A transcript of a press conference given by the Prime Minister following the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009.
Read the transcript
Prime Minister:
I know I’ve kept you busy today, but I thought it better to talk to all of you before I went to France for the D-Day commemoration tomorrow. I’ve been talking to President Obama, I’ll be meeting President Sarkozy and President Obama tomorrow, but I’m here to be totally candid, to accept my responsibility and to set out what I intend to do.
Since the global economic crisis first hit Britain, I never doubted how difficult it would be. It’s indeed a testing time, an economic crisis and now a parliamentary crisis for MPs is a test of everyone’s resilience: mine, the government’s and the country’s. It demands that we continue making the very difficult decisions, but also it requires deep reserves of strength when things are difficult. As we have responded to the economic crisis by taking control of our banks, aggressively fighting repossessions and preventing higher unemployment, so too we are wrestling today with stabilising and supporting Britain’s car industry and building the foundations for Britain’s prosperity. And we’ve responded on the expenses crisis by taking steps to reform the system, and of course we have a record that we are proud of in schools, in hospitals, in fighting crime.
But the task in front of us is clear: first to clean up politics, secondly to push forward with our economic recovery and third to ensure the best opportunities for people through reformed public services that are tailored and far more responsive to people’s needs. The lesson that we have learnt this week is that we must push ahead further and faster on all these three fronts. And to do this I’ve reshaped the Cabinet and we’ll reshape and streamline how we deliver our policies for the country. Three ministerial councils will now report weekly to the Cabinet. The Democratic Renewal Council will push forward the cleanup of politics and our constitutional agenda, and it will engage in an extensive programme of public consultation including with other political parties. The Domestic Policy Council will meet for the first time next week and we will publish later this month our prospectus for Britain’s future. And of course the work of the National Economic Council will be enhanced by the departmental restructuring and the new appointments we have made today.
So our purpose and priorities are clear. First we need to continue our policy of active intervention. When people are suffering you cannot have a ‘do nothing’ approach to the recession; you cannot cut your way out of this recession, you can only grow your way out. In the coming weeks we will outline our future plans for jobs, especially for green jobs, a new infrastructure plan for our country, and of course more action on housing and on the digital economy. We need to create a decent, honest politics in this country; a politics clearly dedicated to serving the public and never politicians serving themselves. So we will introduce before the summer legislation for a new independent regulator for MPs. We will introduce a tough, legally binding Code of Conduct for MPs. Every single expense claim made by MPs of all parties over the last four years will be scrutinised by an independent audit panel with the results declared as soon as possible.
We will go further and look at issues about how we elect our MPs and how we open up government, and of course all public bodies, to the closest of public scrutiny. And we want to put power in the hands of our citizens to strengthen the public services upon which a fair society depends. We can only build Britain’s future if we have not only a strong economy, but good public services that can meet the challenges of the future. So the third leg of our strategy for building Britain’s future is the next stage of reform in public services, a reform driven by one central principle, that a fair society is one in which everyone and not just the privileged have a fair chance to succeed. This will depend crucially on putting power in the hands of the people; that’s patients and parents. We will outline new plans for education, health and policing in the next few days.
If I didn’t think I was the right person, leading the right team to help Britain meet these three great challenges then I would not be standing here. I have chosen a Cabinet who are likewise committed to serving the nation first and foremost. They are people of character and strength, experience and resilience, talented people who will not shirk difficult decisions and will not walk away from their responsibilities when the going gets tough. No one could forgive the Labour Party or a Labour government if facing an economic and political storm we just walked away from our responsibilities. I have faith in doing my duty, in being fair to others and in honest politics and this is who I am. I believe in never walking away from people in difficult times; this is what I stand for. I have the determination to take this country through the most difficult of economic times and this is what I’m doing.
I know where I and my Cabinet team want to take this country and I know what we as a nation have within ourselves to achieve. I still believe fundamentally what everybody who is a decent-minded citizen believes that service to the country is more important than service to self or even to party. And like all my colleagues in this new Cabinet, I did not come into politics to stand in the limelight but to fight for a fairer prosperity and a stronger society true to our best values. Today these issues, these challenges, the economy and ethics demand strength, determination and character.
Question:
Prime Minister, thank you very much. You have just promised to be candid and then you have blamed your plight on an economic crisis and a political crisis. The Labour party suffered its worst election results in history, a series of Cabinet resignations and demands for you to stand down. Doesn’t candour require you to say, ‘This was in part my fault and I must do better or get out of the way’?
Prime Minister:
I think the first thing I said is I accept responsibility, but I’m not going to walk away from my duty to the country; I’m going to get on with the task. Now what people want us to do is three things. It’s clear from what people are saying and it’s clear from what I believe that we’ve got to clean up politics. It’s clear also from what people are saying and what I believe that we’ve got to take this country through the economic recession, and it’s clear also that we’ve got to show people that the future, particularly the future of our public services, is one that people can have confidence in when they have more control over these services themselves.
So I’m not complacent, I’ve never been arrogant, I’m not doubting that we suffered a very big defeat, but the task before this country is so big that we’ve got to get on with the job. Now if you look round the world of course, every country has been affected by this recession; nobody expected it to be so great. On top of that to have a crisis of MPs’ expenses is something that is I suppose unprecedented. But I think people will see that we are ready to deal with these problems and by not shirking your responsibility and getting on with the job, I think that’s what people will see as the right thing for Britain.
Question:
Forgive me, doesn’t being candid require you to say, ‘This is what I got wrong and this is what I personally will do differently’?
Prime Minister:
The importance of being candid is to accept responsibility and to accept blame and to accept where mistakes have been made. But I think the importance of talking to people about what we are doing and what we are trying to achieve. If you like, we are going through a big economic recession; people have seen the policies but they have yet to see the resolves. People know that we’re trying to clean up politics; they have not seen the answers yet because the legislation has not been passed. But in time they will see that we have taken and will take decisive action.
Now to have legislation on that before the summer is to make sure that no stone is unturned, and to have all expenses claims of MPs looked at in detail over the next few weeks is to make sure that the system now works fairly for people. So being candid is to accept, yes, there are real problems, yes, we are not complacent about them, yes, mistakes have been made but, yes, we have a job to do and we’re going to continue to get on with it.
Question:
Prime Minister, now we’ve got the full list of your Cabinet, we see we’ve got the elevation to this type of first Secretary of State of an unelected peer who’s twice had to resign from the Cabinet. We’ve got the return of two Cabinet ministers who’ve previously been demoted. We’ve got another department going under the control of an unelected peer. We’ve got both Defence and Health, little known and untried Ministers in charge of some of the most important departments in the country. And we’ve also got a significant drop in the number of women who will be attending your Cabinet. Can you honestly say today that you have strengthened the government team or indeed come up with a team fit for the 21st century?
Prime Minister:
Well, let me first of all say to correct you, there are seven women who will be attending the Cabinet: Harriet Harman who’s obviously the Leader of the House of Commons and deputises for me at Prime Minister’s Questions; Yvette Cooper; Jan Royall; Tessa Jowell; Baroness Scotland; Dawn Primarolo; and Rosie Winterton. So there are a large number of very talented women. The second thing: Andy Burnham has proved himself to be an excellent Minister of State when he was at the Department of Health. Equally Bob Ainsworth has been a loyal Minister of State at the Department of Defence; he’s highly regarded by the generals and all the commanding officers and will make an excellent Secretary of State for Defence.
Look, you make changes as things develop but you make changes for a purpose. The changes I have made are for these three purposes. We’ve got a new Constitutional Renewal Council that is going to deal with the problems of cleaning up politics and democratic reform. We’ve got a new economic enhancement of the economic council by what we’re doing with the new departments and how they are being merged together to focus our effort on the recovery. And of course we’ve got a new national Domestic Policy Council to look at all the changes we can make in public services. So this is focus, it’s determination, it’s energy, and I do think when you look at the new people who’ve joined the Cabinet you’ll see that we’ve chosen very talented people who have got a determination to serve the country.
Question:
Prime Minister, you say you want to be candid so can I ask you a very simple straightforward question? Do you acknowledge today that you wanted to sack your Chancellor and were simply unable to do so?
Prime Minister:
No, no. Alistair Darling, as I said in the House of Commons only two days ago, is a Chancellor who has served the country, not only well domestically but is internationally acclaimed for much of the work he did in relation to the G20. And I was asked this in the House of Commons only on Wednesday, and I paid tribute not only to his work in the past through to his work in the present, and the work that he’s doing to bring about the economic recovery.
Look, we’re at a situation where you know yourself we have announced what we’re doing on housing and homelessness, what we’re doing on jobs, what we’re doing on business, but you have yet to see the results. It’s hardly surprising that people ‘are asking are all these policies working’ because it takes time for policies to make a difference. The lending agreements: it takes time for them to come through. The action we’ve taken against housing: I am assured that it will reduce the expected rate of repossessions, but it takes time. We are not complacent and we are not arrogant. We are waiting for these results but when these results come, people will see that his is a government that rejected the idea that doing nothing was the best way through the recession, rejected the policies of the Conservative Party in that regard, followed and then led to some extent other countries in taking the same policies as us. The result is that people will see the difference. Now you want two questions as well.
Question:
You said you were going to be candid and you’re just not being candid, are you? Because everyone in this room knows that that is what you wanted to do. All your closest aides have been going round Westminster this week saying that you wanted to sack the Chancellor and at the last minute you just haven’t been able to do it.
Prime Minister:
No, Alistair Darling is not only, as I said in the House of Commons, a very good personal friend of mine and I’ve known him for many years, and you can talk to him as well, but he’s also been a great Chancellor. Look, we’re going through an economic crisis; it’s unprecedented. The idea that we would split over this issue of working through the economic problems and getting solutions is just ridiculous. Alistair and I are not only friends, colleagues but have been working in the G20 to get answers together. So the respect that he has in the rest of the world is something that I hope the rest of the country will soon be able to acknowledge.
Question:
Prime Minister, you say you want to be candid and take your responsibility for the failures, but you won’t detail what these failures were; where exactly have you gone wrong? Has it been a failure of leadership?
Secondly, what message does it send to the troops in the field in a period when a very large number of soldiers have lost their lives in the last two weeks, that you lose your Secretary of State for Defence, who suddenly says, ‘I’m off, I’m going to leave Parliament’?
Prime Minister:
John Hutton told me some time ago that he didn’t want to stand at the next election for family and for personal reasons, and I was aware of that some time ago, and we decided that at the time of the next reshuffle, it would be the right time for him to consider standing down. That’s what’s happened today. I’ve got to tell you that John Hutton has done a great job; he’s been a wonderful Secretary of State for Defence. He’s also served the country in so many other different ways, and I want to pay tribute to what he’s achieved. But I think you will find also Bob Ainsworth, who will come to France to me tomorrow to meet our troops, and particularly of course the veterans in France tomorrow, is an excellent choice, very popular with the armed forces and someone who can do a great job.
The reason I’m saying I’m being candid is yes, over the expenses Parliament should have acted earlier; all of us and I accept and I apologise for our failure to do so. We have got to clean up the political system quickly but I believe I am a person who is capable of doing that. Not just because of my background and what I’ve tried to do in the years that I’ve been in politics, because I’ve already outlined the very detailed policies we will announce and take before the summer to deal with exactly this problem. The reason I’m candid is of course I’ve accepted that this recession is something that it has taken time for the world to come together to solve. I’ve always argued, you can only solve this international financial recession by global action together.
Now I wish it had come more quickly, but I fought as everybody knows for that to happen, and I think people are now beginning to see the difference. I’m candid because I admit that there have been mistakes made, I accept full responsibility but I’m going to get on with the job. Nobody walks away when you’re in difficulty. What you do is you get on with the task and you finish the task in hand and show people that what you set out to do is going to be concluded; you do your duty by the country.
Question:
It’s a simple one again. Was there any point during this crisis when you considered your position, when you thought it would be the best thing to do for the country to stand down?
Prime Minister:
No, but I’m not arrogant and I’m never complacent, and I understand that you’ve got to take responsibility as a leader for what is happening. But I believe that the policies that we’re pursuing are right for the country. I believe that they are already in some instances, on the economy showing results. I’m determined to clean up politics; this is something that the House of Commons should have addressed years ago and now the government and the political parties in a sense have had to take this matter in hand themselves. And I look for all-party cooperation on this and I believe we’ll get it.
So there is a job to do, I’m going to keep on doing it; I’ve got a great team to be able to do it and to conduct the job. We are essentially telling you today the three priorities that will inform the work of the government over the next few months and the whole of the Cabinet reshuffle and the later changes in the government will be designed to achieve these three priorities for our country.
Question:
Sir, you spelt out exactly what you intend to do, can you describe to the electorate exactly what it is about you as a person that makes you think you’re the right person to lead us forward, sir?
Prime Minister:
Well, I’ve always been brought up to believe that you’ve got to act with integrity at all times. To be honest, when I look at this expenses crisis I remember the words of my father and I remember what he told me: always be honest, always sort things out if things are wrong and never allow things to fester without taking action. I do believe that we’ve got to be quick in the action we take on this expenses crisis. Every MP is going to have their expenses examined for the last four years, not by a newspaper but by an independent auditor appointed to exactly that job.
The Code of Conduct will be mandatory on Members of Parliament, and of course the legislation that we’re bringing in will mean that instead of self regulation - that was the old gentlemen’s club that I and many others entered in the 1980s - it’s got to be changed and it’s got to be statutory regulations. So I can assure people, not only of my determination to do it, but I believe that any decent-minded citizen in this country has got a right to expect of the politicians that they will show and practise that they are doing everything to meet the highest public standards, the highest standards in public life.
Question:
You say that if you didn’t think that you were the right person for the job you would walk away. Do you not think it would be easier to convince other people that you are the right person for the job if you had either a mandate from the public, from the voters, or a mandate from your party? Isn’t the fact that you’re in this difficulty a symptom of the fact that you have neither of those things?
Prime Minister:
Well, I don’t agree. As far as the country is concerned, look, we’re living in a Parliamentary system where a government is elected through it having a majority in the House of Commons. The terms are already set down in the constitution. Of course there’ll be an election at some point, but it’s right to say in the middle of a recession, in the middle of difficulties that you face as the result of a crisis around the world, you don’t walk away. You get on with the business of showing people that you’re taking action.
And I believe that the right thing to do in the next few weeks is to take action on the car industry, is talk to the French and the Germans and the other Europeans about joint action in Europe, as I’ll be doing, to move forward with our plans to deal with unemployment and to help small businesses. Look, I’m not complacent. I want to acknowledge peoples worries about the current situation. But I also know that people in their hearts know it’s right, in the middle of an economic crisis and dealing with political problems that have got to be solved on expenses, it is right to get on with the job and to do the work, and then finish the work. And then of course people will have a chance to have their views and make them known at a general election.
Question:
We hear that Caroline Flint has just resigned yet last night she came out and gave you her full support. What does that say about the protestations of support from your other ministers? Are they going to resign too now?
Prime Minister:
Well, Caroline was and has been a very good minister. You know, she was the Minister for Employment and then she was a Minister for Housing and did a huge amount of work preparing the way with our Housing Policy for what we’re doing now. And she was a very successful Minister for Europe. I asked Caroline if she would take on the job attending the Cabinet, so she would be present at every Cabinet meeting. Unfortunately she didn’t see it that way and that’s where it’s left. We’ve got a new Minister for Europe and I think you’ll be able to see this announced in the next few minutes, and that is Glenys Kinnock, who will join the House of Lords immediately.
Question:
Prime Minister, would you not accept it looks pretty chaotic though?
Prime Minister:
Not at all. We’re getting on calmly and in an ordered way with the business of a reshuffle. I don’t think in past reshuffles you’ve had the full Cabinet and other ministers announced in such a speedy way. If I remember even my past reshuffles, it’s usually at 6 o’clock in the evening that you receive the first notice of a press release. So I think this has been done in an ordered and calm way, but it’s in recognition that we understand the feelings of the British people.
We understand what people are saying to us: they’re angry about MPs expenses, they’re worried about the economy and they want to know that the action that we’re taking is the right action. They’ve seen the policies announced but they want to know the results, they cannot judge them yet. And so I understand that people have felt this way. But it’s right for us to get on with the business of government. I think all of you, I know this is always a long day when a reshuffle starts to happen, but I think you’ll acknowledge that this has gone in an ordered and calm way and you’ve had the announcement at 4.30.
Question:
You could really reassert your authority, Prime Minister, by dissolving Parliament and holding a general election. Do you fear the judgement of the people?
Prime Minister:
No, not at all, and I accept what the people have said in the last day, and you know I am sensitive to people’s worries about what’s happening to the economy. I’m also of course annoyed and appalled by what’s happened over MPs’ expenses. I want to see the system cleaned up as soon as possible, but you know, I think what people are saying to us is, ‘Get us through this recession, clean up the politics of this country and prepare our public services and our economy for the best future possible.’
And you know, when some people doubt whether the next generation can do as well as the last generation, whether the children can do as well as themselves given these global economic problems, I assure them of my faith that the next generation will do better than the last. That the world economy, and then the British economy as a result of that, will grow substantially over the next period of years, and that people will enjoy greater prosperity and better public services in the years to come. So I think that’s when people, when they see what we’re trying to do obviously as a result of the changes that we’re making and the focus of our work, I think they’ll appreciate that we’re getting on with the job.
Question:
Prime Minister, you say you want constitutional reform and improvement to democracy. You’ve got 350 elected MPs and you can’t find one of them to be Europe Minister; why are we having to appoint more people to the House of Lords?
Prime Minister:
Because Glenys Kinnock is an excellent Minister for Europe who has enjoyed a huge reputation in the European Parliament for the work she’s done. Great contacts with not just the individual countries of Europe, and remember this is about preparing for European Councils, people who will get on with the governments and the rest of the country and persuade them to do things. She’s an excellent appointment and I think by appointing some ministers from outside government who come in through the House of Lords, it is a good thing for our political system. I’m not necessarily saying that that means that the House of Lords and its current structure is assured forever. But where you have individuals of talent, and I’ve been talking to quite a few of them recently, it is right for them to have a chance to serve the country in this way.
And look, the talent of our front bench is clear from the list you’ve got. I’ve been able to promote some very good younger people to the Cabinet as well as bring back people who I think showed in opposition, showed when they were out of government that they had done a good job. So I am satisfied we’ve got the right team for the future, but obviously where we can strengthen our government we will do so. And we may again use this avenue of appointing people from outside government to the House of Lords to strengthen our team in certain areas.
Question:
Prime Minister, can you just explain what Peter Mandelson’s new job title means? Is it effectively a Deputy Prime Minister role and is that his price for effectively shoring up your leadership over the last few days?
Prime Minister:
I brought Peter Mandelson back from being in the Commission in Brussels. Look, I think everybody in British business has recognised that he’s done a superb job since his return, and therefore we’ve looked at the departmental structure and the lack of a National Economic Council. The Chancellor and I and Peter Mandelson and others have looked at it, and really Peter has got to have an enhanced role in leading the intervention, you know, for example in the car industry but in other areas. We’ve brought together science and universities and obviously business and small business. You’ll see other appointments made to that department to strengthen the relationships that we have with the business over the next few months.
So Peter has got an enhanced role as I believe it is right given both his experience and his contribution in leading the intervention in business, and he’s got a role where he’ll support me and the government in a wider role. Harriet Harman, by the way, has done a superb job even in difficult times during these elections. She’s been an excellent deputy leader for me and she wants to continue with her constitutional work as leader of the House of Commons and of course as a great Deputy Leader of the Party.
Question:
Surely the decision to appoint Sir Alan Sugar as a sort of business czar shows again that you’ve run out of talent within the government and you’re trying to grab a headline for tonight?
Prime Minister:
I think when I brought in Ara Darzi to be Health Minister, a surgeon who had huge experience in the National Health Service, it is now widely appreciated that he’s done a wonderful job. I brought Mark Malloch-Brown back from being Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations to help us. Alan West, who was the former head of the Navy in to be Minister for Security, and I could go through other names of people who’ve done an excellent job. I believe that the appointments that I make in future will be good ones as well, but I’m not going to confirm things until they are announced in full, as they will be in due course.
But if leading businessmen like Paul Drayson, who’s come in to the government a few months ago, if leading businessmen like Mervyn Davies, who’s the Chairman of Standard Charter, feel that they can help the government, and we have got some of the best talent in British business now prepared to work in the government or for the government, then that is a good thing for Britain. We should applaud it. Far more businessmen and women should be able to come in to government to serve the country. And as you go through an economic crisis, you realise the value of having some of these senior businessmen not in an advisory role but right at the centre of government.
Question:
Prime Minister, Stephen Byers this afternoon at the North Tyneside election suggested that you were perhaps a loser or perhaps a winner. Which one are you?
Prime Minister:
Over my life, I think I’ve won a lot. I’m not complacent or arrogant about anything that happens in the future. Everything I’ve won or done has been fought for; I’ve not done anything except by hard work and determination. I’ve got resolution; I know when things are tough you’ve got to be tough, and I know when things are difficult you’ve got to face up to the difficulties. And I know one thing of everything that’s happened to me during my life, and there’s been a lot of things that people have been critical of and everything else when I’ve taken difficult policy decisions, that you’ve got to be able to stand up and say, ‘I’m not going to walk away. I’m going to keep doing the job that I’ve set out to do’, and that’s my message. In fact, it’s my mission to keep on with the job of building a better Britain and dealing with the problems in politics, the economy and our public services that have to be dealt with.
Question:
Prime Minister, is everybody in the list we’ve just been given in the job that they were first offered in this reshuffle? Did any impose conditions for serving in your Cabinet? And what difference do you think that this bunch of people can make compared with the previous bunch?
Prime Minister:
Well, first of all nobody lays down conditions when they come into government. They come into government under this system as part of a Cabinet where they agree to abide by the collective responsibility of the Cabinet and they are chosen and selected by the Prime Minister. Look, Robin, you’ve been around for a long time and you’ve seen many, many reshuffles. I hope you’ll agree that this one has moved ahead without you having to wait outside Downing Street for hours, or more hours this time in the rain. As far as the new team, look, it’s focused.
Question:
You could still do with a [INDISTINCT] out there.
Prime Minister:
Well, let’s see if our public spending programmes can allow. The issue as you say is we are focusing on three major issues. I’ve chosen people. Look, on the economy you’ll see we’ve made changes in the way we structure government. On the constitution you will see the changes that we’re making with this national constitutional council which will involve a number of key ministers. And on public services, Andy Burnham, Ed Balls, Alan Johnson at the Home Office: they’re all determined that policing, hospitals and schools, they serve the public. It’s not about serving the teacher or serving the nurse or doctor however important they are, and I believe they are vital to our public services. It’s about how the nurse and the doctor and the teacher can help the pupil and the patient. And that’s really what public service has got to be about; brilliant public service professionals but services tailored to the personal needs of people.
Now I’ve chosen people to move this agenda forward, and I think you’ll be surprised in how short a time you will see the prospectus that we are going to put forward for Britain’s future. You know, we’ve had an expenses crisis; it’s lasted for a period of time. People have looked at all these expenses, we’ve decided to change the rules; this will be done as quickly as it can be done. But when people face a choice it will be about the future of our public services as well, and it will be about who is best able to run and manage an economy in a global world that is very, very complex and difficult indeed.
Question:
Prime Minister, reshuffles are supposed to be sweeping examples of Prime Ministerial power and authority. Do you think today has been a good day for your premiership and for your authority?
Prime Minister:
I think you’ve got to look at the focus of this government. Look, what the public is not really as interested in as you may think is this personality or that. They want to know what are the policies, what you’re going to do, and so clean up politics, new agenda, new way of doing it. Move the economy forward, faster actually by some of the action that we’re taking to bring things together today. On public services, people want to know that neighbourhood policing is going to work better. They want to know that the hospital guarantees are going to be met. They want to know that schools are going to be of the highest standard. They want to know that school leavers will have something to do this autumn. They want to know that there’ll be places for people at college. They want to know that we’re going to continue with apprenticeships. Now, these are the issues that people ask about and we are totally focused on these issues: clean up politics, improve the economy and get out of this recession. But at the same time tailor public services to people’s need for the future so that Britain can build better for the future.
Question:
Prime Minister, you said you were being candid with us today and you were quoting your father saying, ‘Always be honest.’ Why then haven’t you mentioned the cuts which you plan after the budget - after the election? The budgets proposed what the Institute For Fiscal Studies claims was 2.3% cuts year after year after year, cumulative 7% over three years across government departments. This is a hugely significant fact that will directly affect your public services. All I want to ask you, Prime Minister, and please always be honest, is this: is the Institute For Fiscal Studies right? Do you plan 2.3% cuts in public services for three consecutive years?
Prime Minister:
Not at all. Public spending is rising every year; just be absolutely clear about that. Public spending is due to rise every year. You know, this year the health authorities are getting 5.5% more, the schools are getting more than 4% more, so it is going up rather than down, and then every year in the future public spending will continue to rise. I think your question actually is one that you might direct to the Conservative Party, who do plan to cut public expenditure. And I think you yourself wrote an article only a few days ago, saying that if the Conservatives were elected their plan was to cut public spending by 10%. Now if you’re accurate about a 10% cut then schools close, then hospitals close, that is the Conservative policy; it’s not ours.
Question:
Prime Minister, you misled us in your first question. It is important to be accurate. Prime Minister, these are cuts directed in your budget from April 2011 onwards. It’s of national importance, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister:
The public spending in our country is rising and it’s going to continue to rise. If you want a debate about public-spending cuts, have it with the Conservative Party who are determined to have them. Now I’ve given you your chance to ask a question twice and you’ve tried to butt in on me, but I think that is the fact. I’ve said it: public spending continues to rise.
Question:
We can see this reshuffle today after the result of local election. Would you call for a general election after the results of the European election or after more demands to do so?
Prime Minister:
No, we get on with the job; we listen to what the people say. As I say, it is incumbent and right for someone like me to acknowledge the losses that have been occurred and the defeat that we’ve had, and I do want to thank loyal Labour candidates and people who’ve worked for the Labour Party who are disappointed by what has happened. But I think if you go round the world, and you obviously have huge experience of other countries as well, you know that every economy is being tested. You know that round the world, political systems are under huge pressure because of what’s happening in the recession.
I believe that we’ve taken action so that we can come through this quicker and I think that will be proven. And by the way, if you come through the recession quicker it means you have less debt and less deficits, and I think that’s a point why action now is so essential to cut the debt and cut the deficits. But of course we have got to finish the work that we’ve started and I’m not someone who runs away from my responsibilities. I get on with the work.
I think that’s everybody who wanted to ask a question. I’m very grateful to all of you and obviously we’ll have another press conference soon, so thank you all very much.
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