The Built to Last roadshow comes to Manchester

The second Built to Last consultation was held in the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays – a part of Manchester that has developed hugely from the seeds that the last Conservative government sowed. George Osborne (who was having a busy day and has a safe seat in Manchester’s commuter belt) was the party representative this time, and it was chaired by David Jones MP. Fortunately, there were a lot of spontaneous questions so it was a more open affair than the London event was reported as being - perhaps as there were no cameras – although it too lasted a little over one hour.

Osborne started encouragingly by emphasising B2L is still a “work in progress”. He framed its purpose in the aftermath of the last election, when our share of the vote fell in the North-West, saying it was about changing the public perception of us. The perceived change in the Conservative Party has been too focused on the new party leader, whose leadership campaign he ran, and not the party membership, he said. He went on to press the point that we shouldn’t see the best days for as being behind us - “the Conservative Party wins when it is confident about the future”.

“We will put economic stability and fiscal responsibility first. They must come before tax cuts”

This excerpt from the first B2L statement, A successful Britain must be able to compete with the world was debated for a while. One gentleman was particularly angry about the lack of emphasis on tax cuts, but on the whole people had points on the minutiae. This was Osborne’s media topic of the day so he was fairly solid in his answers. Talk of the importance of changing perceptions doesn’t directly justify creating an automatic distinction between tax cuts and economic stability/fiscal responsibility, however. The wording certainly needs tweaking, and I would suggest referring to “tax relief” rather than using Labour’s lexicon of “cuts”, with its negative connotations.

"The right test for our policies is how they help the most disadvantaged in society, not the rich"

This statement, from There is such a thing as society, it's just no the same thing as the state, seemed a little more controversial. A few written comments made the point that you cannot help the poor/weak by pulling down the rich/strong, and one suggested amending the the last part to "not just the rich". Osborne talked about social mobility as a priority, and drew on the development of the venue's surrounding area from one of the poorest parts of the country to one of the north-west's most prosperous. A Councillor from Macclesfield pointed out that this statement was hardly a new concept in conservatism asaid “we care, we just need to show it”.

One person questioned whether “making poverty history” was too optimistic - in response, Osborne said he receives more letters about the developing world than anything else, and that we had a lot of ground to make up with the under-35’s. Someone thought that B2L should have made more explicit mention of some minority groups, and another that it was all "motherhood and apple pie".

A couple of passionate mini-speeches followed, Cllr Iain Lindley talked about his youth work in Salford and said that the CP is the only party that can truly help people in some of the poorer council estates. An oriental lady talked about how shocked her friends were when she joined the party a few months ago, reaffirming the topic of the day – changing the perception of the party. Osborne said we had “a window of opportunity” now that there is a “palpable sense of disappointment” in this government.

There was a cautiously optimistic atmosphere, but Osborne's emphasis on B2L still being open to amendment was certainly needed to allay the more cynical members.

RELATED LINK: Francis Maude asks ConservativeHome readers for their views on Built to Last.

Deputy Editor

Comments

[David Belchamber]

What didn't come through from the news exerpts were Osborne's references to simplifying the taxation system ("not needing an accountant to fill in a self-assessment form" etc). These must be attractive to business and individuals.

[Voice from the South West]

You forgot to mention who else was there ;-)

[Ted]

Noticed in another economically illiterate rant Polly Toynbee did pick up on simplification as a threat to tax credits (which she thinks a great success with minor overpayment /underpayment issues).

I was amused that she viewed Tax Freedom day as the day when the rich stopped paying tax (sorry Polly but we higher rate taxpayers have a few days to go yet)

[Wat Tyler]

Let's hope George means what he says about simplifying taxes. It clearly has to be done, and in one way, it sounds like apple pie.

But as Polly implies, to do it will require making some very difficult decisions. There will be losers as well as winners. And they won't all be well paid tax accountants.

Let's hope there's no more flat-tax style backsliding...

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

Were you there Sam? You should have said hello...

[Deputy Editor]

I was, sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. Had a little chat with GO which I'll post about soon..