Prime Minister David Cameron will warn that the UK is facing an "hour of reckoning", in his big speech to the Conservative Party conference.
The PM will attempt to set out the scale of the challenges faced in bringing about an economic recovery.
"These are difficult times. We are being tested," he will tell activists.
But he will urge them to stick with his leadership, saying the country can weather the storm through "hard work" and "strong families"
During the Conservatives' gathering in Birmingham the economy's recent poor performance led the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its growth forecasts.
'Serious argument'The UK has been in recession since the end of last year, and the IMF now expects the economy to shrink by 0.4% over the course of 2012.
But the Tory leadership has attempted to contrast its approach - by being upfront about £10bn further welfare cuts and the need to increase taxes on the most wealthy - with what it claims is Labour's lack of a credible alternative.
End Quote David CameronConservative methods are not just the way we grow a strong economy, but the way we build a Big Society"
Chancellor George Osborne and other ministers have stressed the government will not deviate from its austerity plan and, while the economy is starting to "heal", further sacrifices will be needed beyond the next election.
Mr Cameron, like Ed Miliband last week, will eschew policy announcements in favour of stressing his own story and values in his address to party members.
But aides are insisting that, unlike the Labour leader, Mr Cameron will make a "serious" argument about the future of the country.
He will say: "Unless we act, unless we take difficult, painful decisions, unless we show determination and imagination, Britain may not be in the future what it has been in the past.
"Because the truth is, we're in a global race today. And that means an hour of reckoning for countries like ours. Sink or swim. Do or decline."
'Family comes first'In what is expected to be a highly personal speech, Mr Cameron will talk about his profoundly disabled son, Ivan, who died in 2009, and say his best moment of the summer was putting a gold medal around the neck of Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
"When I used to push my son Ivan around in his wheelchair, I always thought that some people saw the wheelchair, not the boy," he will tell activists.
"Today more people would see the boy and not the wheelchair - and that's because of what happened here this summer."
He will also speak about the values he took from his father, Ian, who died last year: "Work hard. Family comes first, but put back into the community too."
Mr Cameron is not expected to respond directly to Ed Miliband's attempt in his speech last week to take the moderate, One Nation mantle, from the Conservative Party.
But he will stress his commitment to "compassionate Conservatism", saying his "mission" since he became Tory leader in 2005 was to "show the Conservative Party is for everyone: North and South, black or white, straight or gay.
"But above all to show that Conservative methods are not just the way we grow a strong economy, but the way we build a Big Society."
'Tougher world'Britain showed during the Olympics and Paralympics that it is still the "greatest country on earth", the prime minister will say, adding that it can come through economic difficulties through "hard work, strong families, taking responsibility and serving others".
The Conservatives insist they have made progress in cutting the deficit and creating the conditions for private sector growth, but critics say borrowing is rising, the economy is flat and families are struggling.
Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the party had "the clear recognition that the world has changed. That's the difference from the Labour conference last week.
"The world has changed. It's tougher. It's not going to change back to how it was 10 years ago. We have to reform education, welfare, have a tax system that attracts businesses to this country and we are doing those things.
"They wouldn't be done by our opponents, that's the heart of the prime minister's message."
The high-profile speech comes after a tough few weeks for Mr Cameron.
He has faced criticism for his backing for under-fire chief whip Andrew Mitchell, the government's mishandling of the West Coast train franchise and backbench concerns over the state of the economy, Europe and relations with the Conservatives' Liberal Democrat coalition partners.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Sink or swim time, says Cameron
Dengan url
https://sarapanoatmeal.blogspot.com/2012/10/sink-or-swim-time-says-cameron.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Sink or swim time, says Cameron
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Sink or swim time, says Cameron
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar