Home What's New Speeches & Articles Newsletter - Apr 2008 Biography Diary Contact Information Photo Album Parliamentary Highlights Publications Links MEPs' Transparency   Conservative Party Latest News from Conservatives.com Conservative Party Website
		Conference, Which Conference? Lincolnshire Echo - October 24 2003 Earlier this month I attended the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool. And I heard yet again a question which I have heard at every Conference I have attended – but this time it was louder and more urgent. Over and over again I heard ordinary Party members saying “Which Conference are the journalists at? They seem to have been at a completely different Conference from the one we’re at”. The contrast between the experience of delegates, and the press reporting, could hardly have been greater. I talked with dozens of MPs and MEPs, and with hundreds of Party members, and no one mentioned the leadership issue, except when discussing the press coverage. The mood was up-beat. We were excited about the radical new policy programme that was announced during the week. We heard excellent and inspiring speeches from Oliver Letwin, Michael Howard, David Davies and many others. We attended vibrant fringe meetings. I especially enjoyed the Institute of Directors’ fringe meeting, where John Redwood gave a stunning speech on the dangers of the proposed EU Constitution. Yet the press reporting contained nothing but gloom and doom, back-stabbing and plots. Why, asked hundreds of party members? Well, the press always find it easier to write about personalities than policies, and prefer bad news to good. Easier to hang out in the lobby of the Imperial Hotel, trying to spot a handful of malcontents, rather than get out and about and take the mood of the Conference as a whole. Tory parliamentarians must take some of the blame. Some of them tend to stick together in little cliques, and assume that the mood of their little clique is the mood of the conference. This may explain Michael Portillo’s intemperate comments. So what were these exciting policy initiatives? Where is the Conservative Party going? The contrast between Tory and Labour could hardly be greater. We want to give choice back to the people. We want patients and parents to be able to choose schools and hospitals. We want local communities to have a say in local police priorities – and we will hire 40,000 extra policemen. We will take radical action to cut the numbers of asylum seekers. We will eliminate university fees, and abolish the government’s absurd target of 50% of school leavers going to university. We will keep the Pound, and oppose the new European Constitution. Think, for a moment, about the difference between supermarkets and hospitals. Supermarkets generally offer excellent quality, value and service. Why? Because Tesco knows that if you don’t like what they offer, you can go to Sainsbury’s or Asda. In the NHS, on the other hand, you have no choice, and despite the efforts of dedicated professionals, the service rarely meets our expectations. Imagine if we had a National Grocery Service – if the only soap powder on the shelves was Victory flakes, and the only bread was Whitehall sliced. It is the power of consumer choice that drives quality and service in the supermarket, and we want to extend that power of choice to every parent and every patient. Can it be done? Well it works on the continent. Why shouldn’t it work here? In most major continental countries, people have a significant element of choice between different schools and hospitals. The private sector is seen as an ally not an enemy, and quality is good. Here in Britain, only the well-off have the power of choice. We want to give it to everyone. But what is Labour offering? More of the same. Central planning. Whitehall knows best. Micro-management from the Minister’s office. All Labour can do is tax, and spend, and fail. So I have a message for the journalists. Get out more. Talk to real delegates, not just to a handful of malcontents. And I have a message for the malcontents. By plotting in corners, you have overshadowed a great Conference, you have undermined the hard work of thousands of activists and the aspirations of tens of thousands of Party members. If you have nothing positive to say, it’s time to shut up.