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Cameron promises 'new direction' Tories 'to get Britain working'
(about 2 hours later)
Tory leader David Cameron has promised to "get Britain working" again as his party gathers in Manchester for its annual conference. David Cameron has said a "big, bold" welfare shake-up will be at the heart of the Tory conference in Manchester aimed at "getting Britain working".
Mr Cameron is expected to announce he would scrap the Labour government's New Deal programme if elected. Mr Cameron told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show the New Deal and other schemes would be replaced with personalised help for those out of work.
Writing in the News of the World newspaper, he also promised a big shake-up in the welfare system. This would include the 2.6m people who are on incapacity benefit, he said.
And Mr Cameron told the Sunday Telegraph the country was "crying out" for a "radical new direction". Mr Cameron declined to say if he would hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if it was ratified before the election.
The Tory leader has also been facing fresh questions about Europe after the Irish Republic ratified the Lisbon Treaty on Saturday. But he welcomed the prospect of a series of TV debates starting now and running up to the election, which is expected to take place in May next year.
He promised a vote on the treaty should his party win the election - but only if it had not been ratified by all EU member states. Czechs and Poles
He has so far failed to repeat that promise, now it looks likely that it will be approved by every member state. Mr Cameron said the theme for the conference was "to get Britain working again" and said tackling the debt and jobs crisis facing Britain were the key priorities.
He said that as well as Monday's unveiling of a welfare shake-up which will cost an initial £600m, the party would also spell out in some detail plans to cut spending.
Mr Cameron was also pressed repeatedly about his stance on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty after the Irish referendum vote in favour of it.
He said his policy had not changed - there would be a referendum on the treaty in the UK should his party win the election before it has been ratified by all EU member states.
Mr Cameron said that he would not say what would happen if the treaty was ratified by all the EU member states before he became prime minister.
Pressed on the issue Mr Cameron said he did not want to prejudice what was happening in other countries - the Czechs and Poles have yet to ratify it - by saying what action the UK might take if it was delayed until next year.
Private firms
In Sunday newspaper articles, Mr Cameron has stressed his party's domestic agenda.In Sunday newspaper articles, Mr Cameron has stressed his party's domestic agenda.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron said the party would not be "playing it safe" at what will be the last conference before the election.Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron said the party would not be "playing it safe" at what will be the last conference before the election.
Labour have tested to destruction the idea that big government can solve all our problems Conservative leader David Cameron David Cameron: "The deficit is a clear and present danger to the British economy"
He said a Cameron government would scrap the New Deal and "through tax reform and deregulation" help employers take on new staff and encourage the creation of businesses.He said a Cameron government would scrap the New Deal and "through tax reform and deregulation" help employers take on new staff and encourage the creation of businesses.
And he told the News of the World that he would embark on changes to the welfare system that had proved too radical for Labour.
Under the Get Britain Working scheme, Mr Cameron said he would give the long-term unemployed "the personalised support they need to get back to work".Under the Get Britain Working scheme, Mr Cameron said he would give the long-term unemployed "the personalised support they need to get back to work".
The Sunday Times said the initiative, to be unveiled on Monday, will be an "assault on the dependency culture" by copying ideas pioneered in the United States. Most people who have been unemployed for more than six months, including the disabled and single mothers, would have their benefits cut if they refused to join privatised training schemes.
The paper said most people who have been unemployed for more than six months, including the disabled and single mothers, would have their benefits cut if they refused to join privatised training schemes. The idea is for private training firms to be employed to prepare the unemployed for work.
It said the government would employ private training firms to prepare the unemployed for work.
Medical checksMedical checks
Under the government's Flexible New Deal programme, claimants on Jobseekers allowance for more than 12 months are obliged to join a training scheme or risk losing their benefits.Under the government's Flexible New Deal programme, claimants on Jobseekers allowance for more than 12 months are obliged to join a training scheme or risk losing their benefits.
Conservative sources said one of the aims of Get Britain Working was to reduce the cost to the taxpayer of the 2.6 million people currently on incapacity benefit.Conservative sources said one of the aims of Get Britain Working was to reduce the cost to the taxpayer of the 2.6 million people currently on incapacity benefit.
The Sunday Times said the Tories would introduce rigorous medical checks to establish whether people claiming incapacity benefit are capable of working.The Sunday Times said the Tories would introduce rigorous medical checks to establish whether people claiming incapacity benefit are capable of working.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Cameron said: "Labour have tested to destruction the idea that big government can solve all our problems."Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Cameron said: "Labour have tested to destruction the idea that big government can solve all our problems."
He added: "It is big government that has stifled innovation and crushed enterprise - the very engines of growth and job creation."He added: "It is big government that has stifled innovation and crushed enterprise - the very engines of growth and job creation."