By John Hipwood in Birmingham
David Cameron today pledged to work with Gordon Brown to help Britain through the economic crisis, saying his conference took second place to what was happening on the financial markets and its impact on British families.
The Tory leader, currently at his party conference in Birmingham, changed the conference programme today to talk about the financial crisis with shadow chancellor George Osborne.
He told the Shropshire Star: “I spoke to the Prime Minister last night about the issues. I have been on the phone to the Chairman of the Financial Services Authority. My office has been in contact with the Bank of England.
“Obviously the recall of Parliament next week is important on Monday, and we will work together with the Government where appropriate to do whatever is necessary to restore stability in financial markets.
“But I think it is perfectly sensible to continue with the conference at the same time.”
Mr Cameron said that, as “a responsible opposition” the Tories would help in any way they could.
“What matters most of all at the moment is that we work together to make sure we create stability in financial markets and for financial institutions.”
He added: “One thing that is important is the legislation that has been drawn up but not passed on bank rescue - that need to go through.
“I think we need to get on with that job in a cross-party way.”
11 Comments
I have to laugh - Cameron is desparately trying to look involved yet he clearly has no part to play in sorting out this crisis and is afraid that Brown will get all the glory when the crisis is eased.
Try to help!
You will be inheriting the whole mess
and £100 billion debt to boot
Brown even sold our gold reserves when prices were at an all time low.
Never forget the damage Labour has done
What a good idea those Tories came up with about freezing Council Tax. Goes to show that Champagne and Caviar is better brain food than pork pies and stout.
Darogan, if I was Cameron, I wouldn’t touch this crisis with a bargepole, let alone sit around a table with Brown and co., Brown caused the crisis with a bit of help from America in the first place, let him sort it out.
You are dead right drew, everybody goes on about the past ten years being so good under Brown’s stewardship but during that time, everything he has done, all the finance poured into Public Services, his illegal war in Iraq, all the benefits paid to the idle, the disollute and the irresponsible have been paid for by massive hidden tax hikes and the highest borrowings almost in this countries history, as you rightly say these borrowings will reach £100 BILLION by the end of the financial year in April 2009. A “banana republic” can have a standard of living like America if they borrow all they spend so, in this respect, Brown’s ten years were a total disaster. Now the “bust” has hit us and we have no money in the kitty to pay our way out of it. No more “boom and bust” remember it.
What can any incoming government do with a legacy like that but you watch, when the new Government takes over and public expenditure has to decrease in order to pay our debts, the Labourites will be the first to shout about how they spent, spent, spent, what they won’t say is that they spent money that shouldn’t have been spent.
On the subject of Council Tax, anyone remember before the last election, the Lib Dems offered pensioners a mouth watering reduction in Council Tax, the Tories offered all pensioners a permanent reduction of £1,000 per year in the tax and Labour at first offered nothing. Then with a couple of weeks to go, not to be outdone and thinking they were losing it, Labour offered pensioners £200 allowance to pay for their Council Tax. What they didn’t say, was how long it would be given to them and like a lamb to the slaughter, the pensioners went for it, most of those in my Pensioners club arguing strongly with me that they would continue the allowance for good. Labour got in, made one payment of £200 that first year then stopped it. The deceit and the bribery had paid off.
Let’s wait and see what bribe they offer this year but there is one difference, pensioners fell for it once, they won’t again.
he thinks he’s being noble, but we should put this PM to the sword, not help him
we pensioners know when we are well off, and thanks to tory boy spilling the beans on tory cuts, those accursed tories wont be getting the grey vote, pink vote or green vote. just the blue rinsed set and a fast disappearing city slickers
I’m not blue rinse or city slicker, but I will vote Tory because they will reverse the Hunting with Hounds Act.
Thats my image of you gone now Lucy W.
I was sure you had a fetching blue rinse.
lucy, i have no wish to provoke a hunting debate but hunts and foxhounds are still meeting and hunting. our local hunt still carries out the same diary as it did before.
the differece is that hunting has been cleaned up. no more digging up foxes that have gone to ground, no more digging up cubs for childrens sport. you and i knew this went on, but under new labour this sport and it now is a sport has been cleaned up and hounds now follow a laid trail.
just another example of a common sense approach to hunting, lucy i was outraged when the bill was passed but having lived with new hunting to give it that term, i believe all the sensible non cruel traditions remain. if you want the cruelty brought back vote for diddy, i suggest you will be in opposition for some time, tally ho and jorrocks
good on you Lucy W, glad you’ve got this country’s priorities right, just what we need right now!!!!
Lucy W - I’m all in favour of hunting hun but they should be hunting all the berks dressed in red on horses not poor foxes. And it would be rather more amusing to have a toff dressed in red running over the field being chased by a pack of hounds.