Cameron throws down gauntlet and tells PM to stop dithering

Published on Sunday 30 September 2007 01:23

TORY leader David Cameron last night pledged populist tax breaks for families and first-time home buyers and challenged Gordon Brown to "stop dithering" and call a general election.

With the Tories gathering for a crunch conference in Blackpool, Cameron struck a defiant tone despite persistent sniping in his own ranks and a double-digit deficit in opinion polls.

He insisted any vote would be "wide open" and said he was "very excited" by the prospect of going to the ballot box. "He should stop dithering," Cameron said in an interview. "He's got himself into a position where he either bottles it or he has given us a hell of a lot of notice of his intentions."

The Tory leader admitted commentators previously had a "fair point" over the party's lack of clear policies, but said he was ready for "a very big fightback" this week with a series of eye-catching moves.

The Tories began delivering what is expected to be a blizzard of conference policy announcements earlier today, setting out plans to hand tax breaks worth up to 2,000 a year to 1.8 million families with children.

The 3bn measure would be funded with a crackdown on "workshy" benefits claimants, including "aggressive" penalties for those who turn down jobs.

The Conservatives will also have a manifesto which promises to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes worth up to 250,000.

As a result, nine out of 10 would-be homeowners would not pay the levy, saving an average of 2,000 for some 285,000 people, according to the party.

The policy will please traditionalists who have been demanding firm commitments to tax cuts, as well as appealing to the generation of young people frozen out of the property market by soaring prices.

Cameron said the idea showed the Conservatives were the "party of aspiration, giving you power and control over your life".

The party also wants to renegotiate the Government's controversial GP contracts, which have been blamed for allowing pay to soar while out-of-hours care has deteriorated.

However, the Conservative leadership has its work cut out to eat into Brown's poll advantage, which appears to have stretched following Labour's solid conference in Bournemouth this week.

Speculation that the PM might call a snap election intensified after polls showed an 11-point lead, on 43% to the Tories' 32%.

Chancellor Alistair Darling went on the attack over the tax breaks pledge, branding them "unfunded" and "reckless".

"This will be the first of the reckless tax and spend promises we will see from an increasingly desperate Tory party this week; reckless pledges that would put economic stability at risk."

Cameron insisted the shadow Cabinet had "never been more unified", and he was ready to kick off a campaign under the slogan "Time for a Change".

"If they want to call an election now I'll be delighted. We're up for it," he said.

"I've got candidates selected for all the most important marginal seats. We have a fighting fund that stands at at least 10m."

He added: "I woke up this morning, bounced out of bed and thought I really know how to win this election."