lieutenant dalsel would be echoed in every corner of the area from which he came but does the prime minister agree there is a portion of the population that is at least skeptical about a -- our role there and the vowel -- value of the work our troops do and the necessity of stabilizing that region? >> i share the sent i aments he is expressing to the family of the soldier who lost his life. first of all, we are in afghanistan because ofñi the threat of terrorism on the streets of great brittable. theñi majority of these serious terrorist plots come from theñr afghanistan-pakistan area. in other words, they don't come from plots within britain or

europe, they are organized within that area. that is why we are in that area, to prevent al qaeda from running a government there itself the and secondly we have a purpose for our mission and that is to train up the afghan forces. there will be 330,000 in 200 -- 2011. there will be a far greater number than the coalition forces together and gradually the afghan forces have got to take security control of their country to allow our troops to come home. >> neal gerard. >> people in my constituency want to know what the government's priorities will be after the election. [shouting] r)ááuqñi for them. but taxationt( is.çó could the prime minister confirm that what he will definitely not have as a priority is inheritance tax for

the small minority of people effectivelyq paid for by everyone else out of their taxes in >> the opposition party have announced that they wish to cut the child trust fund, cut the tax credit and cut the children's centers in our constituentscy. where would the money go to pay for an inheritance tax cut for only 3,000 people? it doesn't take much time to leaflet these people to tell them they would be -- >> order, order. >> i need to be clear about the government's prosecution. >> would the prime minister agree with me the renewed terrorism violence in northern ireland are not only threats on the peace process but represent attacks on the very areas from which these terrorist come? >> there are members on all sides here who care deeply about northern ireland and i

agree any renewed terrorists attacks are something we need to be vigilant about and take the necessary actions to stop. as he knows, large numbers of terrorists have decommissioned their weapons and renounced violence. there are two organizations that have not done so and the pressure must be brought on them. the way we show them we will have no truck with violence is building up the strength of the democratic process in northern ireland and that's why i urge all parties in this house and in the northern ireland assembly to is -- support the agreement that will mean the end to the process in northern ireland. that would be the dig -- biggest symbol we could send. >> steven howe? >> mr. speaker, i enjoy a pint of porter and a game of darts as much as any old etonian.

but there the similarity ends. can i ask my right honorable friend to strain every sinew to try to achieve an international agreement on a robin hood tax bearing in mind we all know who in this house speaks for the sheriff of nottingham? >> mr. speaker, i cannot be -- meet the humor with my honorable friend brings to this occasion. when the leader of the opposition is having his next pint of guinness and playing darts, he might consider that there is growing support across the world just as there was support to deal with the recession in a way he wouldn't deal with it, for a global levy to put financial institutions firmly at the global level and make a contribution to society and that is the way forward, a global levy, global banking

organization. global financial institutions working together. i hope that the opposition can see beyond their antipathy to europe to support a global action. >> each week the house of commons in -- is in session we air prime minister's questions. live on wednesday and then on sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. at c-span.org urg find a video of past prime minister's questions and links to the web sites. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww now remarks from british conservative leader david cameron. he challenged prime minister gordon brown's policies on the economy. entitlement programs and the national health service during a conservative party spring meeting in brighton.

the british government is holding elections this year with conservatives currently showing a small lead in polls over the majority labor party. this is 40 minutes. >> thank you. at the thank you. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww so mere we all are. i want to talk with you very vehicle -- directly today. they don't hand general election victories on a plate to people in this country, and quite right, too. and i he how important it is that we recognize something i've always said, which is this election was always going to be close. this election was always going

to be a real choice. labor or conservative, gordon brown or me. and this election was always going to be a real fight for our party, a fight to make sure we serve the country we love, and that's the fight we're going to have. now, before i start, there are a couple of things i wanted to say. the first is about the people sitting behind me. i'm really proud of the team in the shadow cabinet that we have put together. i'm proud of the fact that we worked together. we work with each other. we actually like working with each other. [laughter] it's wrong to single people out, but i think the british people can see that in george osbourne there is someone who's

got the courage to deal with our deficit and our debts. i think that people -- [applause] i think people can see in ken clarke someone who's got all the experience of how we're really get -- going to get our economy combroge again. think people can see in teresa may someone who has the passion to get our country working again. and when you think of the incredible chopping and changing there's been with government ministers, think about it. since we've been at war with afghanistan we've had five different defense secretaries, one of them part time. i think we've had about eight energy ministers. i believe in finding good people, trusting them, and letting them get on with the job. we have had just one defense secretary, liam fox, and he would be a brilliant secretary

of state. we've had just one health secretary, and he knows more about our n.h.s. than i think anyone else alive and he'd make a great health secretary. and i've only had one shadow foreign secretary in william hague. i think he would be the finest foreign secretary this country's had for a generation. and there's something else i wanted to say. which is about people engaged in a real fight on the other side of the world, in afghanistan. one of the great privileges that i've had as leader of our party is each year i've been able to go to afghanistan and see for myself what our troops

are doing and whether it's talking with the cold stream guards in central helmand or the r.a.f. regiment guarding the base at kandahar, you just come away struck with the dedication, the professionalism, the brill yans and courage of -- brill yans and courage of these people and i know everyone at this conference will want to send the clearest possible signal to our armed forces, we salute you, we honor you, we will always equip you and your families, because frankly you are the the best of britain.

now, we have got a maximum of 70 days between now and the general election that we must win. and you know what? this isn't an election that is -- that it would be quite nice to win because we've got some quite good policies or because some of these people would make quite good ministers. it is will not -- an election we have to win because our country is in a complete mess and it is our patriotic duty to turn it around and give us a better future and i think everyone in this country knows -- [applause] i think everyone knows that another five years of gordon brown would be a disaster for our country. another five years of spending and bloat and waste and debt and taxes.

another five years of failing to get to grips with our big social problems. another five years of politics of that big top-down, bossy, i-know-best sort of approach and another five years of a government that is so dysfunctional, so divide, so weak, you've got a bunch of ministers that can't work with him but can't get rid of him. a prime minister who can't work with them but can't make his government work. they're locked in this dangerous dance of death that is drag our whole country down. and it is only the conservative party that can give people the hope of a different future and as we leave this crfers -- conference today we must resolve we will not let you down. [applause]

now, we've had a great conference here in brighton. we've had a great year in our party. you've heard about some of the things we've achieved in local government, parliament and elsewhere but i think we all know that the british people have still got some big questions they want to ask us and that we've got to answer. they wantxd to know what sort o party we are, what we stand for, they want to know the changes that we'll make and the differenceçó make and they want to knowc som things about me. are you really up for it? are you really up to it? are you really going to make that difference? it's those four questions that i want to take the time to answer today. first of all, what sort of party are we? well, you decided that four and a half years ago when you elected me as your leader. we decided then that we wanted to modernize our party to get

back in touch with the country that we wanted to govern. now, i didn't do that on my own. you did it. it was you that wrote out the placards, that marched on the streets, that campaigned to save our community hospitals, our maternity units, our g.p. surgeries. it was you that made sure that for the first time in our history we could look the fa we are the party of the national health service and you should be proud of that. [applause] it was you who campaigned at local electionlp after local election under the slogan vote blue, go green, that haveñi demonstrated our councils are the greenest and best in britain and that we are the new environmental party in britain, and you should be prud -- proud of that, too. it was you, it wasn't me, it

was you who selected those brilliant women candidates, including charlotte veir, right here in brighton which we're going to win at the next election -- [applause] it was you who selected those candidates so if we win that general election instead of 18 women m.p.'s on the conservative side, there will be more than 60. and you've done something else. you have selected black and minority ethnic candidates, christian, jewish, hindu, muslim, sikh, right across our country. not in labor seats. not in marginal seats but in safe conservative seats and to people who say to me that this change was just some sort of paint job i would say this -- think of the young black british boy looking at parliament, looking at britain

and thinking what is -- what's my role? how am i going to get on? he can look at the tory party and he can see wilfred emanuel jones, shane bailey, helen grant, and say they've got to the top of british politics, i belong here and so can i. [applause] and think about that young muslim woman living in britain, wondering what her role is in modern britain who is able to switch on the television and watch in prime time tv on question time as sayeda varsy destroyed that ghastly piece of filth, nick griffin and say yes, yes, i belong here, it's

my country too. that's what we've done as a party. we can now look the british people in the eye and say this country, our country, this tolerant, compassionate, brilliant, multiracial country, we are with you. we are like you. we are for you. we are ready to seve you. this modern conservative party made its choice and it's never going back! [applause] so that's what this party is. and what do we stand for? well, first of all let's get

something straight about this election. this election is not a referendum on the government. this election is not a referendum on the conservative party. this election is a choice. it is a choice between five more years of gordon brown or change with the conservative party that has got the energy, that has got the leadership, that has got values to really get this country going. and this change we talk about is not some airy-fairy concept, not undefined, it is based on some very clear and conservative values. take our economy. what we need in our economy today is the value of aspiration. we're not going to get a recovery from the government. we need a recovery from the private sector, from business, from individuals. we need this to be a country where people want to set up a business, take people on, make

money, get ahead, have a sense once again that this country is about opportunity for all. i had a small businessman came to my surgery the other day and he said every year i have to try to drive down my costs and improve the quality of goods i sell to my customers. why on earth can't my government do the smame -- same thing? that is the value we mean. the change we need in our society. it's not some sort of vague change. it's based on a very clear principle, a very clear value of responsibility. we think the responsible society is the good society. we believe in standing up and helping those people who want to do the right thing, not the wrong thing. i was on a radio phone-in in kent the other day and a young

man rang up and said that he'd got his girlfriend pregnant and he wanted to move in with her and together to bring up that child and give it the best start in life but he'd found out that if he moved in with his girlfriend she would lose her benefits and be much worse off, so he couldn't do it. what sort of crazy country sends a signal like that to people who want to do the best for their families? that's the change we've got to bring in this party. that's the value that we aspire to. and when it comes -- [applause] and when it comes to change in our politics, again it's not some vague change. it's not changing one group of politicians for another group of politicians. it is real change. that says it is time to give people power and control over their lives. i think of all the people i

meet in their 20's and 30's who say so -- to me i can have so much freedom and choice and control about where i live, where i work, where i shop and where i travel, why when it comes to my school or my hospital or my government or my parliament or politics do i have so little control over what's done in my name? this party's always believed in people power, not state power, and that's the change we need in our politics. so those are the principles, the values we believe in. aspiration and opportunity for all. responsibility in backing people who do the right thing and giving people more power and control over their lives. now let me try and answer the third question. the specific changes that we're going to brick and the -- bring and the differences that they will make to people's lives. belter start with the economy because that is going to be the key issue this election. that is why our country is in

such danger at the moment and let me say something very directly to gordon brounlt gordon brown thinks he's the economy man. he wants everyone to say -- believe that he's some sort of economic genius. what sort of genius is it that doubles the national debt? what sort of genius is it that takes one of the best pension systems in europe and wrecks it? what sort of genius is it that complicates the tax system, that stirs up the benefits system, that drives down our competitiveness and drives up the tax rate? that is not genius, it's incompetent and in this coming election we're going to take out your record and tear it apart piece by piece. now, the big argument as you

heard from george osborn yesterday is going to be about our deficit and the clear and present danger it holds over our whole economy. and there's going to be a big argument about this deficit. labor will say that if you do anything, literally anything to cult any piece of government spending immediately you will somehow tip the country back into recession. we say that is nonsense. we say that if you don't do anything, you will see interest rates go up, you will see mortgage rates go up, you will see confidence drained away from our economy and the country will go back into a deeper and darker recession. and on our side we have a growing number of not just economists but also business people like richard branson and frankly half the country's retailers who never stop telling me that think want the government to get to grips with its own finances. the government will produce its own economists and there will be a great argument but i think

we should be kfed -- confident about this. i think the british people know that we're right. that when you've maxed out on one credit card it's not the right thing to rush off and get another one. they know as with their own debts the longer you leave it the worse it gets. as we make this bold, brave argument that we've got to roll up our sleeves and deal with our deficit and our debt we should have the confidence that we're right and we're going to win that argument with the british people. dealing with the deficit isn't the only change that we're going to bring because to get our economyñr growing we've got to do more than just deal with the deficit, with early action and a proper plan. we've got to get this economy moving again. we've got to get people investing again and that's why

we're going to have that emergency budget in 50 days. that's why we're going to cut the main rate of corporation tax, cut the small company rate of corporation tax. that's why we're going to scrap the national insurance on the new businesses setting up on the first 10 jobs that they take on. that is why we're going to unleash enterprise, not the forces of hell but enterprise again in this country. and you know what? gordon brown sometimes says that i'm a bit of a salesman. and you know what? i plead guilty. and i'll tell you why. because in this country with all our difficulties we are going to need some salesmanship. i want to get out round the world, not filling up the airplane with journalists but filling it up with businessmen. i want to get out there and sell our country to the world, say these are the companies you should be doing business with, this is the place you should be investing, britain is the best place in the world to come and set up and invest i want a

really clear message to go out that arbitrate -- britain is under new economic management and we are open for business again. [applause] those are the changes we want to bring to our economy. changes based on the value of aspiration, changes that will get our country moving again. so in this party we don't just dream of a stronger economy, we dream of a stronger and richer society. and some people say to me that i'm wrong to talk about the broken society. but i say when you've got the height -- highest rate of family breakdown in europe, when you've got one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, when there are a

million violence -- violent crimes every year and 100 knife crimes every day, when children starve to death in birmingham and no one does anything about it, which bit of "broken society" don't these people understand? and we want to make big changes, really big changes to build the stronger society. we're going to start with the most family-friendly manifesto that any party has produced in british political history. we're going to set out how we're going to recognize marriage in the tax system, how we're going to support couples in the benefits system, how we're going to gib the right to flexible to everyone with children up to the age of 18, how we're going to have a new army of health visitors to help mom and dad when the new child arrives, how we're going to do all these things to help all of our families in all of oush --

our country. but we know that helping families is not just about tax or benefit or regulation or laws, it's also about culture. anyone bringing up children like me has that dread of switching on the television and you're bombarded with commercial messages, of going down to the shops and there are shings -- things you wouldn't want a 25-year-old to wear, let alone a 5-year-old, and the worry you have for the future. are they going to be sold alcohol and cigarettes and everything at an age before they're allowed to in so we've got to change the culture as well as the law. we've got to say to those television companies think about the messages that you're putting out to our children. we've got to say to those retailers think about the messages you send with the products that you sell. and to our licensed premises and bars and convenience stores and supermarkets and the rest of it, stop selling alcohol to

people under age. to all those people who have been trashing family values in our country for too long, this has got to change. the most important thing to britain's families and the most important thing to my family has been the national health service. and it was at a conference like this that i stood up and said that you could sum up my priorities in just three letters, n.h.s., and if anything the feeling has got stronger ever since then. i'm not saying our n.h.s. is perfect. i've seen in recent years the great side of our n.h.s. in the treatment my own family received, but i've also seen what happens when it goes wrong. i don't think i'll ever forget going to stafford and meeting with some of the families whose relatives have been into that

hospital sometimes with minor ailments and they've been treated so badly by a hospital that was pursuing targets and wasn't managing itself and had bad standards of care than -- and those people have died completely unnecessarily. so i know we've got a lot to do to improve our national health service, but i believe i've got the ideas to change it. let's get rid of that bureaucratic top-down, bossy interfering culture and judge it by the results that he cheeve president but i want everyone in this country as they go up to put that cross in the box at the next election to heir prime minister, as a parent, a politician, a person, be i love the n.h.s. and i will always stand up and protect it. [applause] .çó wwwwwwwwwwwwww

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww >> there are people who mortgage themselves. when they pay their taxes, they should get a great state education. there is so much talent in our country that is left untapped because we did not have great schools in every part of our country. we are going to bust open the state monopoly.

sometimes a small schools, so we can have the diversity, choice, and competition that is there in the private sector for the wealthy. it is not magic, what a good school looks like. we all know, it is a school with a uniform, with discipline, where children get up from their seats when anñi adult walks into the room. xdwhere we get the basics right. these are things we should have in all our schools with all our children, and with the team led by michael gode, that is exactly what we are going to get. [applause] wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

to those who say labor tried some of these things, i will say this. when your not having to cut deals with the teachers' union, just imagine what you could achieve. we'll have the attention to detail that has been so lacking. michael and i were looking at the history curriculum recently. their only to historical figures mentioned. i am a huge fan of wilberforce, he was a conservative. william has written a book about him. is still available at all good bookshops. what happened to churchill? what happened to florence nightingale? what happened to the heroes of the industrial revolution? britain has the proudest history

of any country in the world. is it too much to ask that we teach our children about it? [applause] as we need to be radical in reforming our schools, so we need to be reticle in reforming our welfare system. it is simple. we are compassionate conservatives. we believe in helping those who cannot help themselves. if you cannot work, you deserve to be supported. you deserve support that will allow you to lead a reasonable and good quality of life. you can work, or find it hard to work, we will help you. we will train you. we will unleash the private and voluntary sectors who often do it better than the state. but if you can work, you are offered work, and you do not choose to work, you cannot go on

claiming benefits as before. [applause] there is one group of people who i know what to your very specifically from us about the benefits and the pensions that they receive. that is britain's pensioners. i share their frustration, that they have been told by a party after party in manifesto after a manifesto and document after document that we are going to link the pensions back with earnings rather than prices. i believe we in this party really can look them in the eye and say that we will do it. why? because we made the top choice. we have said that from 2016, we are going to move the retirement age a year later. believe me, i have had quite a

lot of e-mail's from people in their late fifties who are not happy about this. i believe we have the right argument. people are living longer in this country. people are having longer and have your retirements, and it is trite to say we should move at retirement age. above all, it enables us to look britain's pensioners in the eye and say you deserve security, dignity, and a good quality of life in your old age, and we will link the pension back with earnings. that is a promise. [applause] those are some of the changes we are going to bring to our economy and to our society. i think we all know after the last year, we need some big changes, some really big changes when it comes to our politics. i am proud of the fact that when

it came to the expenses, it was this party that acted first. we were the first to get mp's to pay back money. we were the first to make them put openly, a transparently, everything that they claimed on the internet, and it was this party that was the first to say these perks and benefits have got to go. if we think that just dealing with the expenses will solve the problems, we have not understood what is wrong. people are incredibly frustrated with our political system. they see this great big, expensive, bloated bureaucracy at the top, and then they see so many things where they have so little control. a radical plan is to deal with all of these things. we will start at the top and say it is time to cut the size of the house of commons.

it is time to freeze ministers' pay, having cut it by 5%. it is time to cut a third of the white hall bureaucracy. it is time to put our government on a diet. we are really going to look those regions, and we will say those special strategies, most of their regional development agencies, the whole lot is going. [applause] when you look at almost any one of our policies, they axel÷ all about giving people more power and control over their lives. look at our housing policy. it is about scrapping housing

targets and allowing local areas to decide what to build and where to build it. when you look at our energy policy, is about saying if you generate some of your own electricity, it will be paid for it to make you more independent. itñr is about driving÷d power downward and outward, giving people power and control over their lives. those are the changes we want to make. i have talked a bit about our party and what it stands for. i have talked about the values we will stand up for. i have talked to about specific changes we are going to make. the fourth thing was about mexd, and what people should expect. all i can say is ended four 0.5 years of doing this job, every day that goes by pg&e 4.5 years of doing this job, i feel i have would it takes to turn this country around and get it moving again. that is what we badly need to

do. [applause] i want to tell you some of the things that people should expect from me every day between now andñhr polling day and every dai am in government if we win that election. the first thing is a sense of urgency. we are in a deep hole right now in this country. our deficit is a dark cloud hanging over us. we cannot put off what needs to be done. we have to roll up our sleeves and get on with it. i want people to know that from day one, that is exactly what we will do. i think people also want frankness. people are fed up with the slogans and the sound bites and the attempt to simplify it all.

we are all guilty. people really understand that the economic changes we have to make to deal with our deficit will be tough. people know that the changes we need to make in our society will be difficult, and we will have to confront some really deep, vested interests. the same goes for turning around our politics. when i say we need to be frank about business problems, i mean all of them. we have an energy crisis looming, and we need to tell people that if we do not invest in some extra capacity now, the lights are going to go out. it will spell that out clearly. people want to speak frankly about the issue of immigration. it has been too high for too long, and it needs to be cut. i will cut it, and we have set out recently, sensibly,calmly, how that will be done.

let's be frank about it. we are not going to turn around our education system unless we are radical from day one. we will not sort out the welfare system and make sure it genuinely helps people and does not allow you to live an idle life through choice unless we are radical. that is what inspires all of these people sitting behind me. they are not in this to have some comfortable limousine with a life as a minister. we are doing this because we want to change our country for the better. the final thing people expect from me, and they should expect from me, is a sense of optimism. yes, sometimes in this country with all our difficulties of the deficit and the debt and the social problems and the political system gone wrong, it can feel like we are looking down some dark tunnel. but there is a bright light at the end of it.

just imagine, if you can, what our country could be like if we did all the things we have been talking about today at this conference and in our manifesto. imagine what it would be like if instead of having so many 6 schools, we have the best state schools in europe that people want to send their children to. imagine if instead of a country where we have a closed sign over our economy, it is the best place to invest and set up business, to get things moving again. imagine if we had a welfare system that really gave people a hand up rather than just a handout. we have to inspire people with the potential of what we can be in this country. an optimistic we are that if we take the country on this journey, we can achieve it. at all together. what does it mean? the sense of optimism, this urgency. i think we need to give people a sense that if we make these

difficult decisions, we will say yes, we did these difficult things, but we came through it together. we need to give people a sense that being a citizen of britain is not about just paying your taxes and obeying the law. is about being part of something bigger than yourself. a sense that you are really part of a big and rich and vibrant society. i want us to be a country that feels like a community. that is what are optimistic ambitions should be all about. so there is. that is what we have got to do in these last 70 days. remind people what sort of a party we now are. tell them about the values we stand for. set out the changes we are going to make to make this country a better place, and demonstrate that we have the leadership, values, and ambition to make this country great again. as you go out there and campaign, i want you to do it fortified with two things in

your mind. the first is that every day, everyday gordon brown is running this country is a greaay day in britain. another day we are wasting opportunities, another day when this country is not being all it can be. i also want to think of this. think of the great changes we can make in this country. we are an amazing people in this country. when we get knocked down, we do not roll over and die. we get up and fight. i want you to think of the small businessman who has a great dream to make his business take on the world and win it for him. i want you to think of the mother with young child desperate for a great school so that her child can still fulfill our dreams and ambitions. i want you to think of the nurse, the doctor, the teacher, the probation officer, all who went into public service but

feel crushed by the weight of bureaucracy. i want you to think of the incredibleó[ dark depression of another five years of gordon brown andá say no, no, we are t going to do that. so come on, then, let's getñi ot ÷.ithere and when it for britai. -- win it for britain. [applause] >> last week, british prime minister gordon brown also laid out his party's platform at an event in coventry, england. he talked about key issues for the labor party. this is 20 minutes. ♪

♪ ♪ çó[applause] >> can i say first of all, i am privileged to work with such a brilliant deputy leader and champion of equality as harriet harman. [applause] we have the chancellor of the

exchequer who is renowned throughout the world, and i am very proud to work with alistair darling. [applause] leading the fight against unemployment is someone who is getting young people back to work every day, every week, and every month. thank you, yvette kupfer. [applause] i am just a prime minister. peter mendelson is a president three times over. president of the board of trade, president of the council, and presiding with douglas alexander in harriet harman over our election campaign, thank you for everything you are doing, peter. [applause] since the tories have reduced the media appearances of the

shadow chancellor, someone said he had lost the art of communication, but not the gift of speech. the tory party is down to one, but i am proud to be part of a team that is the most experienced, the most determined team that labor has ever fielded in an election campaign. we are proud of them all. [applause] there are only 76 days left until the council elections. i wish every labor candidate fighting under our better success in these great elections, with the council to come very soon. [applause] someone asked me the other day

what my secret weapon was for the general election. i think they were expecting me to say those airbrushed posters. the greatest money labor has never spent. you know what our secret weapon is? it is our beliefs. it is the policies that flow from our beliefs. this election will be one or lost not on who has the best pr, but on whoseñr values best reflt the aspirations of britain's mainstream majority. the coming contest is a big choice about who is best for britain's future, who is best for the economy, who is best for the health service, who is best for policing, schools, and for britain's place in the world. you have to ask yourself, why am i lookingñi forward to this contest wore than david cameron? it is because only a few labor have a plan for britain.

how we can realize britain's values in a future that is fair for all. labor has a record we can be proud of. every community in the country, we see new schools, new hospitals, more teachers, doctors, nurses, police. that is the change the tories never talk about, but that is the change we see. [applause] it is jobs created and families held together. it is education for all. we can be proud of the britain we have been building together. dreams a cheap, ambitions realize, hopes fulfilled, and lives -- extremes achieved, and lives change. we should be proud, but never satisfied, because our work is

not yet done. elections are not verdicts of the past, their choices for the future. we will go into this election fighting for causes every inch as great and every inch as noble as any of government has bought four before. we are fighting today for an ideal as visionary as the national health service. the dream of a national care service to take the fear out of old age. we are fighting for a future where for the first time, every single young person of this generation has the guarantee of training, of a job. we are fighting for a future where britain is not isolated but is a leader of europe, a country that has led the world and will continue to lead the world in protecting our planet and securing justice for the poor. with the investment we are making, we can now hope for a future we have never dared to hope for before, one where we

beat cancer in this generation. today we are setting out our plan to build that future for all. first, we must secure the recovery, not put it at risk. second, we must support industries for future jobs. third, as we reduce the deficit by half, we must protect services. fourth, we must end up for the many, not the few. i want to talk to you today about how i have changed and what i have learned. for me, the lesson of the crisis is that we need to renew our faith in the britain that believes in hard work and enterprise and responsibility. it is the britain of the family who works hard to pay their way and play their part. the britain of a business who takes on an apprentice when times are tough. is the britain of communities

that stick together even when the going is hard. i have concluded that the very values that made our country great, the values of fairness and responsibility, are the surest foundation of our future success. markets are essential.4+$zm=ndñn and give us the resourcesñi to fight poverty, iflorance, and disease. they serve the cause oli freedom and prosperity. xdxdñibut it is now more clear n without that, they go astray. that focus on the price of things, not the value of things. it causes people to take reckless risks for which others have to pay the price. we have to say a new debt markets should serve the public, and not the other way around. we are insuring that the public money that was put into the nation's banks is fully repaid. we have raised the tax rate of earnings above 100 dd thousand and set a pick% tax on this

year's bonuses over 50,000. we have restructured our banks and are insuring they have the capital they need. we are discussing with other countries the prospect of a global levy on banks that would help us achieve our domestic objectives as well as tackle global poverty and climate change. we are making these changes because britain needs to rebuild. we will review -- renewed the economy. we will renew our industrial base. that is why we decided that as a nation and as a government we will back british science and scientists. we will invest in the renewable energy of the future and give priority to biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. we will encourage digital and creative industries. it is labor that has the vision of a new economy, a decade in which britain can lead and succeed. we are determined to reduce the deficit that emerged as a result

of the recession. we have already announced tax changes and will take tough action on spending, not just efficiency drives, but cuts in some areas. our bottom line is, we will protect the front lines, our schools, hospitals, and police. it is only labour who are prepared to offer direct support to the business community. a total of 1 billion pounds, so that every household and business has access to the new is high-speed broadband. it is only labor that has a plan to make britain a world leader in a market for clean energy goods and services, opening up the prospects of perhaps 400,00 new green jobs for the british people. only labor has raised a number

of apprenticeships this to nearly 250,000 young people this year. it is only labour who are targeting investment in manufacturing centers around the region to help u.k. business develop the best-selling products of the future. my message to the people of britain today is simple. i know that labor has not done everything right, and i really know that i am not perfect. but i know where i come from, and i know what i stand for. and i know who i came into politics to represent. if you are from britain's mainstream majority, from an ordinary family that wants to get on and not simply get by, then my message to you today is simple. take a second look at us, and take a long, hard look at them. [applause]

take a second look at how we are creating the jobs of the future, and take a long, hard look at how the day after an election, their policies would put the recovery and your job at risk. take a second look at our nhs guarantees, and take a long, hard look at their plans to cut your right to see a cancer specialist within two weeks, to cut your right to see a gp on evenings and weekends, to cut the right to get your operation in the shortest possible time, and take a second look at how we will improve the prospects for your children. then take a long, hard look at their plans that hurt middle-

class families. plans to cut your child's trust fund, and to cut the budgets of our schools. can they really say they understand the needs of mainstream britain when they would take away the letters of opportunity that guarantee young people training for a job? can they really say they understand the needs of mainstream britain when they think that most in need of a tax cut or the 3000 wealthiest estates in britain? can they really say they understand the needs of mainstream written when they now vote to keep hereditary seats in the house of lords? when they think legalizing fox hunting is somehow a priority? when they think that manchester -- 54%, more than half the girls

of liverpool are pregnant by the time they are 18. and they claim they know mainstream britain, when clearly they understand so little of how we live? when it comes the most gullible people in our society, if you put partisan point scoring before a consensus of social care, real families really suffer. if you frighten people with made of statistics on crime and take away the very dna that we use to catch criminals, real families release over. if you talk written down in the middle of a recession on underlying confidence, real families really suffer, because government is not a game. when you peel away the veneer and actually look at what their policies mean, what you see is not the new economics of the future. it is the same old conservative

economics of the 1980's. how can they be the party of change when they have not even changed themselves? it is precisely because they have notçó changed that they cannot and will not join the emerging progressive consensus of the british people, a consensus which is coming together around the big challenges that our country must meet and master in this new decade. just consider climate change. it is a huge challenge facing all humanity on which we agree with the scientists, the green campaigners, and business leaders throughout our country that urgent action is vital, but which the tory party high command has now said is not even for them a top-10 policy priority. or think about our industrial policy and the british jobs of the future, and take one example, high-speed rail, a project of vital importance to the future of our country.

vital importance here in the midland's. the tories have chosen to put short-term political parties ahead. yesterday they boycotted the campaign groups, the charity's trying to find common ground for the future of social care. take the renewal of politics, like the way we elect the house of commons and reform the house of lords, where we made common cause with the liberals a cause where is the big progressive majority is for change, and only the tories ruled out any change at all. all they have done is to change their appearance, to give the appearance of change. where the challenges of the future are the greatest and the need for change is the most urgent, the conservative party has become again what the historical role has always been, to set themselves against the

change the country needs, the change the british people want to see. so today, i say to every progressive in britain, of every hue and of every background, if you believe in a progressive future for all, then new labour is your home. if you believe in securing the recovery, not putting it at risk, then new labour is your home. if you believe in protecting and not cutting front line services, then new labour is your home. you believe in supporting future jobs and not leaving it to chance, then new labour is your home. if you believe in standing up for the many, not the view, then new labour is your home. to those who are beginning to wonder how to use their vote,

ask yourself whether you believe in fairness and individual opportunity. asked whether you want to keep on the road to economic recovery or to return to the same old social divisions of the tory years. today i issue a call to every progressive to come together to fight for the values we cherished and for the country we love. this campaign is not going to be one somewhere else by someone else. it will be one street by street, school day by school day, workplace by workplace, and it is going to be won by you. if you believe in taking this country forward, not backwards, then labour or the changemakers in this election. that is why labour supporters are campaign with all the fire and fervor of those who have not just candidates, but up costs, a future to fight for.

don't ever stop believing that every single child has worked. do not ever stop believing that every single person has something to contribute. don't ever stop believing that a prosperous country can be a fair one, too, and don't ever stop believing that everything you do in the coming weeks will matter, that you can make the difference. don't ever stop believing that a future fair for all is in your hands. it is ours to shape. it is ours to build, and it is ours to win. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] ♪

♪ >> coming up, and look at political issues heading into the 2010 midterm elections. also on "q&a", kike arnal on his latest book, "in the shadow of power." war british politics with conservative leader david cameron later. tomorrow, part 2 of the hearing on reconstruction contracts in iraq and afghanistan.

represented from the state and defense departments and the u.s. agency for international element talk about interagency coordination and a proposed new government oversight agencies to reduce waste and fraud. that is live at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2. tomorrow, house majority leader steny hoyer talks about the president's recently created bipartisan fiscal commission charged with recommending solutions for reducing the federal deficit. watch his remarks live at 1:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. which for presidents lived past 90 years old? they were john adams, herbert hoover, ronald reagan, and gerald ford. find these and other presidential fax in c-span's newly updated book, "has buried in grant's tomb?"

>> it is a work of biography of each of these presidents. you can tell a lot about people at the end of their lives. >> our research guide to every president's gravesite. it is available at your favorite bookseller or get a 25% discount at the publisher's web site. monday, senator patrick leahy kick off the congressional internet caucus policy exhibition that highlights emerging internet technologies for congressional members and staff, at 8:00 eastern on c- span2. >> now, a look at political issues heading into the 2010 midterm elections. this is about 20 minutes. host: we are pleased to welcome back a familiar face to this

slow and the author of "the chrystal ball" larry sabato. guest: there are two ways to look at the trends. one is based on sta activity cal -- statistical analysis. that suggests the republicans will pick up 30 house seats. we think it is between 27 and 37. let's remember it is february 28. you and i have been around a long time and loads of things

were going to happen between now and november that will lift that number or lower that number. host: chuck todd on his morning daily rundown said we have already seen massachusetts flip to republican and now delaware and illinois have the potential of becoming republican seats, barack obama and joe biden's respective seats. guest: yes, those are two perspective seats. there are several others that can switch -- arkansas, nevada. michael bennett is certainly a candidate for switching. when you go down the list, it is obvious that republicans are going to drastically cut the democratic margin. look what democrats are not able to do with 59 seats. think about what they are going to have as of 2011. they are going to be lucky to have 52 or 54 seats.

they are going to be lower than that. how are they going to get it done if they can't get a health care passage with 59 senators. >> do you think the house could flip and become a republican house? >> the important word there is could. >> look, if it is between 27 or 37 in february and it takes 40 to turn the house over to republicans, it is obvious that a flip is a possibility. it is a very real possibility. i don't personally think it isity a probability. again, it is february 28. the election is november 2nd. host: charlie cook indicates he thinks it is a strong possibility. some of those districts are those john mccain won in 2008. guest: yes. if you look at the overall picture you will see there are 83 truly competitive seats, but by more than 2-1 they are democratic seats. they are seats -- steve, this is really important and it is often

missed. it isn't just about health care or president obama's popularity or the economy. a lot of this election is structural. that is -- midterm elections often are. the democrats won over 50 seats. where are they? they are in suburban and areas that normally vote republican. this is the first republican year since democrats won more than 50 seats. they are going to lose a lot of those seats. right there it tills tells you it is going to be a republican year and republicans could at least come close to taking over the house. host: what's happening in that arizona senate race? guest: i still think john mccain will get renominated. in part, i think because he's taken this challenge from former congressman hey worth -- hayworth very seriously. he should take it seriously. republican primaries can be

dominated heavily by very conservative voters as we're seeing in the texas gubernatorial process. so if you take it seriously and have the support that mccain has, you ought to be able to win. host: web ads have bime a new -- become a new phenomena in american politics. and we don't have the ads ready, so we will get them ready. we'll go to tom from detroit. go ahead, tom. caller: good morning. host: we wanted to hear from you first. we didn't want those ads to get through. caller: thank you. i sort of see myself as reflective of the general populous in this country. i'm 62 almost. ultimately it seems to me the

american electorate tends to, when pushed, will receive back to the center from either side. you know, i voted for clinton because of his fiscal responsibility. his other matters were of little concern to me. you know, i voted for george bush, and i think he and dick cheney were at an -- i don't know what they are. they are not true republicans. they are something else. but anyway, i think the country, i think this gentleman is right. i think the country will swerve back to the center and maybe a little right of center. that's where the country generally goes. host: larry? guest: this person sounds like an independent. he has clearly voted in both directions.

independents have moved back from the democrats. they sided with the democrats in 2006 when the democrats took over the house and senate. they sided with the democrats in 2008 when president obama won 2008 when president obama won and democrats increased now for a combination of reasons, including spending, taxes, debt, and the overall bad economy, in the bins are moving back the republicans. independents voted overwhelmingly republican for governor in new jersey and virginia and for senator brown, the new republican senator from massachusetts in a special election. host: next to michigan. welcome to the program. caller: good morning. i just wanted to comment. democrats won the last election. obama is our presidents, and i have heard nothing but derogatory statements about him and his administration.

i would vote for a dog catcher before i would vote for a republican. i am basically an independent. i have voted for republicans and i have voted for democrats. this deal is destroying our country. guest: obviously democrats hope that voters like that caller show up in great numbers. if they show up in larger than expected numbers in noffer, maybe democrats can cut those losses. i do think, though, they are headed for losses. it is almost inevitible given the historic imperative for mid-termñx elections. elections are cyclical. they are like the economy, they are like life. they are cyclical. they have had two strong democratic years. we are likely to have a strong democratic year. that doesn't mean 2012 will be a republican year.

that is very much a question mark. it will depend in large measure on the president's popularity and the state of the economy in 2012. host: from the opinion page of "the new york post." "aides tell of laziness and deceit." guest: it is amazing you could have a governor resign in disgrace two years ago and having this next governor forced out of the re-election race because of all kinds of problems, and yet when you look at the scene in new york, you will find that probably attorney general cuomo will, if not opposed, a very heavy favorite ñ kirstin

gillibrand, she also has a chance to get elected to a partial term, to hillary clinton's term. that is mainly due to the weakness of the republican partó in new york. they are down to a couple house seats. the historic average is seven or eight house seats. they have to do better in places like new york if they are to get a majority of the house of representatives again. host: steve rudin -- rudy guilliani considered a senate bid and opted out. did that surprise you? guest: no, that's been his way for a number of elections. i think the one that surprises me more pitachi could defeat gillibrand if he runs, but it is not certain he will run. host: i think we have the ads

ready. we'll go back to show you what the john mccain campaign has put forth and follow that with the response from j.d. hayworth. >> obama is completely illegitimate for u.s. president not only for -- for two reasons. not only because he didn't provide the place of his birth but because he has to be a u.s. citizen. >> obama knows he was adopted in indonesia. if he had a hawaiian birth certificate, we would have seen it now. >> for every race across the country it would be great if people can confirm who they say they are. >> the sad fact is, questions continue. until president obama signs his name and in fact has the records revealed, the questions will

remain. >> the only difference between these people is that only one is running for the u.s. senate. john mccain character matters. >> citizens across america are rising up, standing up for liberty. from townhalls to thejx+ nation mall. we the people took a stand in new jersey, massachusetts and won. now the torch of liberty comes to arizona. j.d. hayworth heard our call to take on moderate john mccain. now we can reclaim a place in the senate. for the people of arizona that are conservatives, do your part. join j.d.'s campaign today.

>> one match, one winner! the conservative or the moderate? >> i'm j.d. hayworth and i approve this message. >> your reaction to those ads. >> the mccain ad was rerun of 2008 on character. ok versusly j.d. hayworth is hoping to win this long-shot challenge to mccain based on the energy of the tea party and the birthers, the people who® question whether obama was born in the united states, and i should add that the evidence is overwhelming that he was born in hawaii and the birth certificate is valid, but he's attempting to tap into that sentiment. if there is a sentiment that can produce an upset, the tea party, the anti-immigration group and the bergers, as i said, i don't think that will happen. this is a tumultuous election

year. anything can happen. host: and what is the most recent? guest: the most recent was a more perfect constitution to see if that could stimulate public discussion. it has done that. some people agree, some people don't. host: part of that discussion is the senate. is it dysfunctional? does the national need to change the rules whether it is a 60-vote requirement to end filibuster or one senator to hold up legislation, we saw it this past week, we saw it before with senator@m÷ shelby of independent guest: it is the least firble part of government. congress as a whole is not an

efficient part of government, shouldn't be, and the senate is the least efficient. i think you could make a good argument that it is so inefficient that it prohibits normal circumstances. even when you have, as the democrats had for years, 60 votes, it is difficult to get things done. you can go the route that you just suggested, steve, which is changing the filibuster rule. if you really want to talk about change, then you need to talk about the natureukq of the sena two senators per state. when thek4p founders set that u the largest state had about 2 1/2 times the population of the smallest state. today that ratio is 70-1. california has 70 times the population of wyoming. when you add up all the small states together, you find 17% of the american public elects 51, a majority, of the united states senate. we know 41 senators can actually run the senate. 11% of the american public

elects 341 senators. now, the founders were concerned about the tyranny of the majority. they were right to be concerned about minority rights and the tyranny of the majority. i think you can turn that around and say what about the tyranny of the small minority? isn't thatm(á legitimate concer, too? it's worth an argument. that's why in,ñ wrote the book. rñ to have an argument, and we're having one.qw host: paul, we welcome you. caller: i have been a tortured republican for a long time, but it seems like the republican party has left me. i was a deficit hawk. i voted for perot a while back. now i just see the republicans just horrible fiscallya'o. they talk like they are going to help small business, but all i ever see is that they are helping the big businesses.

on the health care, it just amazes me that the big story isn't that people really want a nonsubsidized public option, even republicans i talk to, and the democrats i think are 80% and they don't even talk about it. and the housing deal, i just don't know where to go. nobody does anything that the people want. that's my comment. guest: thank you. this gentleman sounds like another independent. this gentleman has recognized what a number of americans have, and that is that both parties have problems in different ways. look, the reason why democrats are hesitant, at least some democrats during congress or at least has been about the public option, is because it reinforces those stereotypes about the democratic party, that they are

a bunch of big spenders, big taxers. on the other hand, you correctly point out that during the bush administration with a republican congress during the almost six years of the bush term bush and the republican congress doubled the national debt. you can portray both parties as being fiscally irresponsible in different ways or unresponsive to public opinion in different ways. maybe that's the general siss of support for the tea party and some other independent groups. host: over the weekend this latest ad from governor crist in his campaign to be the republican nominee in florida. ♪

>> why do you believe that illegal immigrants shouldn't be counted in the census? are you surprised that the republican governor is pushing for that? >> i am surprised. on the one hand, i don't think you can round up 12 million, so it is important to ask that question. host: this has been one of the

most recent efforts by the crist campaign. we should point out the election is still 5 1/2 months away. guest: that is really crist's remaining hope. he started out 40 points ahead. he was a popular governor. he was assumed to be the next governor from florida. he's now 20 points behind a little-known conservative$v challenger rubio. that was a good ad. it had a lot of pieces to it that struck notes that might to take a lot more than that to regenerate charlie crist. there has been some talk -- and the crist camp has denied it -- that crist might run as an independent. you point out it is a primary five months away. that's a long time to play out a

campaign. i would have to say charlie crist is in dee >> tomorrow, a look at the white house and congressional plans for jobs legislation. also, business roundtable president john castellani on the budget for medicare and medicaid. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c- span. tomorrow, part 2 of a hearing on reconstruction contracts in iraq and afghanistan. representatives from the state and defense departments and the u.s. agency for international development talk about interagency coordination and a proposed new government oversight agency to reduce