Today sees the launch of the Conservatives Manifesto for the General Election. This manifesto is unlike any seen from a British political party because the Conservatives are saying no government on its own can solve the big problems we face – everyone is going to have to get involved. That is why it is called an ‘Invitation to join the government of Britain’.
The manifesto brings together all the work done since the last election as the Party has changed into a modern, progressive Party.
The central idea in this manifesto is that we are all in this together, that by working together we can change the country for the better.
We won’t get the economy moving again with a tax on jobs and higher government spending, we need to help businesses create jobs.
We won’t solve our social problems with more big government, we need to build the Big Society where families are strong and communities are safe.
We will never change politics if it is only left to politicians in Westminster, we need to give people real power and control over their lives.
David Nuttall 
Surely cutting the numbers of MPs by 10% will mean that they have to serve large constituencies. In turn, this means that we will, proportionally, have less representation in Parliament. There will be fewer people making decisions, so their power over those decisions will increase.
Cutting MPs will result in a less democratic country, where power is more centralised.
Surely this is at odds with Tory plans for a Big Society. A Big Powerless Society, maybe.
Why does tory leaflet say you have been a lawyer for 30 years when that is patently untrue, that seems to me to be a typically tory way of trying to hoodwink the public. How can we trust the tories to look after our money at local or national level when they cannot look after their own money. the tories were conned into paying a fee of £40,000 for a logo any child could have drawn and which the so called designer copied from a property company advertising new homes in spain, i know because i was about to but a house there at the time of the launch of the logo. Why are you not holding public meetings so we can challenge you on the lies put out by your party, things too numerous to mention on here or is it because you and the tory party would be ripped to shreds by an ordinary member of the public instead of the fixed questions you face from tv and radio interviewers. Will you have the decency to resign if elected, god help us, when your party fails to carry out your policies and you come up with a lame excuse, like it not being your fault or not knowing how bad things were. I do not expect a reply because i am still waiting for a reply from yvonne wright from 4 weeks ago so i will not be holding my breath.One last point, if gordon brown was responsible for the state of our economy and the recession how come the whole world is in the same boat, or was he the captain of that ship as well.
Hi Alan,
Why do you think it is ‘patently untrue’ that I have been a lawyer for 30 years?
I joined Taylor Son & Co in 1980 and it is now 2010. In that time I have been a Trainee Legal Executive, then a Legal Executive and an Articled Clerk. I qualified as a Solicitor, became a Partner, later becoming Senior Patner. I spent one year as a Consultant and I now practise as a Notary Public.
If you read today’s issue of the Bury Times you will be able to read a report of the public meeting I took part in last Friday.
David Nuttall
your reply was vague and would fool some people but not me, you did not qualify until 1990 that makes 20 years not 30. as a tory you AGAIN failed to answer ANY of the points i put to you but why does that not supprise me. will you have the guts to face me and the public of bury in a debate on your pathetic policies or are you afraid you will be shown up, as was cameron on itv, and be unable to answer questions put by the voters. we have a town hall doing nothing most of the time so we could hold a meeting there, or do you only go to RIGGED meetings , as thatcher did. as to the B T the report was very poor and told us nowt. at least allistair burt held public meetings but because he was a disaster as the head of the CSA maybe you don’t want to be shown up as well.WHY did you fail to address the points i made in my previous comment, is it because you don’t have any answers, call a meeting and we shall see
Although I find Alan barbers tone unnecessarily aggressive, you can’t argue with the facts can you? If you had described yourself as a lawyer prior to 1990 and had sought work on that basis, I’m pretty sure you would have been subject to prosecution from either the Law Society or the DPP.
I deliberately chose the word ‘lawyer’ rather than ‘Solicitor’ as I did want to suggest I had been a Solicitor for 30 years. The word lawyer covers the different stages of my career.
Alan would be better visiting the RamsbottonOnline website and watching the public debate in full, than the rather bland report in the Bury Times. If he does so he will see you answer the questions from quite a hostile audience. He and anyone else will also see, as in the leaders and chancellors debates, it is the Liberal Democrat who is the outstanding candidate for office.
He will also see that you look about 10 years older than most of your pictures on this web site and your literature.
I can assure you that all the photos are untouched !
I live in Rammy and have worked for 20 years in the NHS.
Could you please explain to me why, under Conservative plans, I’m expected to take a pay freeze on the chin, whilst the City is still taking bonuses and MPs are getting generous pay and allowances? I’m not the one who screwed over the economy.
Instead, I spent my entire adult life working to help people with mental health problems. And this is the thanks I get.
Cheers for that.
Bob.
Hi Bob,
The Conservatives propose to intoduce a one year public sector pay freeze in 2011 which will not include the lowest one million paid workers.
We believe that the money taxpayers have provided to support bank lending must not be diverted into significant cash bonuses. The cash that would have been paid out in bonusesshould be used to strengthen banks balance sheets, explicitly to support new lending.
The Conservatives agree with you that we are all in this together and that is why propose to cut the cost of Parliament by cutting the number of M.P.’s by 10%, cutting the costs of politics by over £100 million pounds by abolishing a range of subsidies and allowances for M.P.’s cutting ministerial salaries by 5% and freezing Ministerial salaries for the lifetime of the next Parliament.
Thanks
David
David,
I find your policy of cutting the number of MPs to be worrying. Marketing this major change as a cost cutting exercise understates the significance of the change on the future of our democratic process. Obviously consistent constituency sizes will remove the bias to labour that the current system has, which is to be applauded, but it will also reduce the number of marginal constituencies still further. It has been estimated that this election will be decided by fewer than 100,000 swing voters, who are increasingly being targeted by the party machineries, to the detriment of the rest of us. Your proposals seem destined to give us even more embedded incumbents. Its largely been this class of MPs who have committed the most egregious abuses of the expenses system.
Its all very well giving us the right to recall an MP, but if the replacement is inevitably going to wear the same colours what’s the point?
Also, are there any plans to reduce the number of ministers? An even higher proportion of government MPs are on the payroll will weaken oversight of the executive still further.
Your slogan is giving power to the people, but you have no proposals for giving us a say in how we are governed. The Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish have had some say in how they wish to be governed. Surely your changes should be held up to public scrutiny. Labour are offering a referendum on AV, but I would like to see a genuine debate with a range of options, covering both houses.
Today sees another tory election lie bite the dust, workers on less than £21,000 will see their pay frozen for 2 YEARS, not one as previously said but hey, did ANYONE believe them, no i thought not. The people who are going to get clobbered by this pathetic mismatch of a government are the poor,the sick,the oap’s and the unemployed, but i ask you mr nuttal,how have they contributed to the state of the economy,brought about by the greedy bankers?