David Davis: A Conservative Way to Make Poverty History

As this post goes live David Davis will be speaking to the Centre for Social Justice about global poverty.  Mr Davis' speech applies three of the key themes of his leadership campaign to the challenge of poverty:

(1) "The Conservative Party must offer an agenda that is ‘good for me and good for my neighbour’."  He will emphasise that he is an authentic conservative - Eurosceptic, tough on crime, committed to lower taxation etc - but (in tune with the And Theory) he'll argue that a concern for the poorest people of the world is also authentically conservative: "There is no contradiction between being a party that controls immigration and that also cares passionately for Africa’s children.  Our own country’s security and prosperity have never been more dependent upon the extension of political and economic freedom in other countries."  He will say that this balance of hard-headed and open-hearted commitments is essential for the Conservative Party to reach the wristband generation.

(2) "We must overcome the great challenges of our time by being true to ourselves as conservatives."  In this section he will back David Cameron's recent criticisms of Christian Aid: "We need conservative ideas if we are to make poverty history.  And free trade is the biggest idea of them all.  David Cameron was completely right last week to say that Christian Aid’s antipathy towards capitalism was not serving the world’s poorest people.  Comparing the impact of free trade to the impact of last year’s tsunami was offensive.  More importantly – the demonisation of capitalism is not in the interests of the world’s poorest people."  Mr Davis will say that "the EU’s protectionism and its aid budget are not good servants of international development" and that "both must go the way of history before we can make poverty history".

(3) "We must talk to the British people about what we believe and that conversation must start now."  Mr Davis will conclude his speech with these words: "If I became leader of this party I wouldn’t spend half of this parliament setting up commissions.  I already know what I believe.  I believe today what I believed six months ago.  I believed six months ago what I believed five years ago.  I know that Britain’s economy needs lower and simpler taxes and the first budget of the next Conservative government must begin to deliver them... And I know that free trade, good governance and property rights are the key to progress in the third world.  I will spend all of this parliament explaining those beliefs to the British people.  Some of them may not look popular now but time and the facts are on our side.  This parliament is still young.  I have the determination to spend the whole of this parliament selling an authentic, socially-just conservatism to the British people.  In the last two parliaments our policies became as timid as the limited time we gave ourselves to sell them.  There will be serious policy development under my leadership but I’m not willing to spend three years in a policy vacuum – and spent one year filling it.  Our main policy priorities need to be communicated and explained now.  The role of free trade in making poverty history will be a top priority.”

Download dd_to_the_csj.pdf

Comments

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

Early report of Cameron's newsnight interview:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446864.stm

[Alderman Vainly]

My old friend Cllr Iain Lindley demonstrates the flair and acuity which has made him a force to be reckoned with on the Greater Manchester Paperclips and Public Urinal Committee.

Pubs shut in Bolton, then, Iain?

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

Nice of you to keep on the topic at hand.

[less bias please]

Question Time has two friends of David Cameron tonight --Alice Miles and Derek Laud but only one reluctant Davis supporter, David Willets. Miles can't get her facts right, among other inventions, incorrectly asserting Cameron "worked for" Mrs. Thatcher but the BBC repeats the same error on behalf of Laud "former speechwriter to Mrs. Thatcher."--Not true either, BBC.

[Henry Cook]

It seems that DC went on the offensive at Paxman - about time somebody did. Looking forward to seeing the interview, it doesn't seem that Paxman laid any fatal blows.

[Stephen Alley]

"I already know what I believe. I believe today what I believed six months ago. I believed six months ago what I believed five years ago. I know that Britain’s economy needs lower and simpler taxes and the first budget of the next Conservative government must begin to deliver them."

That is some pretty good speech writing, I'm not sure about how DD will deliver it, but you have to commend DD for trying to imrpove on his weaknesses.

[Goldie]

DD apparently doesn't know the difference between spend and spent.

As for Dave working for Mrs T. Well, he worked at Central Office during the last two years of her premiership. I understand he was part of the team that briefed the PM for PMQs.

[Goldie]

I urge you to read the actual speech.

It's pretty sad that this is what passes for a serious policy speech in this country today.
A series of one-liners. Sentences--not paragraphs. Empty slogans. No arguments. No thoughts.

[Simon C]

For those who cannot wait until 10.30, the DC interview is already on the BBC website, via the policis page. Have just switched it on - Paxman's opening salvo is about jugs of "pink pussy" on sale at £8/jug in Urbium. He hasn't made much of a dent so far.

[less bias please]

"I understand he was part of the team that briefed the PM for PMQs." Yes but Major as PM--not Thatcher.

[less bias please]

And was joined by David Davis briefing Major on PMQs.

[Goldie]

DC more than survived his interview with Paxman. Pax was completely neutralized by DC. DC very effectively shut Pax up. An 'old hand' like DD with all his experience should have done it like that, but wasn't able to. DC wins this round hands-down.

Admittedly, I thought Pax was less tough on DC than on DD, but it's in part because DD, more tactically clever than DD, has NOT laid out detailed policy proposals for Pax to attack. Also, DC was *extremely* effective in the first ten minutes in shutting Pax up, and Pax fairly easily conceded defeat.

DC handled all questions very well (although I disagree with DC on several substantive points).

Tonight, DC became leader of the Conservative Party.

Good luck to him, and us!

[Ed R]

Thanks for the Paxman v Cameron link, Simon C.

Very impressive display from Cameron. Cool, collected, respectful, Prime Ministerial. He very effectively handled Paxman.

[Stephen Alley]

I especially enjoyed:

"Look Jeremy, this is farcical, how about two sentences before you interrupt,"

Then, "Blah, blah, blah. Sentence One. Blah, blah, blah. Sentence Two.". Then, "And if I may have another", that pretty much shut JP up.

He did very well, and avoided the trap:

Do you agree that the country has come to a state where they are willing to let a man who has done Class A drugs become prime minister?

He also did well in making his "sharing the proceeds of growth" economic policy, sound like a policy, even though it almost isn't a policy. Simply by contrasting his "grow and both cut and spend" to Brown's "grow and spend" and Davis' "cut in all circumstances", oh well JP couldn't fault it.

I think DC caught JP on the back foot twice by answering the questions: "Is it a promise?" and "Do you support gay partnerships adopting?" with the answer yes, when JP was expecting vacillation. This took the momentum away from Paxman.

[Henry Cook]

Excellent performance from Cameron. Couldn't have asked for more. Maybe he should have done the interview straight after DD to show the massive contrast between them.

[Ted]

I'm feeling sorry for DD now - a big speech on compassionate conservatism and comments are all about DC doing better with Paxman.....
See Editors now opened a blog on Pax so perhaps we'd better leave thios one for the more popular thread.

[Goldie]

Whether you're a DD supporter or not, it's all irrelevant by now.

DC is going to be the next Conservative leader.

And if the Conservative & Unionist Party of the Great Britain is to have a decent future, DC had better be its next prime minister.

It's about time we won a general election again.

DC had better deliver...

[Editor]

Well said Ted! DD did well at the CSJ tonight. The speech was good (can't agree with you Goldie) and his answers to the questions on drugs, family life and trade (from Christian Aid) were solid. DD appeared tired and I can understand what Dominic meant in his Newcastle Hustings Report about DD appearing almost resigned to defeat... but he was very good on the issues.

[Henry Cook]

Sorry Ted, wasn't sure where to post the comments till now!

[Goldie]

Editor: my problem with what you refer to as a 'speech' is that it isn't one.

A short sentence.

Followed by an unrelated slogan.

Followed by a talking point.

Is not a speech.

DD was reading from a Power Point slide or something (complete with illogical sentiments calling upon us to share in young people's sense of injustice, and grammatical mistakes).

Churchill, it is not.

[Editor]

There are serious policy ideas on reform of CAP for WTO round, help with defining property rights in the Third World, and making it easier to send remittances back home.

We'll have to agree to disagree, Goldie.

BBC have done a report on the big messages of the speech...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4446582.stm

[Ted]

The best thing about this election is that both the candidates are strong on real answers to real problem's - DD said some good stuff tonight. I'm an ex colonial - left 30 years ago but have been back home three times to central Africa in last 18 months. What struck me was the way that Aid & NGOs have, without intent, corrupted economic activity - everyone looks to an agency for the capital investment, whether EU, US or NGO. Shady East Europeans clean their money through investments, Libyans and Chinese buy cheap assets.
People still sacrifice all to get their children educated, in rural areas you are struck by the miles young children walk to school, well behaved, in clean uniforms. There are really good people in missions, in small scale localised endeavours, but it's entrepreneurs the countries need, less bureaucracy (= less corruption), better property and civil law, support to build their markets. Both DD & DC have shown their hearts here - lets hope they can get to practice it.

[Barbara Villiers]

No, David is not resigned to defeat - stop projecting your b.s. on him. He has a bad cold and is tired. Hanging offence is it?

Of course Paxman laid off DC and any harrnaguing was done purely for effect - all the cronies in it together. Nevertheless DC handled himself well. I won't take that away from him. It still doesn't make me any more convinced about him and in fact, less so. His smug superiority makes me want to slap him. Now it would seem that his normal university experiences were not just cannabis but class A drugs - he tacitly admitted that and lied about how he voted on adoption. So no doubt the press will gloss over that and his supporters will say it's okay to change his mind. This is getting so predictable.

By the way, I took one of my teenage children to hear David Davis speak last night who was very impressed by his directness and honesty. Not impressed with DC so far - disagrees with his drugs policy and sees through the charm and facile answers. Out of the mouths of babes.

[Cllr Graham Smith]

Whatever others may say, I consider Iain Duncan Smith acted extremely generously in providing this opportunity to David Davis.

[Mark Fulford]

Barbara, let me get this right...

Paxo's part of a conspiracy to do Davis down.

Cameron did well, but that makes you more anti than if he'd done badly.

Cameron's smug.

Cameron's refusal to talk about his past is tacit admission.

Your impressionable teenager was impressed by the presence of David Davis.

Why don't you just post "I HATE CAMERON AND HE CAN DO NO GOOD" and be done with it?

Does it ever occur to you that you could be wrong?