WHEN THE CONSERVATIVES SAY "WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER", WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN IS "YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN"

Conservative Party manifesto.



We cannot do anything we want for public services unless we first secure the economic recovery. This is Labour's priority. It's the great big hole at the centre of the Tories' manifesto - the doughnut manifesto.


When the Conservatives say "we're all in this together", what they really mean is "you're on your own".


It is not a question of involving people in the running and delivery of public services - we're all in favour of this. It's one of the reasons why public services have improved.


Labour wants to make all public services even more responsive and accountable to the public. We set out our ideas for achieving this in our manifesto yesterday, continuing a clear direction of travel.


But do-it-yourself public services of the sort the Conservatives are describing won't work unless the frontline is properly protected and properly funded and the Tories will have to cut spending very sharply to make all their promises and all their figures add up.


Everything we want to do in public services depends on a strong economy. Labour has led Britain from recession to recovery and has set out a credible, coherent plan to secure the recovery this year. You cannot build a strong society without a strong economy.


There is a big hole in the Tory manifesto. It's called economic credibility. They say they will reduce taxes, protect spending and lower the deficit. This is something-for-nothing Santa Clause economics. It will kill the recovery and mean we would be paying the price for years to come.


A combination of their black hole and a sink-or-swim approach to public services shows that for all the PR blitz, David Cameron has not changed the Tory Party. This is not an agenda for empowerment - it's an agenda for abandonment.


David Cameron is promising the same policies which the Conservative Party promised in 2005



As part of his ‘detoxification strategy', David Cameron has attempted to distance himself from the first Conservative Party manifesto.


But real change requires a lot more than just changing the cover of his first manifesto document.


David Cameron is promising the same policies which the Conservative Party promised in 2005:


A quota on immigration;


To bring back fox hunting;


To scrap Britain's opt-in to the Social Chapter, which helped establish a right to parental leave, better maternity leave and flexible working;


A bill to deal with the fact they're still struggling in Scotland by introducing so-called ‘English votes for English laws';


To cut the number of MPs - mostly Labour ones - and especially in Wales;


More private providers to set up thousands of new school places;


A risky plan to allow more hospital borrowing;


More bureaucracy with elected police commissioners;


And the ‘Tony Martin' law giving people the right to defend your home with violence.


Not only that, David Cameron has gone back even further for his key pledges: from William Hague's 2001 manifesto, he's brought back the marriage tax allowance and an inheritance tax giveaway for the wealthiest few.


And he's also brought back William Hague's pledge to scrap health targets and Regional Development Agencies, which he now calls ‘stuff' and ‘nonsense'.


When he wrote his first manifesto for the Conservatives, David Cameron asked the British people ‘are you thinking what we're thinking?'


When you look at his policies it is clear that David Cameron is still thinking what they were thinking.

A FUTURE FAIR FOR ALL

In this year's election there will be a big choice about the future we want for Britain.

Labour will build a future fair for all.

The Tories threaten an age of austerity - a change you can't afford.

- We must secure the recovery - not put it at risk.

- We must support new industries and future jobs.

- We must protect frontline services - not cut them.

- We must stand up for the many - not the few.