General Election 2010: Tory leader David Cameron answers your questions

Published on Monday 3 May 2010 10:13

In the third part of our readers' questions and answers series with the four main party leaders, the Conservatives' David Cameron answers your questions

Q How can you claim a mandate to govern Scotland if you have only a handful of MPs?

A That's like saying Labour has no mandate to run the south of England, where they have only a few MPs. That clearly isn't the case. The point is that this is a British general election. We're electing a British government and a British Prime Minister. And I think people understand that the party in power may have more seats in some parts of Britain than in others. But I also want people in Scotland to know that this is a changed Conservative Party. So if I become Prime Minister, I will govern Scotland, with respect.

Q What will you do with the Barnett Formula as a way of calculating Scotland's share of UK public spending?

A Everyone accepts that Barnett is coming to the end of its life. It ought to be replaced with a needs-based formula. Scotland's needs are very great – and so any change to Barnett would reflect that.

Q What plans do you have to stimulate employment in Scotland?

A Labour are planning to hike up National Insurance on almost every job next year. That's a massive burden for employers and employees – and it will almost certainly mean unemployment gets worse. We would stop this jobs tax by cutting Labour's waste in government.

Next, we need radical welfare reform. Labour's unreformed welfare system simply doesn't offer enough help to people to get back into work. So we need to shake up the whole system. Part of that is about saying to people who are desperate to get a job, that we will help you, we'll invite our best social enterprises, charities and businesses to give you the help you need. But another part is about saying that if you can work but won't work, we'll cut your benefits.

Above all, we've got to get our economy growing. I want Scotland to seize the industries of the future and be a global leader in high-tech manufacturing, the electronics industry and green technology. Our plans to cut employer National Insurance contributions for new businesses and to create Britain's first green investment bank to finance new green technology start-ups will give a big boost to Scottish enterprise.

Q Following the experience of the trams and the building of the Scottish Parliament, what guarantee is there that taxpayer will not have to pick up the bill for any overspend on the proposed Forth crossing?

A No answer given.

Q How do you propose to tackle the growing disparity of reward – particularly pensions and bonuses – between public and private sector?

A We need to control public spending as part of our plan to reduce our deficit. We must find ways to cap the biggest government pensions. This cap should prevent any taxpayer-funded increase in government pensions already worth over 50,000 a year. We've also said we need a public sector pay freeze for everyone apart from the million lowest paid workers.

I know a lot of people have also been concerned about excessive bonuses in our banks. The level of pay there has got out of kilter with the rest of society. We need to bring this in line – and one part of that is giving the Bank of England the power to crack down on risky bonus structures.

But it's also important that we show leadership in Westminster. As well as closing the MPs' pension scheme to new entrants, we need to cut ministers' pay by five per cent, and freeze ministerial salaries for the lifetime of the next Parliament.

Q How do you see the future of financial services in the Capital?

A Edinburgh is the second biggest financial centre in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. I would seek to build on this. I would start by making sure our financial services never again become so exposed to risk.

We will abolish Gordon Brown's failed system of regulation and put the Bank of England in charge. One of the things I would ask the Bank to do is make sure that banks taking big risks are required to put more capital aside. That would discourage them from getting too big and help stop them getting into trouble.

We would also work with Europe to ban high-street banks from getting involved in some of the riskier investment banking practices. This would help prevent us having banks which are "too big to fail".

Q How can a wealthy former public school boy relate to people on Edinburgh's sink estates?

A No answer given.

Quick Questions

Would you ever contemplate joining the Euro?

No.

Will the UK still own bank shares in five years?

We'll do whatever is in the long-term interests of the taxpayer.

Should the Scottish Parliament raise the taxes it spends?

The Scottish Parliament should have greater financial accountability.

Will Edinburgh's trams be running by 2012?

No answer given

Does a private education offer the best start in life?

No, strong and supportive families do.

Should Scotland be doing more to encourage immigration?

Britain needs to be doing more to get immigration under control.

Will England win the World Cup?

I hope so.

Have you ever shopped in Poundstretcher?

Yes. With young children, I think I've shopped everywhere.

Is it better for a child to be brought up by married parents?

Best for children to have stable, loving parents who stick together.

Was Margaret Thatcher good for Britain?

She did achieve important things, but – like any politician – not everything she did was right.