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Tories 'to get Britain working' Tories 'to get Britain working'
(10 minutes later)
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".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 told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show the New Deal and other schemes would be replaced with personalised help for those out of work. He told the BBC the New Deal would be among schemes replaced by personalised help to get the jobless and those on incapacity benefit into work.
This would include the 2.6m people who are on incapacity benefit, he said. The initial start-up cost of the change would be £600m, the Tory leader said.
Mr Cameron declined to say if he would hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if it was ratified before the election.Mr Cameron declined to say if he would hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if it was ratified before the election.
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. But he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that 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.
Czechs and PolesCzechs and Poles
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.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. He said that the welfare reforms would use tax reform and deregulation to help employers take on new staff and encourage the creation of businesses.
There would also be training courses for those unemployed for more than six months - with benefits cut if they refused to take the offer up.
WHAT IS THE NEW DEAL? Introduced in 1998Aimed at reducing unemployment by providing the jobless with training, subsidised employment and voluntary workEnables benefits to be withdrawn from those refusing "reasonable" employmentArchitect of programme was LSE professor Richard Layard, now a Labour peer Cameron cites UK deficit 'danger'
The idea is for private training firms to be employed to prepare the unemployed for work and also to assess all 2.6m people on incapacity benefit to see what work they might be able to do.
"We recognise the jobs crisis is one of the most serious things we face as a country. If we don't deal with it it's not just bad for those people who are unemployed now - there's a danger that short-term unemployment becomes long-term unemployment and builds up massive problems for our families and our country in the future," he said.
He said that as well as Monday's unveiling of a welfare shake-up the party would also spell out in some detail plans to cut spending.
Asked how many jobs would be lost by Conservative plans to cut spending, Mr Cameron said that the "real danger - the clear and present danger" - to the British economy and people's jobs was not tackling the deficit.
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.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.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.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.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 Personal wealth
In Sunday newspaper articles, Mr Cameron has stressed his party's domestic agenda. During the interview Mr Cameron was also asked about his personal wealth, which he said was mainly the house he and his wife own in west London.
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. Asked about a Sunday Times estimate that they were worth £30m, Mr Cameron said that figure was "absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."
David Cameron: "The deficit is a clear and present danger to the British economy" David Cameron: 'Our main asset is the house that we own in London'
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. Asked what the real figure was Mr Cameron added: "I think what matters...what actually matters is.... do you understand the problems people face in this country. Do you understand the challenges we face as a country. Do you have the right ideas to deal with them. That is what people are asking."
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 Conservatives are the last of the three main UK parties to hold their annual conference, running from Monday to Thursday in Manchester.
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. They are currently running high in the opinion polls ahead of the general election which has to be held by next May at the latest.
The idea is for private training firms to be employed to prepare the unemployed for work. But Mr Cameron told the Sunday Telegraph that the party would not be "playing it safe" at what will be their conference.
Medical 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.
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.
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."