Cameron attacks Brown over poverty

from the Guardian

Rosalind Ryan and agencies

Guardian Unlimited

David Cameron pledged to help the "have-nots" as well as the "haves" in British society today, as he attacked Gordon Brown for failing to stamp out poverty.

The Tory leader attacked Labour for creating a "clunking tax credit system" that punished poor families, and accused the prime minister of doing nothing to reform the welfare system.

Speaking at conference in north London, Mr Cameron said the social security system needed a radical change to encourage aspiration. "Aspiration is not about class, background or position. Everybody dreams of rising up in the world, and everybody dreams of giving their children a better life," he said.

"I don't care where you started out in life; my mission is to help you rise higher. But I do care about this: the fact that for millions of our fellow citizens today, rising higher is not a question of a better job, a better home or a better holiday. It is a question of ever having a job, ever owning a home or ever having a holiday."

His plans are seen another raid into traditional Labour territory as the Tories seek to boost their narrow lead over Labour. Since the prime minister announced he would not be calling a general election this year, the Tories have just overtaken them in the polls.

Mr Cameron said Labour currently punished couples that stayed together with fewer benefits. He vowed to lift 300,000 children out of poverty by increasing the working tax credit that couples receive, so it would no longer financially benefit them to live apart. This would be funded by stopping the "revolving door of people flitting in and out of work", according to Mr Cameron.

He also accused the tax credit system of creating misery among the poorest in society and wasting billions in fraud and overpayments. "I do not doubt for one moment Mr Brown's sincere desire to remove the scourge of poverty from our land, but he must see, as we can all now see, that his methods have failed and it is time for change," he said.

Mr Cameron claimed he would take a more "holistic and sophisticated" approach to make poverty history. In his speech to the Tory party at their annual conference this year, Mr Cameron said the Tories would ask charities, voluntary bodies and private companies to run the benefits system instead of government.

"I think they show a greater understanding of the personal and emotional needs of people who have been stuck out of work for so long," he told the conference in Blackpool.

Today, he reiterated his plans to involve the voluntary sector, saying he would remove the red tape that currently prevented them taking a wider role.

He added: "So yes we must help the haves to have more, yes we must back the aspirations of our over-taxed, over-burdened middle classes but a modern aspiration agenda means helping the have-nots to have something, and if we do not succeed in that mission then I tell you frankly that we will all be poorer."

The Tory leader's announcement was immediately mocked by the work and pensions secretary, Peter Hain, who said the opposition were proposing "quick fixes" rather than detailed policy proposals.

The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, warned that the Conservative ideas would actually increase poverty levels.

"David Cameron may have strong rhetoric on reducing poverty, but his policies will have the opposite effect," he said. "Instead they will fuel the widening wealth gap, which has left 3.8 million children across the UK living in poverty."