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Tory plan to scrap early release Tories pledge to cut immigration
(about 10 hours later)
The Conservatives are pledging to end the early release scheme which would see 25,000 prisoners freed from jail this year to ease overcrowding. Immigration would be "substantially lower" under a Conservative government, shadow home secretary David Davis says.
Instead, a Tory government would fund 1,200 more prison places by scrapping ID cards, leader David Cameron said. He told the party conference "unchecked immigration is not inevitable...not the irresistible result of globalisation. We can control it. We will control it".
About 6,000 prisoners have so far been released before the end of their sentences to ease prison overcrowding. Mr Davis promised "tough new border controls" and annual limits on economic migrants: "We want the right people and the right number of people."
But the Tories say the scheme puts lives at risk, leaves crimes unpunished and interrupts rehabilitation. He also backed "zero tolerance" on crime and pledged to axe ID cards.
The Tory announcement in Blackpool comes as speculation mounts that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is preparing to call a general election. One difference between Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown is that famously Margaret Thatcher did not believe in U-turns David Davis class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/7024478.stm">Davis speech: In full
We will be saying we have got to stop the early release of 25,000 prisoners this year David Cameron In his wide-ranging speech Mr Davis said "we believe that some immigration benefits the UK but not all of it".
The Times newspaper reports Labour has asked the biggest unions to pay next year's party affiliation fees now - a move it says would instantly raise £6m for the party. He said Labour had "systematically failed to think through the consequences of its open-door Britain" and the current net rate of immigration, which he said was 200,000 a year, was the result of "failed policy".
The trade unions have also reportedly been told to activate their call centres in preparation for an election, with senior union sources believing Mr Brown will make an announcement on Tuesday. "I want to make it absolutely clear that immigration is a key issue for the next Conservative government... under a Conservative government that figure will be substantially lower," he said.
The Tories expect concern about crime to top voters' agenda on polling day - making shadow home secretary David Davis' speech later on Tuesday a key element of David Cameron's pledged "fight back" against Labour. He said Gordon Brown's plan for a border force was an attempt to "fool people into thinking it is the same as our proposal for a Border Police Force".
Ready to go But, he said, actually it was the "same people with the same powers. The only real change? A nice new uniform - this is 'new' New Labour. Soundbite by Brown, policy by Prada".
Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Today we'll be talking about how we make our country safer, how we end the early release from prisons scheme that is seeing 25,000 prisoners each year released early onto our streets. Savings
"We think that's wrong and we're making a tough choice - we're saying scrap the ID cards scheme, we don't think it will work. The Conservatives' border police force would have "real power to stop, search, detain and prosecute, to gather intelligence and to seize illegal goods".
"We think it'll cost huge amounts of money and we could use some of the savings from that to build extra prison places within existing prisons." In his speech to the party's conference in Blackpool, Mr Davis announced a raft of initiatives and warned Mr Brown not to encroach on Conservative territory.
Asked if the Conservatives could beat Labour in a snap election, he said: "We believe we can. We are ready for an election. If the prime minister calls it, we are ready to go." "It's no good Gordon Brown talking like a Tory when he doesn't believe in the vision that goes with it....
Commenting on reports that the government might be about to announce a troop withdrawal from Iraq, Mr Cameron added: "I will always put the national interest first. "For the last 10 years, this Labour government has thought that its job was to manage the inevitable decline of our society - violent crime, drug abuse, family breakdown.
"And in Iraq, if we are ready to withdraw troops, I will be delighted with that and they will have my backing if they get that right." "Now once again, it's our job to prove them wrong. We will reverse that decline. Because we have a vision for Britain that restores authority in our schools, in our justice system and on our streets."
The party has a long-standing commitment to scrap identity cards. Mr Davis argued that a Tory government would scrap "the expensive white elephant" of ID cards and "put some of the early savings into extra prison places" - about £255.4m over three years - enabling it to end Labour's early release scheme.
Re-offending They plan to use £162.6m to build and support an extra 1,200 prison places.
It believes it can save £255.4m in the first three years, with the first priority for these savings being the provision of extra prison places, enabling the Tories to end Labour's early release scheme.
It plans to use £162.6m to build and support an extra 1,200 prison places.
The Tories say they have based their costings on the government's own figures but that independent estimates show "far higher" savings can be made by scrapping ID cards.The Tories say they have based their costings on the government's own figures but that independent estimates show "far higher" savings can be made by scrapping ID cards.
They claim at least a hundred crimes have been committed by criminals who had been released early. They claim at least 100 crimes have been committed by criminals who had been released early.
The Ministry of Justice has estimated about 30,000 prisoners will be released early in the first 12 months of the scheme - many of whom have been convicted of violent crimes.The Ministry of Justice has estimated about 30,000 prisoners will be released early in the first 12 months of the scheme - many of whom have been convicted of violent crimes.
Grand committee Terrorism
The Conservatives will also debate national and international security, with shadow foreign secretary William Hague, shadow defence secretary Liam Fox and shadow community cohesion minister Sayeeda Warsi all due to speak on Tuesday. Mr Davis said there was no reason why the UK could not develop "zero tolerance" policing, like the successful scheme in New York that saw street crime cut by 75%.
Former chancellor Ken Clarke will also speak on rebuilding democracy. He said Tories would introduce a major abstinence-based drugs rehabilitation programme to "get addicts off all drugs for good".
Some of the ideas produced by Mr Clarke's democracy taskforce - such as ensuring there is parliamentary approval for going to war - have already been adopted by Gordon Brown, who has made constitutional reform one of his top priorities. And on terrorism, anyone involved in preaching, preparing or perpetrating terror would face prosecution, while groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir would be banned.
But Mr Clarke is still considering proposals to introduce "English votes for English laws" at Westminster, to end what some see as the anomaly of Scottish MPs voting on matters which do not affect their constituents, such as health and education. Mr Davis said the Conservatives would oppose any moves to extend the pre-trial detention of terror suspects from the current 28 days to 90 days.
Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind is calling for a "grand committee" of English MPs to decide on England-only issues - rather than sending Scottish and Welsh MPs out of the chamber when votes are being taken, which he said would create a "two-tier" system. "For one thing those on the front line in counter-terrorism warn that it risks cutting off vital local intelligence and serving as a recruiting sergeant for terrorists," he said.
Under Sir Malcolm's proposals, the whole House of Commons would endorse the decisions of the "grand committee".