David Cameron used a sex joke to attack Jeremy Corbyn over his economic credibility in an attempt to paint the Conservatives as the party of financial security. The prime minister, speaking at the Tory conference in Manchester on 7 October, made the quip about tax campaigner and so-called Corbynomics architect Richard Murphy.
Hes the Labour Partys new economics guru and the man behind their plan to print more money, Cameron said. He admitted that Labours plan would cause a sterling crisis, but to be fair he did add, and I quote, that it would pass very quickly. Well, thats alright then. His book is actually called The Joy Of Tax. Ive read it. Its got 64 positions – and theyre all wrong.
Cameron also joked about lurid allegations made against him in Lord Ashcrofts Call Me Dave book. The prime minister explained that he was a hooker when he played rugby at Eton. That is a factual statement, not a chapter in Michael Ashcrofts book, Cameron added.
But the light-hearted remarks were accompanied by a serious theme, as the Tory leader repeatedly emphasised the issue of security. During the keynote speech, Cameron said the Conservatives would seek to save Britain from the danger of Labour and rebuild Britain so it is greater still.
The address was one of the prime ministers most major speeches since surprising pollsters and securing a majority in the House of Commons. Cameron had revealed to the BBC during the election campaign that he would not stand for a third term, a commitment the Conservative leader referred to during the address.
As you know, I am not going to fight another election as your leader. So I dont have the luxury of unlimited time, he said. Let me tell you: I am in just as much of a hurry as five years ago. Securing our country, growing our economy; jobs, exports, growth, infrastructure: these are the stepping stones on the path to greatness for our country – and weve been laying them every day since we came to office. We will continue to do so.
Deep social problems
However, Cameron said he would draw on the tradition of Conservative social reform and attempt to tackle the UKs deep social problems. He said: The scourge of poverty. The brick wall of blocked opportunity. The shadow of extremism – hanging over every single one of us.
A Greater Britain doesnt just need a stronger economy – it needs a stronger society. And delivering this social reform is entirely fitting with the great history of the Conservative Party who have always been the optimists, the agents of hope and the leaders of change.
Now, in my final term as prime minister, I say: lets live up to the greatest traditions of Conservative social reform. It becomes clearer by the day that the Labour Party has completely abandoned any notion of these ideas.
Elsewhere, the prime minister announced his administration would build 200,000 affordable houses by 2020, when the next general election will be held and Cameron will step down as Conservative leader.
The 48-year-old said he wanted to transform Generation Rent to Generation Buy by pushing for developers to offer starter properties for first-time buyers under the age of 40. When a generation of hard-working men and women in their twenties and thirties are waking up each morning in their childhood bedrooms – that should be a wake-up call for us. We need a national crusade to get homes built, he said.
But Labour claimed Cameron and his party were not meeting expectations while in power. The Tories are failing working people. For all the talk of making life better for people, the truth is David Cameron is doing the opposite, said Jonathan Ashworth, a shadow minister without portfolio.
You cant claim to care about the housing crisis when youve overseen the lowest level of housebuilding in peacetime since the 1920s. And you cant claim you care about the NHS when youve pushed up waiting lists, made it harder to see a GP and plunged hospitals in to financial crisis.
Richard Murphy had not responded to a request for comment from IBTimes UK at the time of publication.
