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Speech

David Cameron: Labour's Debt Crisis campaign launch

Rt Hon David Cameron, Monday, January 12 2009

David Cameron

"I'm standing in front of a poster of a beautiful, young baby - the most precious thing in the world. And my party is going to display this poster right around the country.

Why? Because I profoundly believe the Prime Minister has got it wrong.

Wrong in the past. Wrong now. And wrong in the future. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And I want this poster to be the start of something - I want it to be the start of our country changing it and putting it right.

LABOUR PAST

That's what this poster is all about. The past, present and future. It's about Labour's past, because call it a credit crunch, call it a sub prime mortgage fiasco, call it a systemic banking crisis in the end, we've got to this point, we're in this mess, because of too much debt. Too much personal debt. And too much Government debt.

The point about too much government debt is really important. The Government spent too much and borrowed too much even before the recession began. Gordon Brown likes to say this all came from America. But our record budget deficits didn't come from America. They were made right here in Britain, and designed by Gordon Brown. That's why Labour can't do much to help people right now - they've run out of money.

LABOUR'S PRESENT

This poster is also about Labour's present. Unemployment's still going up. Repossessions are still going up. The number of businesses going bust is still going up. Gordon Brown's recession policies are not working.

His main policy - cutting VAT - is just plain foolish. Foolish in the short-term, because, as we warned, it has undermined confidence and hasn't worked one bit. Even retailers - who were supposed to be the beneficiaries of this policy - have attacked it. But even worse than that, foolish in the long-term, as he's paying for this by adding to our national debt. A national debt we will all have to pay back in higher taxes down the road. And that brings me to the point about the future.

LABOUR'S FUTURE

This poster is also about Labour's future. In politics, we love to talk about rates of taxation, growth in spending and levels of borrowing as if there is no tomorrow.

Thing is, there is a tomorrow. It's our future. It's our children - like the child behind me here.

I didn't enter politics to concentrate on the here and now - making sure we take what we get with no thought of the consequences. I entered politics to make sure future generations - our children - have a better life because that way we know our country - our great country - is moving forward.

It's about the prosperity they will have, the opportunities they will grasp, the quality of life they will enjoy. That's why I'm so committed to protecting our environment. And that's why I'm so adamant we must stop this Government from borrowing so much money.

Every child born in Britain this year will be staggering along under Gordon Brown's debt. £17,000 each to be precise, which will take them decades to pay off. I believe there is something morally repugnant about this Labour Government sacrificing tomorrow for the political convenience of today. And, I believe, so does the vast majority of this country. For the first time in generations, parents are looking at their children and questioning if they will have a better life than they themselves had.

NOW FOR CHANGE

We've got to turn that despair into hope. That's why this poster is so urgent. Now for change. We've got to stop this Government before they bankrupt our economy and bankrupt our children's future. In the Spring, they will have another budget. And I'm really worried they're going to do it all over again.

Another borrowing binge. Another spending splurge. Mortgaging our future - and our children's future. I think the child behind me deserves better."

Rt Hon David Cameron

David was elected Leader of the Conservatives in December 2005 and appointed Prime Minister in May 2010.

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