Cameron calls for unity amid economic crisis

David Cameron seeks bipartisan approach
Conservative party leader David Cameron today gave a surprise statement calling for the main political parties to work together amid the economic crisis gripping the world.Mr Cameron will give his main speech to the party tomorrow in which he will outline his proposals to fix the economy. But he said, given the current concerns about the world economy, today was not the day to talk about those proposals. Instead, he said, the Conservatives would try to work with the government to restore confidence in the financial system and he called on Gordon Brown to accelerate current legislation designed to save failing banks and saver's deposits and bring both bills before parliament next week where they would have the full support of the Conservatives. Both bills have until now been held up in parliament over two key issues – the size of savings deposits the government is willing to guarantee in the event of a bank failure and which authority, the Bank of England or the Financial Services Authority, should make the decision as to when to bail out a failing bank. But Mr Cameron said that the Conservatives would "not be playing politics with this". "We stand ready to help the government to do the right thing for the sake of the economy," he said. But he also warned that: "This is not a blank cheque" and that if further legislation needed to be passed he hoped the opposition would be consulted. Mr Cameron said it was easy to see why people were angry about the financial crisis but added: "Lets get out attitude to financial services right". "There will be a day of reckoning but today is not that day," he added. "But today is a time for us to send a clear message: to our political opponents, to our country. Let's not allow the political wrangling and point-scoring that we've seen in America to happen here in our own country. In Britain, we are all in this together. In Britain, let's stick together, and together we'll find a way through." Earlier today Mr Cameron said he had been in conversation with the prime minister and the head of the Financial Services Authority to express his support for government efforts to maintain stability in the wake of the collapsed deal to bail out the US economy last night. Speaking on the Today programme, Mr Cameron insisted he had acted to work with the government as a "responsible opposition" on issues like Trident, school reform and impending banking legislation. "There's a substantial point here: it may be necessary to take important steps to provide financial stability and people will want to see cross-party support," he said. Mr Cameron remained critical of the government, however, after his shadow chancellor George Osborne's scathing attacks on Gordon Brown in his speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham yesterday. "For the last ten years we've had a situation where there hasn't been anyone to call time on bank lending," he added. "You've got the Bank of England making the big decisions on interest rates, the FSA doing the regulation about financial products, but it's that piece in the middle: is the overall leverage of debt in the economy getting out of control?" Mr Cameron refused to be drawn on whether the Tories would nationalise a major British bank if it faced collapse. But he sought to emphasise the difference between an institutional failure and a systemic failure, saying both taxpayers and the system need protecting where necessary. "There are dangers for the parties of the left which is to use this as an opportunity to trash the whole system. There are dangers to parties of the right – if they took the view that regulation is always wrong that is a crazy thing to do," he said. "That is something the Conservative party does not believe. A free market system does need rules. What matters is, can we put those rules in place in a way that makes sure our system works well but provides greater stability?"

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Cameron speech: Analysis

David Cameron moves the debate away from personality politics
David Cameron moved Britain several steps closer to a real ideological political debate with his carefully calculated speech to the Conservative party conference.The Tory leader's speech had been trailed as a response to Gordon Brown's jibe that the financial crisis is "not the time for a novice". He met expectations here, condemning experience as an excuse for those who do not seek change. It's a sensible prediction that the voters will prefer the latter after 11 years of Labour government. But it also has some serious undertones: change requires a choice to be laid before the electorate. David Cameron began laying out the outlines of that choice today. His shift away from the attacks on the prime minister which have dominated the last three years represents a real change. It might seem placing the focus on ideological differences would be inevitable in a vision and values debate concentrating on "character and judgment". Spreading the assault against the entire party, rather than just against the prime minister, represents a remarkable shift, however. As he put it: "It's not the leader, it's Labour." Mr Cameron moved significantly to the right in this respect as the whole concept of individuals v the state left the Tories shuddering. Mr Cameron deliberately allowed himself to get worked up over teachers needing first aid officers to put plasters on pupils. He railed against the "useless quangos and initiatives" set up by the left. And he allowed his disgust to show about a letter from Alan Johnson explaining the complaints procedures after one of his constituents died of MRSA. "My God," he exclaimed. There was no such animation from the prime minister last week. The Tory leader may find himself open to hostility of emotional manipulation from those naturally opposed to his politics. But the Tories themselves loved it, for this was a Mr Cameron who seemed more at ease than ever before with the gut instincts of the old-school Conservative party. "This whole health and safety, human rights culture, has infected every part of our life," he hissed. This was a speech fundamentally opposed to the basic impulses of the left; by taking on Labour Mr Cameron began to put some distance between the Tories and Britain's governing party. As a result it was no surprise when the "progressive ends, Conservative means" phrase was rolled out. With a pre-conference polling cushion of up to 20 per cent Mr Cameron can afford to slow down his assault on the central ground previously occupied by New Labour. Somehow it is now reconcilable with more firmly right-wing positions, as the Tories, renewed in confidence, apply their basic principles to the political system they face. It is not yet clear how this move will play with voters. A politics.co.uk poll conducted during the conference season found around three-quarters of respondents believe the Tories will be the big winners but, if Mr Cameron has made a misjudgement, today might just change this. It was certainly the best of the season in terms of delivery. Nick Clegg's inexperience and Gordon Brown's lack of panache were both trumped. This may play either way, however, for Mr Cameron's effort is likely to have the most powerful impact as a result. In laying down his values, his vision, his judgment, Mr Cameron gave voters a clearer picture than ever before of the type of Conservative government they could expect. The negative attitude to Britain's "broken society", the commitment to the family and the horror at left-wing interventionism all remain. At the same time the Tories are the "party of the NHS" and the "party of social justice", but – as Mr Cameron demonstrated today – the means through which the goals are achieved are very different from those of Labour. It might have been thin on policy announcements, but today Mr Cameron laid out more clearly than ever before what the 21st century Tories are about. After years of blurred politics concentrating on personality the return of a real and substantial political divide may have just begun. Alex Stevenson

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Cameron speech: Comment

Cameron speech: Comment
He'll never fail at this type of stuff, but you can see chinks in the armour.David Cameron is second only to Tony Blair at making conference speeches. He can do relaxed and informal, he can do friendly and trustworthy, he can do sturdy and reliable. Today he was the statesman with a dash of brazen honesty. He used a lectern, unlike last year's walk-and-talk memory feat. He wore a dark blue suit. He smiled only at the start and the end, as he tried to put his arms around his wife in that painful, toe-curling way politicians now feel they must. Journalists are usually given typed-up copies of the speech as the leader walks on stage. During Nick Clegg's speech to the Lib Dem conference I looked out for sections where he had to emphasise lines like "It has to stop" or "we have got to end this nonsense". These are the sections which show your powers as an orator. Mr Clegg does not quite have it. He can convince, but he cannot stir the heart. Mr Cameron really does have it. His rhetorical touches, his sense of momentum and his timing are all impeccable. So is his choice of attack. They say homeowners who use weapons against burglars are likely to find those weapons turned against them. So it is with Gordon Brown and Mr Cameron. That which the prime minister uses to attack the Tories is grabbed and used against him, often to great effect. Mr Cameron took the 'novice' line of Mr Brown's speech and made him bleed with it. He used it to portray himself as a rebel, as anti-establishment. "If we listened to this argument about experience, we'd never change a government, ever," he said. By defining the speech as statesman-like but simultaneously embracing this notion of representing change Mr Cameron managed to be all things to all people. He was exciting, but safe. Revolutionary, but conservative. And all the while he employed his trademark down-at-home charm to brilliant effect. In one section, he told delegates he had written to the health secretary, Alan Johnson, after learning of a man whose wife died, "robbed of her dignity", by a hospital infection. Mr Johnson's reply was filled with exactly the kind of bureaucrat-speak people have come to detest from government ministers, describing in cold terms the various complaint procedures available. Mr Cameron quoted his letter: "A complaints procedure has been established for the NHS to resolve concern. Each hospital and Primary Care Trust has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service to support people who wish to make a complaint. There is also an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service…" And then he gave his response: "A Healthcare Commission. A Health Service Ombudsman. A Patient Advice and Liaison Service. An Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. Four ways to make a complaint but not one way for my constituent's wife to die with dignity." It was simply devastating. Mr Cameron was the man of the people, filled with indignation against a government that had simply lost touch. But there is weakness here. The public are prone to relying on experience during times of crisis. We are now without doubt in a time of crisis, and if the public are given the option of experience over youth and radicalism, they may still opt for the former. How far that affects Mr Cameron's electoral performance will depend on the extent to which economic issues still govern the front pages in 2010. He had better pray they do not, because after a week of attempting to repair their image on the issue, the Conservatives have failed to make a convincing case for their argument. You could almost see them holding their noses when they had to make the mandatory attacks on City bankers. And today there was ample evidence the Conservatives are on the wrong side of the argument when it comes to the financial downturn. The first hint came during a section on 'supporting entrepreneurs'. Mr Cameron put great emphasis on the Conservative policy of cutting corporation tax by three pence. It's a foundation stone of Tory thought. The best way to improve the economy is to set business free. But right or wrong – and it's usually wrong – the policy is against the public mood. The public are now suspicious of the rich, and angry at the different rules applied to corporations and speculators. As the economic situation gets worse, questions are raised about income distribution and corporate influence. A section on cutting government debt by "reforming inefficient public services" had similar Thatcher-era overtones. The Conservatives privately admit they are on the wrong side of this. Their policy has been to make the occasional – and highly resented – attack on 'greedy bankers' and then to keep as quiet about their real opinions on the issue as possible. In today's speech, it was studiously tidied under the carpet. It won't be that way forever. Mr Cameron can pull this stuff off almost effortlessly, but lingering doubts about Conservative performance on the economy remain. Today's speech was excellent and the conference in general succeeded in walking that fine line between optimism and seriousness. But Conservative planners' greatest hope would have been to fundamentally change the public's attitude towards them on economic issues. In that, both the speech and the conference failed. Ian Dunt

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The Tories would launch an inquiry into the war in Iraq if they get into power, the party pledged today.The promise came in a speech by shadow foreign secretary William Hague to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. Mr Hague reiterated his call for the government to establish the inquiry itself, but warned that failure to do so would not stop a Tory administration from instigating the inquiry if it reached office. "I call again on ministers to establish a full privy council inquiry into the origins and conduct of the war so that all can learn from its mistakes and apply the lessons as soon as possible, and I make it clear today that if they do not establish such an inquiry, one of the first acts of a Conservative government will be to do so," Mr Hague said. Mr Hague also went some way towards justifying the Conservatives' opposition to the government's conduct of the war, despite their support for it at the time. "We supported the decision to remove Saddam Hussein, but we all know that an occupation of Iraq that was better conceived and implemented could have spared so... [much] of the agony and bloodshed of the last five years," he will say. In a separate section, Mr Hague berated the government's response to the controversial Lisbon treaty, reaffirming the party's commitment to hold a referendum on the issue if it came to power. "Our position rests on the basic truth that in a democracy, lasting political institutions cannot be built without popular consent," he said. Mr Hague attacked the government for ratifying the treaty despite the 'no' vote in Ireland and expressed solidarity with the will of the Irish. "We say to the Irish people - you are not alone, and if a Conservative government takes office while the Lisbon Treaty remains unratified by Ireland or any other nation, we will hold the referendum the British people want and deserve and we will recommend as their government that they vote 'no'," he said. Today marks the end of the Conservative conference, which will close with leader David Cameron's keynote speech.

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Washington's decision not implement a $700 billion bailout of its banks showed a disappointing lack of decisive action which would not be replicated in the UK, the prime minister has said.Gordon Brown said: "The vote in America is very disappointing. "The governor of the Bank of England, the chancellor and I will take whatever action necessary to ensure continued stability for Britain." Mr Brown attempted to contrast the actions of the British government over Bradford and Bingley, which was part nationalised yesterday, with those in the States. "The stability of our system is something that we are doing everything in our power to maintain. "We have taken decisive action in the last few days and that decisive action has continued over the weekend." Mr Brown said he sent the White House a message calling for "decisive action". His statement coincides with an almost unprecedented day of political overtures from the three main parties. David Cameron made an emergency statement to the Tory party conference saying he would work closely with the government to overcome the economic storm, beginning with support for a banking reform bill announced by Labour last week. Nick Clegg has written to both party leaders calling for everyone to put their proposals on the table. The emergency bailout plan, deeply unpopular with American taxpayers, was rejected by 228 to 205 votes in the House of Representatives. Mr Brown's words were moderate compared to those of Peter Mandleson, New Labour architect and currently EU trade commissioner. Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight programme, Mr Mandelson said: "I feel they've taken leave of their senses, and I hope that in Europe, we will not see politicians and parliamentarians replicating the sort of irresponsibility and political partisanship that we have seen in Washington."

Clegg calls for party unity over economy

Clegg calls for party unity over economy
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has called on David Cameron and Gordon Brown to put aside their party allegiances and adopt a cross-party approach to the economic crisis.Mr Clegg wrote a letter to both his opposite numbers last night, just after it emerged that Washington had rejected a bailout bill for the US economy. His call was echoed by David Cameron, who told the BBC's Today programme this morning that he would work with the government to find a solution to the crisis. Mr Clegg wrote: "With the Paulson package blocked in Congress we are now entering a very dangerous time. "We must do everything to prevent the events in the US Congress leading to a downward spiral of market panic and widespread bank failure. "This would pose the greatest challenge to Britain and the world in decades. "That's why I believe these exceptional times require a suspension of normal political hostilities and a rapid move towards a cross-party consensus on how we might prepare for the worst case scenario. "Vince Cable [Lib Dem economics spokesman] and I are working on a number of ideas, from stemming repossessions in the housing market to re-regulating the banks in the City of London, which we would like to put forward for all party discussion. "Surely if all parties were to put forward their own ideas we would be more likely to come up with the best solutions available? "Millions of British families will be following the news of the turmoil in the financial markets with growing alarm. "All politicians of all parties now owe it to them to put their interest above that of party political advantage." Mr Cameron is currently making an emergency statement to party members at the Conservative conference in Birmingham.

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There are strange things afoot in British politics. Suddenly, the main parties want to work together to get the country safely through the economic storm.The situation is not without precedent. It's very common, in any country, for the political class to unite when there are grave threats to the state of the nation. Britain conducted the second world war under a coalition government, for instance. More recently, Tony Blair and Michael Howard could not compliment each other's attitudes enough following the London terror attacks in 2005. Certain events are of such significance that the main parties need to pool their talents. The global financial crisis, massively inflamed by Washington's decision not to offer banks a $700 billion bailout, is one of those. If American banks start falling like dominos, as many analysts believe they will if there is no new agreement, the British financial system will come to the brink of collapse. There is every chance the entire British banking system could be nationalised. Quite simply, it would not be the Britain we know. The combination of Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat thinking on the crisis could result in some very interesting – and very effective – remedies. George Osborne's focus on financial conservatism – including a watchdog to analyse the level of government debt – would compliment the government's plans for a new regulatory framework for banks nicely. The right and left bases would be covered, with the Liberal Democrat's economic prophet Vince Cable parachuted in to keep everything together. There's no point pretending, however, that the motivations of politicians ever free themselves entirely from the scheming world of party political advantage. The government's approach has won them good poll results, partly from the ease with which they slip into the left-wing rhetoric necessary during such times, and partly because the Brown-Darling team remains the most trusted with the economy. The Lib Dems and especially the Conservatives are keen to piggy-back on that image and gain themselves some reflected sunshine. To do otherwise would leave the Lib Dems looking pointless, and the Conservatives irrelevant, as they berate the government for actions in the past while it is rolling up its sleeves and sorting out the present. But whether the politicians are motivated by political advantage or not, the British public should feel pleased they have behaved far more impressively than their colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic. In Washington, it is becoming increasingly clear it was the interference of the presidential candidates – John McCain in particular – which scuppered attempts to agree on a bail-out package. The continued fighting between Republicans and Democrats over who is to blame for the current impasse should stand as an excellent working example of what British politicians must avoid if they are to escape the ire of the public. Ian Dunt

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