Michael Howard

Michael Howard has outlined his plans on how trust can be restored to British politics.

Delivering a speech on the subject in Birmingham, he sought to exploit Tony Blair's poor poll ratings in the area of trust, and vowed to return "accountability" to government.

The Conservative leader was also giving evidence to the independent Power inquiry, which is seeking to investigate the causes of disaffection with democracy.

Howard has made "accountability" the eleventh and final word of his 10 point slogan for the election campaign.

Promising a detailed programme of action in the first day, week and month of a Tory government, he has pledged to sack ministers if goals are not achieved.

Party strategists believe the prime minister's "spin", misinformation in the run-up to the war in Iraq, and broken promises on issues such as top-up student tuition fees have distanced the public from politicians.

Howard accused Tony Blair of "lying" about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, as well as politicising the civil service with the proliferation of special advisers.

He argued that another term of Labour government would make it impossible for Whitehall to return to its independent past.

And he claimed that voters also feel separated from a public sector run by quangos and other unelected bodies, promising to give councils more power, reduce the size of government, and provide public control over schools, hospitals and the police.

'Arrogant'

However, he did not acknowledge the role of previous Tory administrations in contributing to the process of disillusionment.

"As I travel around the country, these are some of the words people use to describe how they feel about Mr Blair and his government," the Tory leader said. "Let down. Disillusioned. Arrogant. Living in their own world. And there is another word that I hear again and again from people. 'Accountability'.

"People think politicians in general and Mr Blair's government in particular are nothing like as accountable as they should be.

"In coming weeks, there'll be one phrase we'll hear from Mr Blair again and again: 'It's time to move on.' Every time anyone hears Tony Blair say 'time to move on' they should sit up and listen hard.

"It's a sure sign there's something he doesn't want noticed, doesn’t want questioned, doesn't want probed.  In fact, he uses it as a 'get out of jail free' card to escape what he hates more than anything else – being held accountable.

"Mr Blair has built the most centralised, top-down system of government seen in peacetime Britain since we had absolute monarchs who believed they had a divine right to rule.

"It is a system of government in which Mr Blair and his friends are always right. Because Mr Blair's government is so unaccountable, his government is arrogant, over-mighty and under-hand."

He concluded that "politicians don't have all the solutions". "So I won't pretend I can solve every problem, right every wrong or cure every ill," he said. "I'll leave that to the Liberal Democrats.

"I will only promise what we can deliver. What I start, I will follow through. And I will give people clear measures against which we can be judged. 

"Our 'timetable for action' will put us on the line in a way that no government has ever been. We'll have no place to hide. There's a word for it - accountability."