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Tory chief promises to 'battle for Britain'
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| Howard: Launching manifesto |
Setting out his party's manifesto for the general election, Michael Howard has pledged to pursue the agenda of the British people.
"I'm going into battle for Britain," he said as he unveiled the first full manifesto of the campaign.
"This is our manifesto. It doesn't have a picture of me on the cover. It doesn't have anyone's picture on the cover," he said.
"On the cover are the simple longings of the British people – people who feel forgotten and ignored.
"They don't ask for much. They long for hospitals that are clean.
"I mean, how hard is it to keep a hospital clean? It's a good question. If only we had a government that could give a good answer."
Tax
The 32-page document details the Tories' plans but fails to give specific commitments on the party's plans for lower taxation.
Policies include measures to combat MRSA, more police, tougher school discipline and tighter immigration controls.
Headteachers are to be given more powers to expel unruly pupils. The Conservatives say school discipline must be improved if literacy and numeracy standards are to be lifted.
"A vote for Mr Blair is a vote for eight years of broken promises and five more years of talk," Howard told journalists on Monday.
He said the document represented the "agenda of the British people".
"It is what most people want. We have been listening to people. That is what democracy is about. The theme is 'trust the people'," he added.
The Tory leader said a future Conservative government would reduce borrowing by £8bn and cut taxes by £4bn.
Howard published the policy blueprint at a breakfast-time press conference before heading off to campaign in Scotland and Wales.
"I want people to read our manifesto, it may be an unrealistic thing to say, but I want them to," he said.
Howard pulled together the various chapters of the document that have been released in recent weeks - but said some announcements were being held back for later release.
Tax cuts
The manifesto does not specify how the money for tax cuts, earmarked by shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin, will be used.
The Opposition has already said that it will provide £1.3bn worth of council tax rebates of up to £500 for pensioners, while £460m a year will go on helping around 250,000 families with the costs of childcare.
The party has so far declined to divulge how the rest of its £4bn savings would be used.
Knowing the news will garner huge amounts of media interest, the Tories are holding back the announcement for later in the election campaign.
"We will do it in our own time, but you will not have long to wait," Howard told the media.
But the gap leaves a hole in Howard's policy plans, with the manifesto failing to contain what he hopes will be one of his biggest vote winners.
Labour has said it will address its own tax plans in its manifesto - with the chancellor set to detail his tax plans on Wednesday.
Elsewhere the Tory document focuses on other priority areas of crime, hospital cleanliness, school discipline and immigration.
Under Howard's plans new immigrants will be screened for diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.
For Labour Alan Milburn said the Conservatives were still focusing on rewarding the wealthy through policies such as healthcare vouchers.
"This is a new manifesto from the same old Tories. It confirms they still stand for privilege not opportunity in our country," he said on Monday.
"It confirms they still want to take money out of state schools and the NHS to benefit a few at the expense of the many.
"Above all else, it confirms they would take Britain back to the failures of the past."
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