamental yardstick of economic performance’.

    But, Britain’s productivity growth has almost halved under Labour.

    This is the Chancellor who described investment as the `key to future economic success’.

    But business investment has suffered its biggest fall for almost a decade.

    Is it any wonder that they’ve lost the trust of the people?

    Roadshow

    Now everyone knows that, since Sweden said no to the euro, British membership this side of an election is a dead duck.

    But do you remember the roadshows Tony Blair promised, to sell the euro?

    We haven’t seen much of those so we’ve been asking a few questions.

    · Tony Blair told Parliament there had been 60 events.

    · But Number Ten said none involved him. And none was planned.

    · The Treasury said they were too many events to list. But they had all been low-key. There was no specific start date. And they couldn’t actually identify any of them.

    · The Foreign Office said they hadn’t even started.

    · Then finally the Minister for Europe said it was never meant to be a literal roadshow. That, he said, was just a figure of speech.

    Just like all this Government’s promises. Never meant to be taken literally. Just figures of speech.

    Lessons for Conservatives

    But there are lessons for us in what has happened to Labour.

    Lessons on how we should approach government. Lessons for us in opposition too. Lessons we’ve learned under Iain’s leadership.

    He and I know we must only make promises we can keep.

    Only pledge what we can deliver.

    Let me make one thing clear.

    We believe in low taxes.

    We are the Party of low taxes.

    All our instincts are for low taxes.

    We know that under Labour, people and businesses have been hammered by higher taxes, and too much of their money is being wasted. We know that people have worked hard for their money, and that Governments must spend it wisely.

    We can and we will reform public services. We will always be a lower tax government than Labour. And we do plan to cut taxes.
    But unlike Labour’s, our plans will be carefully costed. And unlike Labour’s, they will be clear for all to see.

    Their overhyped rhetoric and overblown promises, their `figures of speech’, are not for us. That is not our way.

    Fair Deal

    Under the Conservatives, as Iain has always insisted, a fair deal on tax and improving the public services will go hand in hand.

    Because reforming and improving the public services is the only way to break Labour’s vicious circle of ever higher taxes and ever failing services. It is the key to everything we want to achieve. It has got to be done and we’ll do it.

    People want to know there’s a real alternative to Labour’s policy of tax, and spend and fail – not just the Liberal Democrat alternative of tax more, spend more and fail more.

    And that’s what the work we’ve done under Iain’s leadership has been about.

    A new asylum policy. That would pay for 5,000 more police officers every year.

    Increasing pensions in line with earnings. And showing how we would pay for it.

    Saving children from being trapped in failing schools.

    And giving NHS patients a passport to choose their hospital inside or outside the NHS so that waiting times can be cut for all.

    That’s our alternative to tax and spend and fail.

    We will give power to the people.

    Conclusion

    We’re here to make people’s lives better. We’re here to help people fulfil their potential and remove the obstacles holding them back.

    We’re here to put principles back into politics.

    We won’t do it through flashy smiles or empty promises.

    We’ll do it by telling the people the truth. What we’re going to do. How much it will cost.

    And by the commitment, the drive and the determination to put these ideals into practice.

    Under Iain’s leadership that exactly what we are doing. We are focusing on the things that matter to people. We are winning the arguments over policy.

    This next election will be the most exciting for a generation. For the first time in fifty years the people of our country will have a real choice about how our public services are to be delivered.

    They can opt for the old failing system or they can choose a newer way which will respond to their needs, which will achieve their aspirations, which will truly improve their lives.

    It’s a heavy responsibility. We must show our country that there is an alternative to this deceitful, dishonest, and discredited government.

    There is a better way.

    We must show that we can save our country from this deceitful, dishonest and discredited government.

    We must not be found wanting.

    Because my friends, for Britain, for this country we love, nothing but the best will ever do.

  • Mick Whelan – 2022 Letter to Grant Shapps on Rail Strikes

    Mick Whelan – 2022 Letter to Grant Shapps on Rail Strikes

    The letter sent by Mick Whelan, the General Secretary of ASLEF, to Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 10 August 2022.

    Dear Secretary of State,

    Public comments regarding ASLEF members at Avanti West Coast

    I’m writing in regard to comments that you have made about Avanti West Coast’s failure to run its promised timetable. The company has blamed its failure on a lack of staff caused by “unofficial strike action by ASLEF members.” You have gone on to repeat this claim and blame “unofficial strikes” for the disruption.

    It’s of great interest to us that you go on to mention that “archaic rules from 1919 mean working on rest days is voluntary,” and “outdated rules mean the rail industry relies on goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime to ensure services run 7days a week.”

    I must confess, that your comments have caused a great deal of confusion, which I do hope you might be able to allay. Firstly, why are you repeating an unfounded lie that ASLEF has organised unofficial strike action? There are only two explanations. One, that you have been duped by the company who are covering themselves for gross mismanagement, or alternatively that you are knowingly repeating a lie.

    Secondly, we’d love to know what these archaic rules from 1919 are, because collectively, we are flummoxed.

    Thirdly, we believe that for train drivers to safely transport thousands of people, they must have rest days in which they are allowed to rest. The clue is in the name. Do you believe that train drivers should be forced to work on allotted rest days?

    Lastly, I am pleased to inform you that we do agree with one of the points you make in your otherwise confused comments. That is that it’s absurd that “the rail industry relies on goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime to ensure services run 7days a week.” That is why it has been ASLEF policy for decades to bring Sundays into the working week. It’s something our negotiators try to achieve, and have achieved, in many companies. I regret to inform you that it’s not ASLEF or 103 year old rules preventing this from happening. It’s the companies you have handed contracts to over the last couple of years. They’ve made the calculation that operating a railway on overtime, is cheaper than employing enough train drivers to run timetabled services, even if that means services are unreliable. I’m starting to have concerns that perhaps these companies are prioritising profit over quality of service.

    It shouldn’t be surprising that we have policy in favour of Sunday in the working week. You see, this would mean more high quality green jobs, and as the train drivers’ union, we think that’s a very good idea.

    It is pretty clear that Avanti West Coast has had to cancel huge amounts of trains and is providing an abysmal service due to complete mismanagement, including not employing enough drivers, yet has decided to blame the insufficient number of drivers it does employ. The same drivers you thanked profusely in letters to me, and in public, during the pandemic. It is nothing short of a disgrace that a secretary of state for transport should parrot these lies.

    These unfounded comments risk the welfare of our members and increase the risk of abuse. I therefore ask that you publicly correct your previous statements and check that any statements you make about our members in the future are, in fact, true.

    Yours sincerely,

    MICK WHELAN

    General Secretary

     

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Bernard Jenkin – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Bernard Jenkin, the then Shadow Defence Secretary, on 8 October 2003.

    You remember Iain told the Shadow Cabinet: look to the public services in other countries’ for proven and successful policy ideas.

    Drug re-habilitation in Sweden;

    Policing in New York;

    The health service in France.

    Well, I have been abroad to see the best too.

    I have seen some some excellent military forces in other countries.

    – peace keeping in Kabul;

    – Airlifting military supplies to Kuwait;

    – rebuilding in Southern Iraq.

    It won’t surprise you to know: these armed forces were all British –

    And they were already the best.

    Our armed forces are resourceful, adaptable to almost any challenge.

    They are utterly dependable.

    How unlike this New Labour government.

    The Hutton inquiry is laying bare the true character of New Labour.

    Mr Hoon confessed to the Hutton inquiry that he had no idea what was going on in his own department.

    Not so much his finger on the button, as found sleeping at the switch. He has lost all credibility.

    So why does the Prime Minister now praise Mr Hoon?

    For just one reason.

    To save his own skin.

    So how can New Labour possibly command the confidence and respect of the armed servicemen and women in their care?

    The philosophy of the armed forces is to serve and lead – taking control and accepting responsibility for those they command.

    Of real service and real leadership, New Labour knows nothing.

    Even where the defence of the realm is at stake, nobody can believe a word this Prime Minister says.

    That’s why we still need a wider inquiry.

    But, the continued and undoubted breach of UN resolutions – the defiance of the international community – was enough to justify military action against Saddam Hussein.

    Even the Liberal Democrats agreed that.

    So why didn’t the Prime Minister stick to the simple truth?

    Because he could not convince his own Party, his own MPs, and now, we know, not even his own cabinet.

    He squandered the integrity of his office to appease factions in his divided party.

    Let us not lose sight of the truth.

    The liberation of Iraq was a just cause and remains so.

    The Conservative Party made the right decision.

    Those who fought, those who still risk their lives, and those who have made the ultimate personal sacrifice: we salute them.

    There is nothing this prime minister or his shabby government can do to devalue that service and sacrifice.

    Here in Blackpool, there will be no crocodile tears, or phoney emotion, about how tough it is for us to take these decisions and to face the consequences.

    No parading of private letters for political gain.

    We politicians rarely face real dangers.

    We don’t have to endure the desert heat or bear real scars on our backs.

    It’s our armed forces who have the real job.

    Many of my colleagues in Parliament have served in the armed forces.

    Not least, our leader, Iain Duncan Smith.

    He is proving that he knows how to serve, and how to lead.

    He’s doing exactly what you elected him to do.

    He is putting together clear policies to offer the British people at the next election, based on honest Conservative principles.

    I shouldn’t have to say this.

    But it’s about time he got the backing of every single one of us.

    Two of our number are still serving in the forces.

    The Member of Parliament for Westbury is Surgeon Cmdr Andrew Murrison, Royal Navy, who has just deployed to Iraq.

    The member for New Forest West is Major Desmond Swayne,

    While Geoff Hoon is fighting for his job, Desmond is fighting for our country.

    Our armed forces should get the backing they deserve.

    They should never be taken for granted.

    Yet they do feel let down.

    By shortages of manpower and equipment;

    Cancelled training.

    Cancelled leave.

    In the infantry, the gap between tours of duty is meant to be 24 months.

    The average is now only nine months.

    The Royal Scots just back from Northern Ireland, are off to Iraq in December – less than six months.

    Never forget how this affects the families.

    The Royal Green Jackets, based near here, have just been rushed to Iraq at four day’s notice and yesterday, I went to meet their families.

    They hope they will be home by Christmas, but after eight weeks training, they are off again, to Northern Ireland.

    Overstretch.

    Not enough resources or manpower to match all the commitments.

    How can this be?

    We are told the economy has been growing.

    That Britain is so prosperous.

    Yet, as they lined up for battle on the Iraqi border, there weren’t enough chemical suits or desert kit to go round.

    What a shabby way to treat our soldiers!

    As a senior general acknowledged, we were ‘perilously close’ to not being ready for action.

    It is shaming that the Prime Minister wants to use the armed forces more than ever, but will not come up with the man power and equipment that they need.

    Why is it, under Labour, the tax burden has risen so much, defence commitments are increased, and yet defence spending is lower in real terms than in our last year of office?

    Because Labour just think they will get away with it.

    But it is only the sheer commitment and quality of the people of the armed forces that enables them to get away with it.

    Labour promised to increase the size of the army.

    Instead, we have the smallest army since Wellington.

    Labour have the wrong priorities.

    They have cut trained personnel in the armed forces by 12,000, but they have increased the number of tax collectors in the Inland Revenue by 16,000.

    Well, I suppose they’ve got all those 60 extra taxes to collect.

    But that says all you need to know about New Labour’s real priorities!

    Yet it doesn’t end here.

    Another defence review is coming.

    They want to cut Army manpower again.

    To sell off more Royal Navy Ships and submarines.

    To cut the size of the long promised new aircraft carriers.

    To cut the orders for new Destroyers.

    To cut the orders for new aircraft.

    And by the time we next meet, the Sea Harrier, our most capable air-to-air fighter, will be gone forever – probably sold off to another country.

    They are even cutting future service pensions!

    The armed forces deserve a fair deal.

    Enough boots on the ground to meet our peace keeping commitments.

    Enough warships, fully crewed, to meet our international obligations.

    Modern aircraft, to meet the threats of today and in the future.

    Homes fit for our heroes and their families.

    A quality of life that meets the aspirations of all those who serve Queen and Country.

    Our Conservative policy is based on a real assessment of threats and potential threats we face, not wishful thinking or false optimism.

    We all want peace in Northern Ireland, but Labour shouldn’t use it as an excuse for cutting the infantry.

    Every lesson of history teaches, especially in such a dangerous and unpredictable world, that we must be prepared for the unexpected.

    We will maintain Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent, and we will set out how it will be sustained beyond the present Trident system.

    Labour should be starting this process now.

    No sign of it.

    A rogue state with missiles, such as North Korea, might threaten us or our allies at any time.

    That’s why we also support global missile defence.

    Why are Labour dragging their feet on this?

    We will rebuild the Territorial Army and the reserves, so they can provide a credible home defence force and reinforcement for our regular forces.

    Iain has appointed a Shadow Minister for Homeland Security.

    In government, he will ensure we can better prevent terrorist attacks and set up proper civil protection.

    We fully support the ‘expeditionary principle’ – the ability to send large forces wherever in the world we need them and to sustain them.

    We will fully fund the defence capabilities that are essential to safeguard national security and to fulfil our international obligations.

    That is the only way to ensure a fair deal for the armed forces – and for your security.

    The British armed forces are Britain’s prize asset – Mr Blair’s aces – in international politics.

    But he is recklessly throwing them away to appease European Federalism.

    He is bargaining them for favours in a European Constitution that nobody in Britain wants.

    When he’s with President Bush, he supports Nato.

    But when he’s with Schroder and Chirac, he betrays Nato.

    European nations should certainly share more of the burden for European defence and for global security.

    But this EU Constitution is a direct challenge to the primacy of Nato and, ultimately, to the sovereign independence of our own national defence and foreign policy.

    We don’t need a Euro-army.

    Nato already provides for European Defence.

    Every concession Labour makes to the EU defence agenda strengthens those who want splits between the US and Europe.

    The Euro-army is not about more or better defence, but more structures, more headquarters, more offices, more committees.

    (Do we really want our defence run like EU fishing or agriculture?)

    It is just a platform for the vanity of Old Europe.

    It’s Nato that won the cold war, not the EU.

    It’s Nato, not the EU, that brought peace to the Balkans.

    It’s Nato now peacekeeping in Kabul and supporting European troops in Iraq.

    Nato guarantees national sovereignty.

    The EU Constitution would destroy it.

    That’s why the people need a say.

    We demand that referendum!

    Mr Chairman, fellow Conservatives, we ask the men and women of the armed forces to risk their lives, to protect our country, to safeguard our future.

    Let this Party pay tribute to them.

    They are a benchmark of excellence.

    The pride of our nation: the envy of others.

    Right now, at this moment, they serve.

    And they know, sooner or later, there are sacrifices.

    Surely they deserve a fair deal.

    And under the Conservatives, I promise you this.

    They will get that fair deal.

  • Michael Ancram – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Michael Ancram – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Michael Ancram, the then Shadow Foreign Secretary, at the Conservative Party conference on 8 October 2003.

    I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this Government trying to make me feel ashamed of being British.

    I am fed up with seeing our history rewritten, of Labour Ministers apologising for our past.

    I have one burning ambition.

    I want to be proud of my country again.

    I came into politics because I believe in public service.

    But, over these last six years we have seen it mocked, diminished and destroyed.

    There is today a stench at the heart of Government that corrodes our democracy and undermines our standing abroad.

    The stench of spin. Of deceit, of half-truths and distortions, of cronyism and of downright lies.

    And at the centre, as we saw again last week, the high priest of spin – Tony Blair.

    Everything that threatens him ruthlessly swept aside.

    The reputation of those who dare to criticise him vilified.

    Loyal public servants pilloried and even destroyed on the anvil of this Prime Minister’s survival.

    Those who question his judgement, written off as ‘rogue elements’.

    Is this really the Prime Minister who preached only two years ago of ‘a moral duty’ and ‘healing the scars on the conscience of the world’?

    That was the spin.

    The reality is very different.

    A shameful catalogue of abandonment, betrayal, sell-out, dishonesty and total breach of trust.

    One thing is clear. You cannot trust a word this Prime Minister says.

    Two years ago he promised Zimbabweans that Mugabe’s vile behaviour would ‘not be tolerated’.

    And then he abandoned them.

    Zimbabwe’s scars haven’t healed, Mr. Blair. They’re festering. And you just walk by on the other side.

    This Prime Minister promised the people of Burma that the ‘international community will not stand idly by’.

    And then he abandoned them.

    Abuses in Burma are soaring Mr. Blair, and you just stand idly by.

    This Prime Minister has tried to betray the people of Gibraltar. By a secret deal to share sovereignty with Spain.

    If you had any honour, Mr. Blair, you would accept the clear verdict of the people of Gibraltar last November and ditch this unworthy agreement forever.

    We won’t abandon the people of Gibraltar.

    Let me say again, we will not be bound by any constitutional agreement between the Government of Britain and Spain which does not have the full democratic consent of the people of Gibraltar.

    I make no apology for talking about the Prime Minister rather than Jack Straw.

    The day was when a Foreign Secretary stood tall in any Cabinet – but not Jack Straw. He is now nothing more than Blair’s errand boy.

    A recent scurrilous report suggested that Jack had a mind of his own! It was swiftly and categorically denied by – Jack Straw.

    So back to Mr Blair.

    He told us the proposed European Constitution represented ‘no significant change’ in our relations with the EU.

    Not for his fellow European leaders. For them it is an historic and fundamental change.

    Mr. Blair promised that he would defend the ‘Europe of nations’. But, last month’s White Paper wasn’t a White Paper. It was a White Flag.

    It was Tony Blair’s capitulation to those who wish to build a single European state.

    ‘Ah, but’ we’re told, ‘look at the ‘redlines’ which defend British interests’.

    Well I’ve looked. There are no red lines. Only red herrings.

    Tony Blair has already thrown in the towel. And now we hear he is selling-out our rebate.

    We will fight this damaging Constitution with everything we’ve got.

    For a start the British people have the right to say yes or no in a referendum.

    Other EU countries are having referendums to decide.

    Mr Blair what is wrong with the British people that we cannot be trusted to decide?

    We will promote a Petition to Parliament requiring a referendum, because even this Prime Minister cannot ignore forever the collective voice of the British people.

    The British people demand a referendum. They must have a referendum.

    There is now an endemic dishonesty attached to everything this Prime Minister says and does.

    Even when he’s right.

    I believe that action in Iraq was right.

    I pay unreserved tribute to the professionalism and dedication of our brave servicemen and women. In toppling Saddam Hussein they have removed a dangerous and recognised threat to international peace and security.

    And they did more.

    I’ve just been to Baghdad. A woman there said this to me “You’ve never known the fear of the knock on the door in the night”. “You haven’t wept as your loved ones were taken away, never to be seen alive again.”

    It was the day after Saddam Hussein’s two sons were killed.

    “I danced in the night when I heard”, she said, “because I knew that they could never do it to me again”.

    That too is why it was right.

    What was wrong was the way this Prime Minister approached the war.

    We pressed him to make a case that the British people could trust.

    He failed to do so. Instead he bent and twisted the truth for his own ends.

    Mr. Blair. The case was sound. There was no need to lie.

    You didn’t need to stretch the truth. You didn’t need to manipulate the intelligence material.

    You didn’t need to claim that your dodgy dossier was intelligence-based when it was not. You did not need to claim personal knowledge of WMD that evidently you did not have.

    This Prime Minister should have trusted the British people. But the culture of spin in Downing Street was just too strong.

    The government should now end the confidence sapping drip-drip of accusation and counter-accusation.

    They should – as we have long asked – set up a comprehensive independent judicial inquiry into the events leading up to the war and its aftermath.

    But this Prime Minister contemptuously turns his back.

    We shouldn’t be surprised. He always turns his back.

    Well it’s time to give him a stark message.

    Prime Minister. The British people don’t like you anymore,

    The British people don’t trust you anymore,

    They don’t believe you anymore,

    You have let them down, and for that they will not forgive you.

    What Britain needs now are realistic goals in line with our resources.

    We need a foreign policy that people can trust.

    You certainly won’t get that from the Liberal Democrats.

    Still the dirtiest fighters in British politics. No principles, no ethics and no beliefs. All things to all men.

    What time is it, Mr. Kennedy? What time would you like it to be?

    What are your policies, Mr. Kennedy? What would you like them to be?

    Which way is the wind blowing, Mr. Kennedy? Just watch the way I’m pointing today!

    They have a foreign policy. A very simple one. As long as it’s made in Brussels it’s alright.

    Well it’s not alright by us.

    We understand today’s world

    The menace of terrorism. The peril of rogue states. The challenges of poverty and starvation.

    And we know our role.

    As Iain Duncan Smith has made clear, the core of our Foreign Policy is the national interest.

    Not selfish, but necessary.

    Our security, our economic well-being and our potential as a force for good.

    We have listened to the British people and to our friends abroad.

    The common theme is trust. An end to the to the lies and the letdowns and the broken promises.

    They want a policy they can rely on. A policy we will deliver.

    A policy for Britain.

    No promises we cannot keep; no expectations we cannot meet.

    We will be true to our friends and to our word.

    In today’s increasingly fluid world we need to build stronger alliances, particularly within the Commonwealth.

    We need agreements that can expand free trade and create new opportunities for British business and British skills.

    Our ‘special relationship’ with the US has rarely been stronger.

    I want to make it even healthier.

    A friendship strengthened by genuine debate. Where honest disagreement can stand comfortably alongside our shared values and principles.

    That is the mark of a true relationship.

    Central to this is NATO.

    I totally reject the anti-American machinations of the French to undermine NATO.

    We will strengthen NATO as the foundation of European collective defence and security.

    And we will use where appropriate its new flexibility to deliver security ‘out of area’ as it is doing today in Afghanistan.

    We are also well placed to help encourage dialogue in potentially world-threatening conflicts.

    Northern Ireland taught us the hard way how to turn terror and bloodshed into dialogue and relative peace.

    We can share that lesson. We can help build confidence and dispel mistrust.

    For instance in the Middle East where mutual mistrust has once again tragically bred violence and counter-violence.

    And derailed the roadmap towards the two-state solution of a secure Israel and a viable Palestine which is the only credible way forward.

    The outlook for both sides in the face of a spiral of violence is bleak. Restraint on both sides is very necessary.

    It will need the patient rebuilding of confidence and trust to restart the process.

    And we will also keep faith with those who legitimately look to us for help.

    I have seen the horrors of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

    We will not go down the appeasement road of ‘quiet diplomacy’.

    We will not shut up as Zimbabwe’s free press is shut down.

    We will not let up until Mugabe, his financial backers and his whole brutal regime are gone, and gone forever.

    And we believe in Britain.

    And that means fighting for Britain.

    And that means opposing the European Constitution.

    We don’t want and we don’t need a written constitution for Europe with its own President, its own Foreign Secretary, its own diplomatic service and even its own army.

    We don’t want to lose our right to decide our own asylum policy.

    We don’t want and we don’t need a single European state.

    Over the next few months we will campaign against the Constitution, fiercely and unremittingly, the length and breadth of the land.

    We will fight it tooth and nail.

    And if this Prime Minister ever tries to chance his arm with the single currency we will with equal ferocity fight that menace too.
    Iain Duncan Smith has made our position very clear.

    We want to make the European Union work.

    We don’t want a tired old Europe, a prisoner of its own bureaucracy, living in a haze of ingrained anti-Americanism.

    We want a new Europe of democracies, ready to serve the ideals of a new generation, working together in a spirit of new enterprise.

    We want a Europe where power flows upwards from nation states and their peoples, and not downwards from Brussels and its remote elites.

    I pay special tribute to Jonathan Evans and his MEPs for their tireless work in fighting fraud, in supporting businesses and farmers, and encouraging deregulation in the European Union.

    We know who we can trust in Europe, and next June we want them all re-elected, and more. Jonathan, our best wishes go with you and your colleagues.

    We want to build a European Union founded on cooperative partnership rather than coercive integration, with the Commission the servant and not the master, properly accountable to national parliaments.

    And in which legislative initiatives emerge from the national parliaments and not from an increasingly centralised bureaucracy.
    A European Union within which the national aspiration of all its members, new and old, are not suffocated but supported.

    One of this Prime Minister’s most outrageous lies is that diversity in Europe is impossible, and that political integration is inevitable.

    Nothing in politics is inevitable, not if you fight it hard enough.

    Last month the Swedes fought hard and proved that the Euro is not inevitable.

    In doing so they have opened the door to a new diverse Europe.

    We must follow Sweden’s example and carry forward the torch of freedom and democracy.

    We have a unique opportunity. In Europe, in the Commonwealth, in our partnership with America. We can play a vital role in the modern world.

    It is in our national interest to do so.

    Because in doing so we will give Britain back its pride.

    I share the rising public anger at a government that sneers at integrity and trust.

    I am sick and tired of a government that mocks our traditions, our culture, our currency and even our very Britishness.

    I want a Britain where freedom means what it says, rather than what this Government tells me it should mean.

    No one trusts this government any more.

    This rotten bunch are past their sell-by date.

    They must go.

    We must sweep them, stench and all, into the dustbin of political history.

    Our challenge is clear.

    To be true to ourselves. To have confidence. And to work as one.

    Together we can go out from here and win.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (19/08/2022) – 177 days

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (19/08/2022) – 177 days

    The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 19 August 2022.

    Ukrainians!

    All Europeans!

    For 177 days already, the report on the events in Ukraine is important for the entire continent.

    Ukrainian diplomats, our partners, representatives of the UN and the IAEA are working out the specific details of the mission to be sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. With this mission, the restoration of full security at the ZNPP and in Enerhodar can begin. And I am grateful to everyone who joined this work and initiative.

    If Russian blackmail with radiation continues, this summer may go down in the history of various European countries as one of the most tragic of all time. Because not a single instruction at any nuclear power plant in the world envisages a procedure in case a terrorist state turns a nuclear power plant into a target.

    Of course, today it is worth paying attention to another aspect of Russian blackmail in the field of energy. Gas supplies to Germany via the first Nord Stream are again being restricted and absurd statements are being made again that it is allegedly possible to compensate for something via Nord Stream 2. These “streams” are needed by Russia exclusively to supply problems to Europe, not to help someone there with gas. Now it is absolutely obvious.

    The longer the terrorist state remains on the European and world energy market, the longer it will not be stable. And the sooner everyone in Europe prepares their energy systems to exist without any supply of energy carriers from Russia, the sooner they will be able to calmly go through any winter.

    Today there was a very important visit to Ukraine by Eurocities representatives led by the mayor of Florence. This Association unites the mayors of more than 150 European cities, as well as representatives of dozens of other partner cities.

    We will cooperate with them directly – Ukrainian cities and communities with European cities and communities.

    The key issue is, of course, the rebuilding of our cities. The relevant memorandum was signed today. But not only this will be the subject of our important cooperation.

    The modern development of any country is primarily the development of cities, the creation of new opportunities and institutions in cities, the exchange of experience between cities and urban institutions. And therefore, these are new jobs, greater social capital and higher level of security for people.

    On the Ukrainian side, the subject of relations with the Association of European Cities will be our Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. I want to assure that every city of our state will benefit from this. We are interested in sustainable development throughout the territory of Ukraine – and it will be so. Without any exceptions.

    And today I want to address separately the residents of all our cities of Ukraine, which are subjected to constant brutal shelling by Russia. Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, all the cities of Donbas, the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Zaporizhzhia region… All those who experience this constant horror of the destruction of life and the destruction of everything that gives life normality. We will not leave any of these strikes unanswered. We will establish the identity of every occupier who gives orders and executes these strikes at cities. And we will bring them all to justice in one way or another. No murderer will hide.

    And we will certainly restore everything that the terrorists try to leave in ruins. The word “ruins” will never be a word about Ukraine, will never be a word about our cities. Russia will definitely not succeed in this.

    Eternal glory to all who bring our victory closer!

    Eternal glory to all who fight for our beautiful, strong Ukraine, for our people!

    Glory to Ukraine!

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (18/08/2022) – 176 days

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (18/08/2022) – 176 days

    The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 18 August 2022.

    Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

    Today we are in Lviv, the Potocki Palace, now. At the end of this very busy day, here’s my report on events, meetings, negotiations and decisions.

    We have been here since the morning. And once again I want to thank the city of Lviv, all Lviv residents for the attention, comfort and emotional support felt throughout the day.

    First of all, I paid a visit to our defenders – those who are being treated after injuries in the hospital. Very brave guys, strong. I thanked the doctors who are doing everything to restore the health of our warriors as soon as possible.

    I was very happy to see the boys and girls studying at the Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy. It was extremely pleasant to hear that more and more people want to become officers of the Ukrainian army. The competition for one place in the academy is of such a scale that used to be only in civilian universities before. And this really gives a reason to be proud not just of the patriotism of our youth, but of the fact that people believe in Ukraine, in our Armed Forces, in our victory. I presented awards to the best warriors.

    During a special ceremony on the Field of Mars of the Lychakiv Cemetery, we honored the memory of all those who gave their lives for Ukraine and for the independence of our country in this brutal war.

    There is no other alternative – we must return everything of ours and guarantee security for all future generations of Ukraine.

    I held talks with UN Secretary-General Guterres and President of Türkiye Erdoğan.

    Most of the points discussed are already in the news. I want to say a few main things now.

    First. There are no objective obstacles to prevent the IAEA mission from reaching the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Today, Mr. Guterres and I discussed the parameters of this mission and the fact that it can get to the plant very quickly and quite safely in a legal way through the free territory of our state. And just like that.

    The one who organized nuclear blackmail certainly cannot be the “transporter” of any such missions. Russia must immediately and unconditionally allow IAEA representatives to the plant and also immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from the territory of the plant. The world has the power to ensure this.

    If it does not ensure this, we can simply throw the entire body of international documents on nuclear and radiation safety into the trash. Russia is destroying this international order.

    The second extremely important point of the negotiations is Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation.

    I called on Mr. Secretary-General to use all the capabilities of the UN to ensure Russia’s compliance with all norms of international law regarding prisoners of war. And we discussed sending a fact-finding mission to Olenivka. The full truth about this Russian terrorist attack must and will be established.

    Of course, we talked about the grain export initiative. The result is there – and not only for Ukraine, but also for the world, as it is felt that the severity of the global food crisis is decreasing.

    Therefore, there is a great need for more security, a greater volume of exports, more ships that can deliver Ukrainian food from our ports.

    I held very substantive negotiations on many topics today with President of Türkiye Erdoğan. I am grateful to him for his unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state. We discussed defense, economic and energy cooperation.

    I am grateful to Türkiye for its willingness to take under patronage the reconstruction of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. This is a mission for a truly powerful country. Today, the first step was taken – an agreement on infrastructure was signed.

    I called on both Mr. President and Mr. Secretary-General to voice the strictest possible position regarding Russia’s planned pseudo-referendums in the occupied territory. Any pseudo-referendum will be a slap in the face of the international community.

    And I want to mention one more thing today.

    It was an extremely hard night in Kharkiv – more than ten people died. Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia were again shelled. The Russian army is spending enormous resources to capture at least one more kilometer in Donbas. Russian officials reiterate threats to Odesa and other cities of Ukraine. We see what is happening at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. We see what happened in Olenivka.

    We can and should think only about how to win. To win on the battlefield, on the political front, in the information confrontation, in the economic plane, everywhere…

    Let’s believe in ourselves, help each other, protect the interests of Ukraine and know that there will be peace.

    He who fights and fights wisely wins.

    Eternal glory to all our warriors! Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken away by the occupiers.

    Glory to Ukraine!

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (17/08/2022) – 175 days

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (17/08/2022) – 175 days

    The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 17 August 2022.

    Dear Ukrainians!

    Diplomacy in the interests of our country is very active these days. First of all, today a ceremony of presenting credentials to the new ambassadors of foreign countries who arrived to work in our capital was held in the Sophia of Kyiv. The work of embassies in full capacity, the presence of ambassadors in Kyiv is one of the important indicators of the strength of our state, the Ukrainian ability to fight and win. Already 55 diplomatic missions have resumed their work. And today, the new ambassadors of Belgium, Spain, Kyrgyzstan and Romania presented their credentials.

    Secondly, UN Secretary General António Guterres has already arrived in Ukraine. We will work to get the necessary results for Ukraine.

    Thirdly, Ukrainian diplomats, our nuclear scientists and the IAEA are in constant touch, now they are working on sending the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Only absolute transparency and controlled situation at and around the ZNPP can guarantee a gradual return to normal nuclear safety for the Ukrainian state, for the international community, and for the IAEA.

    The Russian army must withdraw from the territory of the nuclear power plant and all neighboring areas, and take away its military equipment from the plant. This must happen without any conditions and as soon as possible. Ukraine is ready to ensure proper control of the IAEA, and the relevant mission can be sent to the Zaporizhzhia plant in a legal way, very fast and as efficiently as possible.

    Today, I made a very important address to the university communities, journalists and political circles of Chile and Latin America in general. This is not an easy direction of foreign policy – we are doing many things there now practically from scratch. We are working not only at the political level, but also establishing relations directly with the societies of the countries of this region. I called on Chileans and all freedom-loving people in Latin America to spread the truth about Russia’s war against our country and to support the sanctions policy aimed at making the terrorist state pay the highest possible price for terror.

    In the evening, I signed new decrees on awarding our soldiers. 230 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were given state awards, 43 of them posthumously. Also, 24 employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine were awarded state awards.

    All our soldiers – our army, our intelligence, border guards, the National Guard, the SBU and everyone involved in defending our state and people are doing everything possible to fight Russian terrorists and push them out of Ukrainian land.

    The Avdiyivka area, Bakhmut area, Kharkiv region, and some other regions are the regions where the most difficult fighting is going on right now. I am grateful to everyone who withstands this pressure, who defends positions and helps our soldiers. In Zaporizhzhia region, in some areas of the south of the country, the occupiers are trying to improve their situation, but strategically it is hopeless for them. Ukrainian soldiers will destroy the potential of the occupiers step by step, and the day will come when the enemy will die in Zaporizhzhia, in the south, in the east of the country, and in Crimea. The invaders will die like dew on the sun, and our defense is and will be this sun.

    Eternal glory to all who defend Ukraine!

    Eternal gratitude to all those who focused on helping our people in a true Ukrainian unity!

    Glory to Ukraine!

  • Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference [Quiet Man is Here to Stay]

    Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Speech to Conservative Party Conference [Quiet Man is Here to Stay]

    The speech made by Iain Duncan Smith, the then Leader of the Opposition, at the Conservative Party conference on 9 October 2003.

    Two years ago, I stood for the leadership of this Party.

    We’d just lost a second general election.

    We’d seen a good man resign and we’d gone through a lengthy leadership contest.

    Labour were 20 points ahead in the polls.

    Let’s face it: we were being written off.

    I knew that unless we could define what we stood for…

    Unless we could find policies that would benefit everyone in our country…

    No one would even listen to us.

    Well, today, I have delivered.

    I stand before you with the most radical policy agenda of any party aspiring to Government since 1979.

    They said we couldn’t win the elections in May…

    And we did.

    We are the largest and fastest growing party of local government…

    We’ve the largest and fastest growing political youth organisation in the country.

    My mission is to take the Conservative Party back to government…

    I won’t allow anything or anyone to get in my way.

    We must destroy this double-dealing…

    deceitful…

    incompetent…

    shallow…

    inefficient…

    ineffective…

    corrupt…

    mendacious…

    fraudulent…

    shameful…

    lying government…

    once and for all.

    I say to everyone here today:

    You either want my mission…

    Or you want Tony Blair.

    There is no third way.

    To those who doubt and to those who deliberate, I say this:

    Don’t work for Tony Blair…

    Get on board…

    Or get out of our way.

    For we have got work to do.

    And to the Prime Minister I say this:

    The quiet man is here to stay and he’s turning up the volume.

    Government never there when you need it, always there when you don’t

    The Conservative Party has always stood for hard-working, law-abiding people.

    And we stand for them again today.

    On their side against the most dishonest and incompetent government of modern times.

    A government that’s never there when people need it…

    But always there when they don’t.

    Think about everyday life…

    You struggle to get to work because the traffic’s jammed.

    Where did all that extra petrol tax go?

    More and more of your day is spent dealing with government’s petty regulations.

    They waste your time… they wear you down.

    You work longer, too – to make up for the extra tax you’re now paying.

    You get home late – to find your daughter’s been bullied at school.

    You know it’s not the teachers’ fault.

    The Government won’t let them exclude the bullies.

    They’re the same gang that stole your son’s mobile last week.

    The police don’t have enough officers to catch the culprits.

    So, they offer a crime number instead… as if that’s good enough.

    And then Gran’s on the phone.

    Her operation’s been cancelled again.

    It seems the doctor says he must give priority to other patients to meet Tony Blair’s targets.

    Gran doesn’t count.

    Government – always there when you don’t need it:

    With its extra taxes and bureaucracy.

    Never there when you do.

    Never there in the fight against crime…

    Never there to give you and your family the schools and hospitals that you have paid for.

    Blair must go

    You don’t expect the earth.

    Just a fair deal.

    But in Labour’s Britain, Government is on people’s backs, but never on their side.

    Tony Blair’s in your face when you don’t need hassle…

    Out of the country when you need help.

    Labour isn’t working… again.

    People have seen through Labour.

    And they’ve seen through Tony Blair, too.

    He said he had no plans to increase taxes – then increased them sixty times.

    He promised to be fair – but plundered the lifetime savings of people preparing for retirement.

    He pledged to be tough on crime – but gun crime has doubled.

    Do you remember he said he’d be whiter than white?

    Or do you most remember Eccelestone?

    Geoffrey Robinson?

    Mandelson’s home loan?

    Mittalgate?

    The Hinduja affair?

    Mandelson – again!

    Scandal after scandal.

    Scandals that revealed this government’s dark side.

    But these were just a curtain-raiser for this Prime Minister’s blackest act.

    This government used Dr David Kelly as a pawn in its battle with the BBC.

    His death was first and foremost a tragedy for those who loved him.

    But it shamed our country.

    It shamed our whole political system.

    Immediately after Dr Kelly’s death, Tony Blair said he’d had nothing to do with his public naming.

    That was a lie.

    Tony Blair chaired the meetings that made the fatal decisions.

    He is responsible.

    He should do the decent thing and he should resign.

    But, of course, he won’t.

    He won’t do the decent thing.

    He never does.

    He won’t even tell you the truth.

    Six years after Tony Blair entered Downing Street – people no longer believe a word he says anymore.

    And his promises of ‘jam tomorrow’ are least believed of all.

    The day when we drive Mr Blair out of office cannot come soon enough and that day is fast approaching.

    When you next feel a hand on your shoulder, Mr Blair…

    It won’t be that hand of history…

    It will be grip of the British people – dragging you from office.

    Tough on tax, tough on the causes of tax

    Being a taxpayer has become the hardest job in Britain.

    At the heart of the Conservative Party’s fair deal will be a fair deal for taxpayers.

    Across the world, our competitors are cutting taxes because tax cuts create jobs, wealth and growth.

    But in Britain the tax burden is rising.

    And it’s rising fast.

    Mr Blair promised the British people that he had “no plans to increase taxes at all”.

    No plans?

    Tax on mortgages…

    Tax on pensions…

    Tax on house buying…

    Tax on petrol…

    Tax on marriage…

    Tax on self-employment…

    Tax on cars…

    Tax on health insurance…

    A 70% increase in council tax.

    An £8bn National Insurance hike…a tax on jobs.

    Mr Blair has taken money from people struggling to make ends meet and poured it into schemes that will never work.

    Labour’s waste of taxpayers’ money is a crime.

    A crime that hurts pensioners and low-paid workers most of all.

    For some families Labour’s tax rises mean no holiday this year.

    The children’s clothes must last even longer.

    Millions have to work extra hours to make ends meet.

    Labour has raised taxes but not improved Britain’s public services.

    The Conservative mission is to reform public services and to be a lower tax government than Labour.

    We’ll be tough on tax and tough on the causes of tax!

    The greatest cause of increasing tax is increasing waste.

    70% of taxpayers think Labour wastes their money.

    And they’re 100% right.

    This Labour Government will never give taxpayers value for money.

    But Conservatives will.

    In local government, Conservatives already deliver better services for less tax.

    As Michael Howard said yesterday in his excellent speech, Conservatives believe in low taxes.

    We will always be a lower tax government than Labour.

    And yes…

    We plan to cut taxes.

    We are fortunate to have Michael leading our Treasury team.

    Michael, I understand that relations are not so rosy in the red corner.

    I’ve heard that the only colour Carole Caplin won’t allow in Number Ten is brown.

    Gordon Brown is the biggest tax raiser in British history.

    But Charlie Kennedy wants to raise them even further…

    …except on wines and spirits, of course.

    The Lib Dems want a local income tax… a regional income tax… and a new 50% tax band.

    They pretend to be reasonable but they’re not.

    They don’t want to give convicted paedophiles, rapists and murderers tougher sentences… they want to give them the right to vote.

    It’s madness.

    Utter madness.

    In fact, I’ve just heard that the Lib Dems are being investigated by trading standards.

    On all ballot papers they’ll have to have a asterisk after their party name:

    Warning: contains nuts.

    We all in this hall know that the Liberal Democrats are no joke.

    Their campaign book instructed them to “be wicked, stir endlessly, act shamelessly”…

    And that’s exactly what they do.

    They promise things they know they’ll never have to deliver.

    They are not a fit party for government and we are going after them.

    Fair deal policies

    Conservatives are the only real alternative to Labour.

    Only we will properly reform public services.

    Only we will give choice to parents and patients.

    Let me be clear what I mean by choice.

    Choice in public services means peace of mind.

    It means you won’t be stuck with second-rate services.

    It means there’ll be an alternative school or hospital if you need it.

    Under Labour only the wealthy can buy choice.

    Conservatives will give every parent and every patient that choice.

    No child left behind in a failing school –

    …because our Better Schools Passport will give every parent the power to get their child into the right school.

    The Patient’s Passport will give every patient the right to the treatment they need anywhere in the NHS – and if they have to go outside the NHS we’ll help them.

    Students won’t leave university saddled with a £30,000 debt…

    We’ll scrap Labour’s tuition fees and we’ll stop top-up fees, too.

    Violent crime and disorder have rocketed under this Government…

    And the asylum system is a disaster – spiralling out of control.

    While Tony Blair travels the world, the world is travelling here.

    As Oliver Letwin has pledged, under the Conservatives there’ll be 80,000 fewer asylum seekers – and 40,000 more police officers.

    That’s twelve more police forces the size of the Lancashire Constabulary.

    Labour wants to end the right to buy.

    John “three homes” Prescott wants to take the right-to-buy away from other people.

    Well – we’re not afraid to fight you on that one, John.

    And I tell you this –

    …this time the punch is coming from the right!

    Conservatives will always support the right of people to own their homes.

    And we’ll extend the right-to-buy to one million housing association tenants.

    And we’ll use the proceeds to end the outrage of children having to grow up in temporary accommodation.

    The right to buy is back.

    All of Labour’s policies take power away from people.

    Labour always say – ‘trust us’.

    Conservatives will be different:

    We’ll trust you…

    With these and other policies I am ready to fight this Labour Government.

    Policies that will make lives better.

    Policies that are Conservative through and through.

    Policies that will win votes.

    A fair deal for pensioners

    Our Party is sometimes accused of being an old Party.

    I think, by the way, it’s meant as an insult!

    Well, when I became an MP, my father told me: always respect pensioners.

    And remember, these are the people who put us here.

    Who gave us the freedom to be who we are.

    They deserve decency and respect.

    They’re not getting it.

    Gordon Brown has forced an extra million pensioners onto the means-test.

    Two out of every three pensioners are now on social security.

    For many people the means test has made it unprofitable to save for retirement.

    More means-testing.

    More tax.

    Less savings.

    What a mess.

    So we will raise the basic state pension, in line with earnings…

    …to ensure that future generations of pensioners never have to go begging for social security.

    The abolition of the means test is supported by the savings industry.

    It’s supported by millions of pensioners.

    And it’s supported by me.

    Most important of all, it’s the right thing to do.

    Europe

    Love of this country flows from one generation to the next.

    But Labour wants Britain to be something that it’s not.

    They are embarrassed by our island character.

    Perhaps that’s why Mr Blair would risk Britain’s prosperity by scrapping the pound.

    Every European government that has given its people a referendum on the euro has seen them reject it.

    That’s why Tony Blair doesn’t have the guts to hold a referendum…

    …he knows – what we all know – he would lose.

    So we may have frightened him off holding a referendum on the euro for now.

    But we are now faced with an even graver danger.

    A threat to our very nationhood.

    The euro would take away our power to decide our economic policy.

    But the European constitution would take away our power to decide who governs Britain.

    Think about it.

    Our country: no longer able to control immigration.

    No longer able to choose its allies.

    No longer able to use British soldiers to defend our interests abroad.

    Unelected Commissioners would have the final say in almost every government department – affecting every aspect of our daily lives.

    Yesterday the Conservative Party launched a nationwide campaign.

    In every constituency in Britain, Conservative associations will be collecting signatures for a petition to Parliament.

    That petition will demand that the British people have the final say on the constitution…in a referendum.

    Mr Blair: the powers you hold are not yours forever.

    You hold them in trust.

    In trust from the British people.

    Powers not yours to give away.

    If the Government does not give the British people a say on the new constitution – that will not be the last word on the matter.

    Make no mistake.

    I will fight with all my strength to defend the British people’s right to govern themselves.

    And I put the government on notice.

    Michael Ancram and I will lead the campaign across the nation to fight for a referendum.

    We will fight at next year’s vital European elections.

    We will fight in Parliament

    We will fight at the general election.

    And I promise you:

    I will fight, fight and fight again to save the country that I love.

    Europe and the world

    Conservatives want to build a New Europe.

    Not a single state with its own currency and constitution.

    But a Europe of sovereign, enterprising nations.

    A New Europe.

    Focused on today’s problems; not the problems faced and overcome by Europe’s founders.

    Fighting debt, disease and terrorism.

    Environmental destruction and poverty.

    In the post September 11th world global poverty is a challenge to our security.

    The poor countries of today may become the rogue nations of tomorrow.

    Everyone on earth has the God-given right to live in a free country – protected by the rule of law.

    That’s one of the reasons why I supported the war in Iraq…

    I know some say the war was wrong.

    And I respect their opinion.

    But I believe the world is better off today because Saddam Hussein is no longer running Iraq.

    I’m not going to twist or turn with the prevailing wind.

    I won’t play games with the defence of Britain.

    We’ll leave that for the Liberal Democrats.

    Conservatives will never undermine our armed forces.

    We’ll always back them.

    BlairWorld

    For Mr Blair, politics is everywhere and everything.

    So, during the next election don’t be surprised when Labour play dirty.

    A Prime Minister that lies about his own record won’t hesitate to lie about us.

    A government machine willing to smear the Paddington train crash survivors and Dr Kelly won’t think twice about smearing me.

    A political party prepared to use the tragedy of September 11th to bury bad news will do everything it can to hide the scale of its own failure.

    Did you see Tony Blair’s performance in Bournemouth last week?

    Did you?

    Did you hear that speech?

    You know: I sometimes wonder if that guy lives in the same world as the rest of us.

    You see, in BlairWorld things can only get better.

    In BlairWorld crime is down.

    In BlairWorld taxes are low.

    In BlairWorld the trains run on time.

    Last week he ended his speech with an air of omnipotence.

    ‘Let it be done’, he commanded.

    You see, in BlairWorld Tony thinks he’s god.

    But people don’t live in BlairWorld.

    They live in the real world.

    Bedeviled by the daily hurt and failures of your government, Mr Blair.

    Last week in BlairWorld Tony boasted about winning against crime…

    On the same day in the real world a brave woman in Nottingham was shot dead defending her daughter from robbers.

    Last week in BlairWorld Tony claimed that the economy was strong…

    On the same day, in the real world, 550 workers at Britain’s oldest commercial shipbuilders were made redundant.

    Last week in BlairWorld Tony talked tough on asylum…

    On the same day, in the real world, bogus asylum seekers escaped from one of his pathetic detention centers… when they should have been deported months ago.

    Tony Blair’s alright for the telly but he’s all wrong for the country.

    In the real world he’s failing Britain.

    And everybody knows it.

    Gordon Brown knows it.

    He’s even started to smile.

    The IDS card

    I know what I believe.

    I know what I value.

    This card sets out my beliefs.

    I believe in hard work…

    In rewarding people who play by the rules…

    In small government.

    I believe in punishing criminals…

    In trusting nurses, teachers, police officers…

    I believe in a low tax economy.

    I believe we all have a special duty of care for the most vulnerable people in our country – children, pensioners and the poor.

    And, most of all, I believe in the sovereign right of the British people to govern themselves.

    This card sets out my priorities for government…

    The priorities of the great team I’m proud to lead.

    Theresa, our Chairman, and the front bench teams in the Commons and the Lords…

    Thank you all.

    In our first term in Government, our policies will deliver a fair deal for everyone:

    No-one held back and no-one left behind.

    Fundamental to my Conservatism is this double commitment.

    A belief in aspiration and a belief in security for all.

    Conservatives will always back the high achievers, the entrepreneurs…

    Life’s gold-medallists.

    From their endeavour all of society can progress.

    Conservatives want individuals and families to fulfil their potential and we trust them to build a society that respects everyone.

    I’m appalled at the waste of talent – the depth of untapped potential – within today’s Britain.

    Talent and potential that the challenges of our time desperately need.

    But which are suffocated by a government that steals the oxygen from other living institutions.

    Only when government steps back will people and communities be free to build something better…

    You see, I’m proud to be a Conservative.

    Proud of our achievements…

    Proud of our ambitions…

    Proud of the Conservative way.

    Because it works for all the British people.

    Let me tell you why I’m in politics.

    It’s certainly not for the newspapers headlines we get.

    It’s for the people in the film we just saw – and the millions just like them.

    Jim Doherty is one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met.

    He runs a family support group in Glasgow’s Gallowgate.

    He told me:

    “We have already lost so many of our children to drugs.

    The battle we’re fighting now is to save our grandchildren.”

    Jim looked me in the eye, and said:

    ‘Don’t promise the earth’.

    ‘Just give me something to hold on to’.

    ‘Just give me hope…’

    ‘We’ll do the rest.’

    Jim, David, Janis, Frank, and Ita.

    You have my word.

    I won’t let you down.

    Conservatives must win the next Election.

    Not for ourselves…

    …but for the hard-working, law-abiding people of Britain…

    Government’s on their backs when they don’t need help…

    …never on their side when they do.

    Over the last few days, many of you have said to me:

    “I bet your job’s tough”.

    No….

    Well, actually, yes, it is tough.

    But it’s not as tough as seeing your children destroyed by drugs.

    Not as tough as having a child with special needs and seeing their school closed.

    Not as tough as watching the business you’ve built up by your own hard work, shut down by Labour’s taxes.

    I’ve got to be tough for these people.

    Listen.Listen.

    You can hear, steady as a heartbeat, the hurt and anger of the people of this country.

    This Labour government cannot hear them above the racket of its own spin and the rattle of its own demise.

    But I’ve heard them.

    I’ve heard their anger.

    Anger about the children on your street, mugged on the way home from school.

    Anger about your child, her hope destroyed by drugs.

    Anger for your mother, in agony because her operation has been cancelled again.

    Anger at the way your pension savings have been eaten away.

    These are the people I am in politics for.

    These are the people who brought me here.

    These are the people who sustain me.

    The most remarkable, determined, compassionate, and tolerant people on the face of the earth.

    They are the British people

    They are why I am here…

    They are why you are here.

    Everyone in Britain deserves a fair deal.

    We must be on their side.

    Our mission, our duty, is to bring them hope.

    To fight for them.

    To be strong for them.

    To be here for them.

    And, together, we must win for them.

  • Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Speech in Loughborough

    Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Speech in Loughborough

    The speech made by Iain Duncan Smith, the then Leader of the Opposition, in Loughborough on 23 October 2003.

    I know that the reputation students have for staying out late and drinking too much is only rivalled by the reputation journalists have for doing the same – so it’s particularly good to see so many representatives of both groups here today.

    This is an important event.

    It’s our opportunity to introduce to you some of the key people who will be fighting next year’s local and European elections for the Conservative Party in this area.

    And those elections are extremely important.

    Local councils are increasingly spending more and more of people’s money and being asked to deliver more and more of their services. That’s why next year’s local elections will be fought on the key battlegrounds of value for money and service delivery.

    In May this year, people across the country put their trust in the Conservative Party to deliver better standards of service for lower levels of tax.

    They did so, because Conservative councils have a good record of doing so. On average, Conservative councils charge £81 less on Band D homes than Labour councils, and £99 less than Liberal Democrat councils.

    Yet an analysis of performance figures provided by the Audit Commission shows that the standard of our service delivery far outstrips that of our political opponents.

    This is why today we are the largest and fastest growing party of local government in Britain.

    But next year’s elections are not just about the day-to-day issues of local government – they are also of crucial importance to the way Britain conducts its future relations with Europe.

    I pay tribute particularly, to the work of your two local Conservative MEPs in this region – Chris Heaton-Harris and Roger Helmer, who is here today.

    They have both worked extremely hard over the past four years to expose the fraud and maladministration at the heart of the European Commission.

    And they have been prepared to stand up for the interests of the East Midlands by opposing Labour’s destructive plans for regional assemblies and by supporting local industry and commerce.

    They will also be part of this team that will be at the forefront of the Conservative campaign we have launched this week to give the people a say on the proposed European Constitution which is as unnecessary as it is unwanted.

    We have a record of success on which to campaign next year.

    But we also have new ideas and solutions in many policy areas that we will continue to promote.

    We will show that it is once again the Conservative Party that is coming up with solutions to people’s problems.

    And it is once again the Conservative Party that is committed to holding no one back while leaving no one behind.

    John spoke earlier about the specific problems we want to address here today. Problems faced by young people who are under pressure to achieve their best but who get little help from their government to do so.

    For students in Loughborough those problems can take two main forms.

    For those who hope to go on to a successful sporting career, one of the key concerns is the pressure to use performance enhancing drugs to be able to train and compete better.

    As Conservatives, we are proud of our record in supporting British sport. For example, we established the National Lottery that has helped to fund many great sporting initiatives around the country.

    But today, the distribution of lottery funds is carried out by the same body that funds our doping control programme.

    That programme is often inconsistent and the grounds for appeal are sometimes unclear.

    It’s time to give a fair deal to Britain’s young athletes so that they know where they stand and so that we can keep our sport drug-free.

    So today, we call on the Government to establish a new UK Independent Agency for Doping Control in Sport – an agency that is completely free of interference from government or from those who fund sporting projects.

    This would strengthen the existing mechanisms for dealing with doping cases in a robust, consistent and fair way under a unified system to cover all Governing bodies of Sport.

    We hope the Government will accept this proposal now, so that our young sportsmen and women can have confidence they will be treated fairly and that we can be confident that our sport is as free from drugs as possible.

    There is, however, a further threat to our nation’s future potential that is not specific to this town or this area.

    Labour’s plans to impose a huge tax on learning – a charge of £3,000 a year for the average student – will deter many of our brightest and best young people from going to university in the first place.

    At the same time, their plans to socially engineer the selection process for universities are simply unfair and are unthinkable for our party – a party that believes in opportunity and achievement for all based on merit and hard-work.

    While the Government ploughs on with its plans in defiance of every strand of opposition and with arrogant disregard for general public opinion, I am happy to restate our commitment on tuition fees once again here today:

    We will abolish all Labour’s tuition fees.

    We believe access to university should be based on merit and merit alone.

    And we believe those young people who don’t want to go to university should have just as much opportunity in life as those who do.

    That’s our fair deal for young people.

    I’m delighted to be here today. To be able to visit this beautiful area, to be going to see the excellent facilities at Loughborough University and to be able to launch this excellent campaign team for next year’s elections.

    And I’m pleased to be able to bring the Conservative message of a fair deal for everyone to the people of the East Midlands.

    A fair deal for everyone is our ambition for this country. And we will continue to demonstrate how we will achieve that ambition by delivering practical solutions to the problems the people of Britain face today.

    Solutions like those I’ve spoken about this morning.

    A fair deal for everyone will be the message we campaign on through next year’s elections and on into the general election.

    It’s what British People deserve.

    It’s what we will deliver.

  • Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Statement Saying he has Support of Grass Roots

    Iain Duncan Smith – 2003 Statement Saying he has Support of Grass Roots

    The statement made by Iain Duncan Smith, the then Leader of the Opposition, outside Conservative Central Office on 28 October 2003.

    I am pleased that the Parliamentary party has responded to my call for a swift resolution. I welcome the fact that this matter will now be decided quickly, openly and in the clear light of day, and I look forward to addressing the 1922 Committee tomorrow to make the case for my continued leadership of this Party.

    I believe that I have achieved a lot during the last two years. Following a second general election defeat and a divisive leadership contest, the Conservative Party was twenty points behind in the opinion polls. We are now equal with Labour in the polls, and we have become the largest party of local government.

    But I do not seek a vote of confidence solely on my past record. I seek the approval of my colleagues for the campaign that is now beginning.

    A vote of confidence in me will ensure we immediately start communicating to the British people the Conservative alternative to Labour. A vote of confidence in me can maintain the party unity on tax and Europe which we have achieved over the last two years – and ensure that we remain committed to the far-reaching set of policies in health, education, pensions, policing and asylum which we unveiled in Blackpool this month.

    I regard it as my duty to warn my party that a change of leadership at this stage will be regarded with despair and contempt by many loyal supporters, and gravely imperil the party’s prospects at the next election.

    I know I have the confidence of the grass roots – and I look forward to their original election of me, and their continued support, being validated by my Parliamentary colleagues. Then, united behind my leadership, we can begin the campaign to win the next election.