I am so proud to stand here today as Prime Minister of four nations in one United Kingdom. I was always clear about why we called that referendum. Duck the fight – and our union could have been taken apart bit by bit. Take it on – and we had the chance to settle the question. This Party has always confronted the big issues for the sake of our country. And now…England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland…we are one people in one union and everyone here can be proud of that. And we can all agree, during that campaign a new star – a new Conservative star – was born…someone who’s going to take our message to every corner of Scotland: our very own Ruth Davidson.
The lead-up to that referendum was the most nerve-wracking week of my life. But I can tell youthe best moment of my year. It was June 6th, the 70th anniversary of D Day. Sam and I werein Bayeux, in France, with my constituent, Patrick Churchill…no relation to the great man – buta great man himself. Patrick is 91 years old – and 70 years ago, he was there fighting fascism,helping to liberate that town. I’ll never forget the tears in his eyes as he talked about thecomrades he left behind…or the pride they all felt in the job they had done. As we walked alongthe streets he pointed out where he had driven his tank…and all along the roadside there wereFrench children waving flags – Union Jacks – the grandchildren of the people he had liberated.Patrick’s here today with his wife Karin – and I know, like me, you’ll want to give them thewarmest welcome.
When people have seen our flag – in some of the most desperate times in history – they haveknown what it stands for. Freedom. Justice. Standing up for what is right. They have known thisisn’t any old country. This is a special country. June 6th this summer. Normandy. I was soproud of Great Britain that day. And here, today, I want to set out how in this generation, wecan build a country whose future we can all be proud of. How we can secure a better future forall. How we can build a Britain that everyone is proud to call home.
The heirs to those who fought on the beaches of Northern France are those fighting inAfghanistan today. For thirteen years, young men and women have been serving our countrythere. This year, the last of our combat troops come home – and I know everyone here willwant to show how grateful and how proud we are of everyone who served. But the end of theAfghan mission does not mean the end of the threat. The threat is Islamist extremistterrorism – and it has found a new, hellish crucible – with ISIL, in Iraq and Syria. These peopleare evil, pure and simple. They kill children; rape women; threaten non-believers withgenocide; behead journalists and aid workers. Some people seem to think we can opt out ofthis. We can’t. As I speak, British servicemen and women are flying in the skies over Iraq. Theysaw action yesterday. And there will be troops on the frontline – but they will be Iraqis, Kurds,and Syrians…fighting for the safe and democratic future they deserve.
We are acting in partnership with a range of countries – including those from the region.Because let’s be clear: There is no “walk on by” option. Unless we deal with ISIL, they will dealwith us, bringing terror and murder to our streets. As always with this Party, we will dowhatever it takes to keep our country safe. And to those who have had all the advantages ofbeing brought up in Britain, but who want to go and fight for ISIL – let me say this. If you tryto travel to Syria or Iraq, we will use everything at our disposal to stop you: Taking away yourpassport; prosecuting, convicting, imprisoning you…and if you’re there already – evenpreventing you from coming back. You have declared your allegiance. You are an enemy of theUK – and you should expect to be treated as such.
When it comes to keeping Britain safe, I had one man by my side for four years. When he was ateenager, he didn’t only address the Tory party conference…he read Hansard in bed…and hada record collection consisting of one album by Dire Straits and dozens of speeches by WinstonChurchill. All I can say is this: that boy became a fine Parliamentarian…a brilliant ForeignSecretary…our greatest living Yorkshireman…and someone to whom I owe an enormous debtof gratitude: William Hague.
William, there’s one more task I want you to carry out: bringing fairness to our constitution.During that referendum campaign we made a vow to the Scottish people that they will getmore powers – and we will keep that vow. But here’s my vow to the people of England, Walesand Northern Ireland. I know the system is unfair. I know that you are asking: if Scotland canvote separately on things like tax, spending and welfare….why can’t England, Wales andNorthern Ireland do the same? I know you want this answered. So this is my vow: English votesfor English laws – the Conservatives will deliver it.
We’ve delivered a lot these past four years…but we’ve had to do it all in a coalition government.Believe me: coalition was not what I wanted to do; it’s what I had to do. And I know what Iwant next. To be back here in October 2019 delivering Conservative policies…based onConservative values…leading a majority Conservative Government.
So where do we want to take our country? Where do I want to take our country? During thesefour years, I hope that the British people have come to know me a little. I’m not a complicatedman. I believe in some simple things. Families come first. They are the way you make a nationstrong from the inside out. I care deeply about those who struggle to get by…but I believe thebest thing to do is help them stand on their own two feet – and no, that’s not saying “you’re onyour own”, but “we are on your side, helping you be all you can.” And I believe in something forsomething; not something for nothing. Those who do the right thing, put the effort in, whowork and build communities – these are the people who should be rewarded. All of this isunderpinned by a deep patriotism.
I love this country – and my goal is this: To make Britain a country that everyone is proud tocall home. That doesn’t just mean having the fastest-growing economy, or climbing someinternational league table. I didn’t come into politics to make the lines on the graphs go in theright direction. I want to help you live a better life. And it comes back to those things I believe.A Britain that everyone is proud to call home is a Britain where hard work is really rewarded.Not a free-for-all, but a chance for all…the chance of a job, a home, a good start in life…whoeveryou are, wherever you are from. And by the way – you never pull one person up by pullinganother one down. So this Party doesn’t do the politics of envy and class warfare…we believe inaspiration and helping people get on in life – and what’s more, we’re proud of it.
The past four years have been about laying the foundations for that Britain. The next five willbe about finishing the job. Put another way – if our economic plan for the past four years hasbeen about our country – and saving it from economic ruin…our plan for the next five years willbe about you, and your family – and helping you get on. But Conservatives know this. Nothingcomes easy. There’s no reward without effort; no wealth without work; no success withoutsacrifice…and we credit the British people with knowing these things too.
Other parties preach to you about a Brave New World…we understand you have to start withthe real world and make it better. So let other politicians stand on stages like this and promisean easy life. Not me. I am here today to set out our Conservative commitment for the next fiveyears.
If you want to provide for yourself and your family, you’ll have the security of a job…but only ifwe stick to our long-term economic plan. If you work hard, we will cut your taxes…but only ifwe keep on cutting the deficit, so we can afford to do that. For those wanting to buy a home,yes – we will help you get on that housing ladder…but only if we take on the vested interests,and build more homes – however hard that is. We will make sure your children get a greateducation; the best education…but only if we keep taking on everyone who gets in the way ofhigh standards. For those retiring, we will make sure you get a decent pension; and realrewards for a life of work…but only if we as a country accept we all have to work a bit longer andsave a bit more.
It’s pretty simple really: a good job, a nice home, more money at the end of the month, adecent education for your children, a safe and secure retirement. A country where if you putin, you get out. A Britain everyone is proud to call home. And a real long-term plan to getthere. It starts with more decent jobs. And look how far we’ve come. Today there are 1 million800 thousand more jobs in our country than there were in 2019. We are creating more jobshere in Britain than in the whole of Europe put together. 1.8 million jobs. You know – whenBritain is getting back to work, it can only mean one thing…the Conservatives are back inGovernment.
So here’s our commitment for the next five years. What the economists would call: the highestemployment rate of any major economy. What I call: full employment in Britain. Just think ofwhat that would mean. Those who can work, able to work…standing on their own two feet,looking at their children and thinking “I am providing for you.” We can get there – but only ifwe stick to our plan.
Companies are coming from all over the world to invest and create jobs here. That’s nothappened by accident. It’s because they see a Government rolling out the red carpet for them,cutting their red tape, cutting their taxes. So here is a commitment: with the nextConservative Government – we will always have the most competitive corporate taxes in theG20…lower than Germany, lower than Japan, lower than the United States. But George saidsomething really important in that brilliant speech on Monday. A message to those globalcompanies: We have cut your taxes – now you must pay what you owe.
We must stick to the plan on welfare too. With us, if you’re out of work, you will getunemployment benefit…but only if you go to the Job Centre, update your CV, attendinterviews and accept the work you’re offered. As I said: no more something-for-nothing. Andlook at the results: 800,000 fewer people on the main out-of-work benefits. In the next fiveyears we’re going to go further.
You heard it this week – we won’t just aim to lower youth unemployment; we aim to abolishit. We’ve made clear decisions. We will reduce the benefits cap, and we will say to those 21 andunder: no longer will you have the option of leaving school and going straight into a life onbenefits. You must earn or learn. And we will help by funding three million Apprenticeships.Let’s say to our young people: a life on welfare is no life at all…instead: here’s some hope;here’s a chance to get on and make something of yourself.
What do our opponents have to say? They have opposed every change to welfare we’ve made –and I expect they’ll oppose this too. They sit there pontificating about poverty – yet they’rethe ones who left a generation to rot on welfare. And while we’re at it: let’s compare records.Under Labour, unemployment rose. With us, unemployment is falling faster than at any timefor 25 years. Under Labour, inequality widened. With us, it’s narrowed. Those are the facts. Solet’s say it loudly and proudly…with Britain getting off welfare and back to work…the real partyof compassion and social justice today is here in this hall – the Conservative Party.
It’s not just the job numbers that matter – it is the reality of working life for people in ourcountry…especially the lowest-paid. Anyone should be free to take on different jobs so they canget on. But when companies employ staff on zero hours contracts and then stop them fromgetting work elsewhere, that’s not a free market – it is a fixed market. In a Britain thateveryone is proud to call home, people are employed, they are not used. Those exclusive zerohours contracts that left people unable to build decent lives for themselves – we will scrapthem.
But there’s still more injustice when it comes to work, and it’s even more shocking. Criminalgangs trafficking people halfway around the world and making them work in the mostdisgusting conditions. I’ve been to see these – houses on terraced streets, built for families offour, cramming in 15 people like animals. To those crime lords who think they can get awaywith it, I say No: not in this country; not with this party…with our Modern Slavery Bill we’recoming after you and we’re going to put a stop to it once and for all.
Once you have a job, I want you to take home more of your own money. If you put in, youshould get out – not hand so much of it to the taxman. That’s why these past four years,despite everything, I’ve made sure we provide some relief to taxpayers in our country –especially the poorest. No income tax until you earn £10,000 a year – and from next April, £10,500 a year. Three million people taken out of income tax altogether. A tax cut for 25million more. And our commitment to you for the next five years: we want to cut more of yourtaxes. But we can only do that if we keep on cutting the deficit. It’s common sense – tax cutsneed to be paid for.
So here’s our plan. We are going to balance the books by 2019, and start putting aside moneyfor the future. To do it we’ll need to find £25 billion worth of savings in the first two years of thenext Parliament. That’s a lot of money, but it’s doable. £25 billion is actually just three per centof what government spends each year. It is a quarter of the savings we have found in thisParliament.
I am confident we will find the savings we need through spending cuts alone. We will see thejob through and get back into the black. And as we do that, I am clear about something else.We need tax cuts for hardworking people.
And here and now, I have a specific commitment. Today, the minimum wage reaches £6.50an hour, and before long we’ll reach our next goal of £7. I can tell you now that a futureConservative Government will raise the tax-free personal allowance from £10,500 to £12,500.That will take 1 million more of the lowest paid workers out of income tax – and will give a taxcut to 30 million more. So with us, if you work 30 hours a week on minimum wage, you will payno income tax at all. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Lower taxes for our hardworking people…that’s what Icall a Britain that everyone is proud to call home. But we will do something else.
The 40p tax rate was only supposed to be paid by the most well-off people in our country…butin the past couple of decades, far too many have been dragged into it: teachers, police officers.So let me tell you this today. I want to take action that’s long overdue, and bring back somefairness to tax. With a Conservative government, we will raise the threshold at which peoplepay the 40p rate. It’s currently £41,900…in the next Parliament we will raise it to £50,000.
So here’s our commitment to the British people: No income tax if you are on Minimum Wage.A 12 and a half thousand pound tax-free personal allowance for millions of hardworkingpeople. And you only pay 40p tax when you earn £50,000. So let the message go out: With theConservatives, if you work hard and do the right thing…we say you should keep more of yourown money to spend as you choose. That’s what our long-term economic plan means for you.
And while I’m on the subject of the big economic questions our country faces – on spending, ontax – did you hear Ed Miliband last week? He spoke for over an hour, but didn’t mention thedeficit once. Not once. He said he ‘forgot’ to mention it. Ed – people forget their car keys, schoolkids sometimes forget their homework…but if you want to be Prime Minister of this country, youcannot forget the biggest challenge we face.
A few weeks ago, Ed Balls said that in thirteen years of Government, Labour had made ‘somemistakes’. ‘Some mistakes’. Excuse me? You were the people who left Britain with the biggestpeacetime deficit in history…who gave us the deepest recession since the war…who destroyedour pensions system, bust our banking system…who left a million young people out of work,five million on out-of-work benefits – and hundreds of billions of debt. Some mistakes? Labourwere just one big mistake.
And five years on, they still want to spend more, borrow more, tax more. It’s the same oldLabour, and you know what? They say that madness is doing the same thing over and overagain but expecting different results. Well I say: madness is voting for this high spending, hightaxing, deficit ballooning shower and expecting anything other than economic disaster.
In a country that everyone is proud to call home, you should be able to buy a home – if you’rewilling to save. It shouldn’t be some impossible dream. But we inherited a situation where itwas. Young people watched Location, Location, Location not as a reality show – but as fantasy.We couldn’t solve this housing crisis without some difficult decisions. The planning system wasstuck in the mud – so we reformed it…and last year, nearly a quarter of a million houses weregiven planning permission. Young people needed massive deposits they just couldn’tafford…so we brought in Help to Buy.
Of course there were those who criticised it…usually speaking from the comfort of the homethey’d bought years ago. But let’s see what actually happened. They said Help to Buy wouldjust help people in London…but 94 per cent of buyers live outside the capital. They said it wouldhelp people with houses already…but four-fifths are first-time buyers. They said it would cause ahousing bubble…but as the Bank of England has said, it hasn’t. So here’s our renewedcommitment to first-time buyers: if you’re prepared to work and save, we will help you get aplace of your own.
This conference we have announced a landmark new policy. It’s called Starter Homes. We’regoing to build 100,000 new homes – and they’ll be twenty percent cheaper than normal. Buthere’s the crucial part. Buy-to-let landlords won’t be able to snap them up.Wealthy foreignerswon’t be able to buy them. Just first-time buyers under the age of 40. Homes built for you,homes made for you – the Conservative Party, once again, the party of home ownership in ourcountry.
In a Britain that everyone is proud to call home, you wouldn’t be able to tell a child’s GCSEs bytheir postcode or what their parents do. There must be a great education for every child. Amonth ago I had this wonderful moment. Florence is now 4 and just starting school, so for thefirst time, all three of my children are at the same primary school. It was such a joy to takethem to school together; Florence clinging on for dear life until she saw a new friend and rushedoff to her classroom. It’s hard to describe what a relief it is as a parent to find a decent schoolfor your child. It shouldn’t be a lottery.
What we have in our state primary in London I want for every child in the country. And we’regetting there. More children in good or outstanding schools. More children studying science,languages and history. A new curriculum – with five year olds learning fractions; eleven yearsolds coding computers. And the biggest change is the culture. Teachers who feel like leadersagain. Who say: this is our school, we’re proud of it, the children must behave in it, we will nottolerate failure in it. We’ve come so far – and make no mistake – the biggest risk to all this isLabour. You know what drives me the most mad about them? The hypocrisy.
Tristram Hunt, their Shadow Education Secretary – like me – had one of the best educationsmoney can buy. But guess what? He won’t allow it for your children. He went to anindependent school that wasn’t set up by a local authority…but no, he doesn’t want charitiesand parents to set up schools for your children. He had the benefit of world-class teachers whohappened not to have a government certificate…but no, he wants to stop people like that fromteaching your children. I tell you – Tristram Hunt and I might both have been educated atsome of the best schools in our country. But here’s the difference: You, Tristram – like the restof the Labour Party – want to restrict those advantages…I want to spread them to every childin Britain.
We know Labour’s real problem on education. Every move they make, they’ve got to take theircue from the unions. That’s who they really represent. The unions. Well, I’ve got a bit of newsfor you. It’s not something we’ve ever said before. We in this party are a trade union too.
I’ll tell you who we represent. This party is the union for hardworking parents…the father whoreads his children stories at night because he wants them to learn…the mother who works allthe hours God sends to give her children the best start. This party is the trade union forchildren from the poorest estates and the most chaotic homes. This party is the union for theyoung woman who wants an Apprenticeship…or the teenagers who want to make something oftheir lives…this is who we represent, these are the people we’re fighting for…and that’s why oneducation we won’t let Labour drag us back to square one – we’re going to finish what we havebegun. A real education isn’t just about exams. Our young people must know this is a countrywhere if you put in, you will get out.
Now I’ve got in trouble for talking about Twitter before, but let me put it like this. I want acountry where young people aren’t endlessly thinking: ‘what can I say in 140 characters?’ but‘what does my character say about me?’ That’s why I’m so proud of National Citizen Service.Every summer, thousands of young people are coming together to volunteer and serve theircommunity. We started this. People come up to me on the street and say all sorts ofthings…believe me – all sorts of things…but one thing I hear a lot is parents saying “thank youfor what this has done for my child.” I want this to become a rite of passage for all teenagers inour country. So I can tell you this: the next Conservative Government will guarantee a placeon National Citizen Service for every teenager in our country.
That rule: that if you put in, you should get out…more than anywhere it should apply to thosewho want dignity and security in retirement. But for years it didn’t. There were three greatwrongs. Wrong number one: the Pension Credit that was basically a means test – the more yousaved, the less you got. Wrong number two: compulsory annuities that meant you couldn’tspend your own money as you wished. Wrong number three: when people passed away, thepension they had saved was taxed at 55 per cent before it went to their family.
Three wrongs – and we are putting them right. The means test – it’s going. In its place: a newsingle-tier pension of £142 a week…every penny you have saved during your working life, youwill keep. Those compulsory annuities – scrapped…giving you complete control over yourprivate pension. As for that 55 per cent tax on your pension? You heard it this week: we’ve cutit to zero per cent. Conservative values in action.
When it comes to our elderly, one thing matters above everything. Knowing the NHS is therefor you. From Labour last week, we heard the same old rubbish about the Conservatives andthe NHS. Spreading complete and utter lies. I just think: how dare you. It was the Labour Partywho gave us the scandal at Mid Staffs…elderly people begging for water and dying of neglect.And for me, this is personal. I am someone who has relied on the NHS – whose family knowsmore than most how important it is…who knows what it’s like to go to hospital night after nightwith a child in your arms…knowing that when you get there, you have people who will care forthat child and love that child like their own. How dare they suggest I would ever put that at riskfor other people’s children?…how dare they frighten those who are relying on the NHS rightnow? It might be the only thing that gets a cheer at their Party conference but it is franklypathetic.
We in this party can be proud of what we’ve done. We came in and protected the NHS budget.Funding six and a half thousand more doctors – 3300 more nurses…a Cancer Drugs Fund tosave lives…more people hearing those two magic words: “all clear”. And think of the amazingthings around the corner.
From the country that unravelled DNA, we are now mapping it for each individual…it’s called thegenome, and I’ve got a model of one of the first ones on my desk in Downing Street. Crackingthis code could mean curing rare genetic diseases and saving lives. Our NHS is leading theworld on this incredible technology. I understand very personally the difference it couldmake. When you have a child who’s so ill and the doctors can’t work out what he’s got or why –you’d give anything to know. The investment we’re making will mean that more parents havethose answers – and hopefully the cures that go with them. And let’s be clear: all this is onlypossible because we have managed our economy responsibly. That is why I can tell you this: wewill do it again.
The next Conservative Government will protect the NHS budget and continue to invest more.Because we know this truth…something Labour will never understand – and we will neverforget…you can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy.
A Britain that everyone is proud to call home. A place where reward follows effort; where if youput in, you get out. But it also means a country that is strong in the world – in control of itsown destiny…and yes – that includes controlling immigration. To me, this is about working onall fronts. It’s about getting our own people fit to work. Fixing welfare – so a life on the dole isnot an option. Fixing education – so we turn out young people with skills to do the jobs we arecreating.
And yes – we need controlled borders and an immigration system that puts the British peoplefirst. That’s why we’ve capped economic migration from outside the EU…shut down 700 boguscolleges – that were basically visa factories…kicked out people who don’t belong here, like AbuQatada…and let’s hear it for the woman who made it happen: our crime-busting HomeSecretary, Theresa May.
But we know the bigger issue today is migration from within the EU. Immediate access to ourwelfare system. Paying benefits to families back home. Employment agencies signing people upfrom overseas and not recruiting here. Numbers that have increased faster than we in thiscountry wanted…at a level that was too much for our communities, for our labour markets. All ofthis has to change – and it will be at the very heart of my renegotiation strategy for Europe.
Britain, I know you want this sorted so I will go to Brussels, I will not take no for an answer andwhen it comes to free movement – I will get what Britain needs. Anyone who thinks I can’t orwon’t deliver this – judge me by my record. I’m the first Prime Minister to veto a Treaty…thefirst Prime Minister to cut the European budget…and yes I pulled us out of those Europeanbail-out schemes as well. Around that table in Europe they know I say what I mean, and meanwhat I say. So we’re going to go in as a country, get our powers back, fight for our nationalinterest…and yes – we’ll put it to a referendum…in or out – it will be your choice…and let themessage go out from this hall: it is only with a Conservative Government that you will get thatchoice.
Of course, it’s not just the European Union that needs sorting out – it’s the European Court ofHuman Rights. When that charter was written, in the aftermath of the Second World War, itset out the basic rights we should respect. But since then, interpretations of that charter haveled to a whole lot of things that are frankly wrong. Rulings to stop us deporting suspectedterrorists. The suggestion that you’ve got to apply the human rights convention even on thebattle-fields of Helmand. And now – they want to give prisoners the vote. I’m sorry, I just don’tagree.
Our Parliament – the British Parliament – decided they shouldn’t have that right. This is thecountry that wrote Magna Carta…the country that time and again has stood up for humanrights…whether liberating Europe from fascism or leading the charge today against sexualviolence in war. Let me put this very clearly: We do not require instruction on this fromjudges in Strasbourg. So at long last, with a Conservative Government after the next election,this country will have a new British Bill of Rights…to be passed in our Parliament…rooted in ourvalues…and as for Labour’s Human Rights Act? We will scrap it, once and for all.
So that’s what we offer: a Britain that everyone is proud to call home. And a very clear plan toget there. Over the next five years we will deliver the following things: 3 millionApprenticeships. Full employment. The most competitive corporate taxes in the G20.Eliminating the budget deficit through spending cuts, not tax rises. Building 100,000 newStarter Homes. Letting you pass on your pension tax-free. Ring-fencing NHS spending so not apenny is cut. Renegotiating in Europe. Delivering that in-out referendum. Scrapping the HumanRights Act. No income tax until you earn £12,500. No 40p tax rate until you earn £50,000.
If you want those things, vote for me. If you don’t, vote for the other guy. And let’s be clear.This is a straight fight. It doesn’t matter whether Parliament is hung, drawn or quartered, thereis only one real choice. The Conservatives or Labour. Me in Downing Street, or Ed Miliband inDowning Street. If you vote UKIP – that’s really a vote for Labour. Here’s a thought…on 7th Mayyou could go to bed with Nigel Farage, and wake up with Ed Miliband.
So this is the big question for that election. On the things that matter in your life, who do youreally trust? When it comes to your job…do you trust Labour – who wrecked our economy – orthe Conservatives, who have made this one of the fastest-growing economies in the West?When it comes to Britain’s future, who do you trust? Labour – the party of something-for-nothing, and human wrongs under the banner of human rights…or the Conservatives – whobelieve in something for something, and reward for hard work? Who do you trust?…the party ofbig debt; big spending, big borrowing…or the party – our Party – of the first pay cheque, thefirst chance, the first home…the one that is delivering more security, more opportunity, morehope …the one that is making this country great again…yes, our party, the Conservative Party.
We’re making Britain proud again. Look what we are showing the world. Not just a country thatis paying down its debts…and going from the deepest recession since the war to the fastest-growing major advanced economy in the world…but at the same time: a country that has keptits promises to the poorest in the world…that is leading not following on climate change…andthat’s just saved our union in one of the greatest shows of democracy the world has ever seen.
We’re making Britain proud again. Our exports to China doubling…our car industrybooming…our aerospace expanding…our manufacturing growing… we’re making Britain proudagain. Car engines – not imported from Germany, but built down the road in Wolverhampton.New oil rigs – not made in China, but built on the Tyne. Record levels of employment…recordnumbers of apprenticeships…Britain regaining its purpose, its pride and its confidence.
We’re at a moment where all the hard work is finally paying off…and the light is coming up aftersome long dark days. Go back now and we’ll lose all we’ve done…falling back into the shadowswhen we could be striding into the sun. That’s the question next May. Do you want to go backto square one – or finish what we’ve begun?
I don’t claim to be a perfect leader. But I am your public servant, standing here, wanting tomake our country so much better – for your children and mine. I love this country, and I will domy duty by it. We’ve got the track record, the right team…to take this plan for our country andturn it into a plan for you.
I think of the millions of people going out to work, wiping the ice off the windscreen on awinter’s morning…raising their children as well they can, working as hard as they can…doing itfor a better future, to make a good life for them and their families. That is the British spirit –there in our ordinary days as well as our finest hours. This is a great country and we can begreater still. Because history is not written for us, but by us, in the decisions we make today…and that starts next May.
So Britain: what’s it going to be? I say: let’s not go back to square one. Let’s finish what wehave begun. Let’s build a Britain we are proud to call home…for you, for your family, foreveryone.