David Cameron today attempted to persuade voters he had the leadership and vision to be the next prime minister as he vowed to "put Britain back on her feet".
In his last party conference address before the general election, the Tory leader admitted there would be tough times ahead but offered to look voters in the eye and tell them the truth about a Conservative Britain.
He insisted the economic recovery would be delivered by the people, not big government, and promised to scale back bureaucracy to help make it happen.
"If you put in the effort to bring in a wage, you will be better off; if you save money your whole life, you'll be rewarded; if you start your own business, we'll be right behind you … if you risk your life to fight for your country, we will honour you.
"Ask me what a Conservative government stands for and the answer is this: we will reward those who take responsibility and care for those who can't."
Drawing to a close a determined and relatively glitch-free four-day gathering, which nevertheless saw the Conservatives' polls lead drop four points, Cameron said he had some simple beliefs: in family community, country. "This is my DNA," he said.
Insisting he had no illusions about how bad things were, Cameron said: "If we win this election, it is going to be tough. There will have to be cutbacks in public spending, and that will be painful."
But he said it was necessary to confront Britain's culture of irresponsibility, and admitted that would be hard for many people.
The Tory chief was scathing about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown but pledged to keep some of the things Labour got right: devolution, the minimum wage and civil partnerships.
In an angry passage, accusing Labour of arrogance in thinking it was the party to fight poverty and deprivation, he asked: "Who made the poorest poorer? "Who left youth unemployment higher? Who made inequality greater?
"No, not the wicked Tories. You, Labour. You're the ones that did this to our society. So don't you dare lecture us about poverty. You have failed and it falls to us, the modern Conservative party, to fight for the poorest who you have let down."
However, Cameron said a Conservative government would retain Labour's flagship Sure Start programme and extend Labour's provisions for flexible working.
The "big argument" in British politics was that "Labour say that to solve the country's problems, we need more government," the Tory chief said.
"Don't they see? It is more government that got us into this mess."
The economy was broken "because government got too big, spent too much and doubled the national debt".
Society was broken "because government got too big, did too much and undermined responsibility"; and politics was broken because government "pretended it had all the answers".
Cameron told conference "we will get through this together", but "when we look back we will not say that the government made it happen".
"Not that the minister made it happen, but the businesswoman made it happen, the police officer made it happen, the father made it happen, the teacher made it happen; you made it happen."
Cameron said it was wrong to give children more and more rights while trusting teachers less and less.
"We've got to stop treating adults like children and children like adults," he said.
The Conservative leader confirmed that General Sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the armed forces, would join the Tory benches in the Lords and could serve in a future government.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, would be in charge of work across government to "help mend the broken society".
In a personal passage referring to the death of his son Ivan, Cameron said: "For me and Samantha this year will only ever mean one thing. When such a big part of your life suddenly ends nothing else – nothing outside – matters.
"It's like the world has stopped turning and the clocks have stopped ticking. And as they slowly start again, weeks later, you ask yourself all over again: do I really want to do this? You think about what you really believe and what sustains you."
Cameron acknowledged his privileged upbringing. "I know how lucky I've been to have the chances I had", unlike "children growing up in Britain today who will never know the love of a father" and "who are born in homes that hold them back, who go to schools that keep them back".
Cameron said: "I want every child to have the chances I had. That is why I'm standing here."
• On Afghanistan, Cameron said British troops were not there to deliver the perfect society, they were there to top the re-establishment of terrorist training camps.
• On the debt crisis, he vowed to "pay down" the budget deficit as soon as possible.
• On pensions, he promised to raise the basic state pension in line with earnings
• On big government, he said bureaucracy would be cut to make way for new businesses, industries and technologies.
• On welfare, Cameron said he would support those who "really cannot work" but those who could would no longer live "off the hard work of others".
• On the NHS, he vowed it would remain "free at the point of use and available to everyone based on need, not ability to pay" but he said the service should change to give patients more choice.
• On crime, he promised to reform the police, courts and prison to help protect ordinary people.
• On schools, he said there would be more emphasis on discipline, setting by ability and regular sport.
• On Europe, he reiterated the party's pledge to hold a referendum to "return to democratic and accountable politics the powers the EU shouldn't have".
Admitting that there "aren't many reasons to be cheerful", Cameron concluded: "If we rebuild responsibility, then we can put Britain back on her feet … Yes it will be a steep climb, but the view from the summit will be worth it."
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