Cameron warns against complacency

As the 2008 Conservative Party conference gets under way in Birmingham, David Cameron has called on his party to do more to win the trust of voters.

He told activists that he wanted to use this year's gathering to present the Tories as a "very clear, very united" alternative to a government that "has completely lost its way".

The Tory leader said that the Party was "so united" that, unlike Labour, "we don't have to spend time talking about ourselves or our issues" but could focus on discussing policies.

But he warned: "I don't want at any stage for unity to tip over into complacency... No complacency is vital this week."

"Let us show them what we're made of this week. Let us show them how we're going to rebuild the economy.

"Let us show them that this is the end of the big, bossy, interfering government that promises so much but delivers so little.

"People in this country are crying out for change. We've got a plan for change, so let's show them with everything we've got that we can bring that change."

Economy
The Tories set out plans to reform the economic system amid continuing discussions over the possible nationalisation of the troubled Bradford & Bingley bank.

And Cameron told conference that "everything we do has got to be about trying to help people with the cost of living".

"I want us also to focus on the bigger picture," he said.

It was up to the Tories to show what steps they would take to ease the "huge anxiety because of what's happening in financial markets", Cameron argued.

But he said that a "knee-jerk" reaction would not "get us anywhere".

"This is a party that believes that free and open economies are good," he added.

While regulation and social responsibility were a good thing, it was important to have a "clear plan" about "what do to get out of this situation", the Tory leader said.

"In the short-term we've got to help savers", he said, to "give them security" that their money is safe and "explain how... we want to protect taxpayers".

The party's "long-term plan" for the economy "makes some very profound changes to what's been going wrong", he said.

Under the plans, the Bank of England "will once again be able to call time on levels of indebtedness", he said.

"These are profound changes. They will profoundly change the way any govern we run will be able to operate."

The Tory leader blamed Gordon Brown for bringing "us and our economy to this position".

Claiming that Brown's regulatory system failed to prevent last year's run on Northern Rock, he accused the prime minister of creating a "massive budget deficit".

"My message to Gordon Brown is this - you have had your boom and your reputation is now bust."