Howard promises to rebuild trust
Conservative leader Michael Howard has pledged to rebuild the public’s faith in politicians by setting out a clear timetable that a Conservative government would follow and by keeping his promises.
In a keynote address to the party’s conference in Bournemouth, Mr Howard said both the previous Conservative government and Labour had failed to keep promises to cut taxes and maintain Britain’s independence from Europe.
“Let’s face facts. What has happened on tax and on Europe has damaged people’s faith in politics. It’s hardly surprising that people don’t trust politicians today,” he said.
He called for politicians to become more accountable. In the “real” world, people lose their job for making mistakes, but politicians seemed to live in a different world where promises were dropped “just as casually as they’re made” and there are no penalties for failure.
Mr Howard said he did not have all the solutions; he would promise only what he could deliver, and give the public clear measures against which he could be judged. “There will be no wiggle room. Everyone will be able to hold us to account,” he added.
“Casting a vote should not be a mechanical choice between the lesser of two evils”, he insisted – it should be “an opportunity to tell the world what sort of country you want”.
And it was not a crime for people to want a better school for their child, better healthcare for their mother, or a better life for their family – but it was a crime when politicians held out those promises without a detailed, deliverable plan.
He said the party would campaign on the following policies: school discipline, more police, cleaner hospitals, lower taxes, and controlled immigration.
It would also emphasise accountability, and tell voters: “We won’t just make a difference. We’ll be different. We’ll be accountable to them. We’ll do what we say.”
On the war in Iraq, Mr Howard insisted it had been right to go war and topple Saddam Hussein. However, he repeated his accusation that Prime Minister Tony Blair “did not tell the truth” in the run-up to the war.
“Tony Blair has said that mistakes were made. He has said he accepts responsibility. But it is not a question of responsibility. It is a question of credibility.” Mr Howard added.
He also outlined Conservative policies across a range of issues, including pensions, education, drugs, crime and immigration, including a pledge to withdraw from the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees.
In closing, Mr Howard told delegates Britain was “the best country in the world”, but could be doing so much better.
“And it’s because I think I can help make things better that I am standing before you today. Put simply, I’m here so I can give back to Britain a tiny fraction of what Britain has given to me.”
