"New priorities for a new era"

The above graphic is a scan of the programme for this weekend's Tory Spring conference in Nottingham.  Robert Halfon, our candidate in Harlow, compared the five key themes to the ten words which Michael Howard employed at the last General Election.

Of the new five themes it seems that "better public services" will be topping the agenda in Nottingham and healthcare, in particular.  David Cameron will address a rally of thousands of junior doctors in London this morning, according to The Telegraph, and Andrew Lansley yesterday announced a major emphasis on public health that reminds The Telegraph of Sir Norman Fowler's late 1980s public health campaign against AIDS.  The Tories want to move the heathcare system to a much greater focus on prevention and the Health Secretary will be renamed Secretary of State for Public Health.

10.30am update: According to the Nottingham Evening Post - in line with the "safer streets" theme - we can expect a big emphasis on policing: "David Cameron would like an elected mayor or police commissioner to run Nottingham's police force.  The Tory leader wants to see a direct line of responsibility for crime fighting, similar to that which has proved successful in US cities, like New York. At the Conservative Party Spring Forum, which begins in Nottingham today and will attended by 2,500 Tories, Mr Cameron will outline a "radical reform" of policing."

Comments

[Modern Conservative]

I'm really pleased about the emphasis on public health. The health challenges that need to be adressed urgently are the ones of alcoholism, drug addiction, poor diet, STD's and increasing levels of deafness and tinnitus.

[Jennifer Wells]

I'm amazed - staggered - that one of the new priorities doesn't include combating terrorism... and what about prosperity? Some of us are struggling to make ends meet for our families. General well-being is okay for the Notting hill set. It's more a daily fight against the tax burden and rising cost of living for most of us.

[RichardShackleton]

Just changing the label on the jar...until the Tories stop slavishly following the NuLab health agenda of ineffectual spending splurges and imposing yet another level of management the NHS will continue to fail Cut the hospitals loose, scrap the health authorities, allow patients and GPs far more choice.....

[Disgusting 'DVA']

"Robert Halfon, our candidate in Harlow, compared the five key themes to the ten words which Michael Howard employed at the last General Election."

That's exactly what I thought when I saw them. Loath as I am to being hypercritical of the party leadership, these themes smack of motherhood and apple pie.

[mark]

Will safer streets mean ensuring that foriegn criminals cannot enter the country including those who claim asylum. Will it also mean imprisoning all those who commit violence on the streets. Half measures such as restorative justice do not keep law abiding people safe.

[ToMTom]

allow patients and GPs far more choice...

Choice of what ?

[Jack Stone]

For a start the majority of violent crime in this country is committed by British citizens not foreign nationals.
Prison as a place in solving the crime problem but it will not solve it on its own.
We must prevent crime before it takes place by ensureing more younsters are rescued from a life of crime by giving them more opportunites to pursue there dreams and to make a contribution to society.Some youngsters can`t be helped and they will be in and out of prison all there lives but there are many that can be if they get the help they deserve.

[Richard]

How about "greater liberty"?

[mark]

"For a start the majority of violent crime in this country is committed by British citizens not foreign nationals."

What percentage of the population are foreign criminals and what percentage of the prison population are they.

[Tanuki]

In my world 'better public health' means helping more people escape the dire NHS. Life's too short to spend on NHS waiting-lists. Sure, we always need to ensure that the NHS always provides a basic safety-net for those who can't aspire to or afford anything better - but just as most people want to own their own [mortgaged] homes, we should look to helping most people to take control of their lives by own their own [private] healthcare.

We could win back a significant number of older voters by committing to giving them 100% tax-deductibility of private healthcare premiums - something which Gordon Brown and his socialist-collectivists stole from them when they got elected in 1997. Looking-after-yourself, self-reliance - is surely a fundamental Conservative philosophy which we should be encouraging to the hilt.

[Sally Roberts]

As a local activist in Hammersmith (and yes I am one of the people that posts in this forum under my own name!) I think we should certainly be coming up with issues which genuinely resonate with voters on the doorstep. The general public cares far more about standards in the school their child attends, whether they can get prompt treatment for ill-health and not catch MRSA when they go to hospital. Combating crime and preventing terrorism is also of vital importance. People care a great deal less about Europe as a political issue than the majority of people on Conservative Home.