Despite the economic crisis gripping the world’s finanical markets, party activists at the annual conference have been in an upbeat mood.

When PinkNews.co.uk sat down with Theresa May, Shadow Secretary of State for Equalities, to discuss the party’s attitude to gay rights, she said she broadly welcomed the upcoming Equality Bill.

It is expected to form part of the Queen’s Speech, the government’s programme for the forthcoming session of Parliament, which will be presented in December.

It includes proposals for all public bodies to promote equality for gay and lesbian people.

The Bill is intended to be an extension of the current duty on public authorities to actively promote equality into services like fostering, magistrates courts and health clinics and to make their services more accessible to lesbian, bisexual and gay people.

Ms May also talked about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

In May the bulk of the Shadow Cabinet voted in favour of an amendment that would have retained a requirement on doctors to consider the need for a father when assessing women for IVF treatment.

The government argued that the consideration has been used to disciminate against lesbians and single women, and they defeated the amendment, which was proposed by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Of the 25 members of the Tory frontbench who are MPs, 17 voted in favour of the amendment, including the party leader David Cameron, Liam Fox, William Hague, David Davis, Oliver Letwin and Ms May.

PinkNews.co.uk: What position does the Conservative party position on the upcoming Equality Bill?

Theresa May: Our approach on the equality bill is to say that we think it is right to bring all the legislation together to streamline it.

We think that’s important, particularly to help people who are trying to operate under the bill. There is a lot of confusion about these bits of legislation.

There are some areas where we are waiting to see quite a bit of detail from the government on some tricky areas like age discrimination.

One of the issues was religious and faith issues, about which very little was said.

There is a challenge for legislators around this conflict.

Are we talking about faith schools and a duty to promote gay equality falling on education authorities?

Yes. I think one of the big challenges in this area is when you get two different aspects of anti-discrimination legislation which appear to be in conflict.

The most recent example is the case of the registrar over civil partnerships.

(Click here for stories about the case).

We need to work our way through that.

What we are trying to do is actually stand back on the equality legislation and see if there is a different approach we should be taking, a more positive approach rather than a negative approach, if I can put it like that.

Is the Equality and Human Rights Commission safe under a future Tory government?

Yes. We supported the amalgamation and we had some questions about it. I think a lot of people did. The Commission is finding its feet but its challenge is to ensure that everyone under its remit has got the same sort of interest in the issues it is covering.

A lot a people felt that if we are losing the Equal Opportunities Commission, women would get less of the priority.

I think what is important is that the Commission gives an equality of approach to all equality issues and all the groups under its remit.

There has been controversy about the appointment of the leader of the Evangelical Alliance, Joel Edwards, as a Commissioner. Is that going to be the perennial problem with this Commission, because it has to take account of religious views and those of the gay community?

The important thing is that there is a forum where those views can be discussed and a reasoned approach through those conflicts can be found.

This is why we want to look at, and we imagine the EHRC will be looking at, the approach for the future.

We had this bit by bit anti-discrimination legislation in the UK. The issue is what overall approach will be taken.

Because of some of the ways that the Human Rights Act has been used, one hears all sorts of stories about the way it has been used, in ways that people say are just not common sense, not in this area but around Health and Safety at work and so on, it has got a bad name.

We would replace it with a Bill of Rights. Our job is to make sure we maintain that equality of human rights and we are still committed to this aspect of the agenda.

David Cameron’s change in the party’s position on gay rights has been described as a purely cosmetic exercise to attract votes.

The votes of Tory MPs on aspects of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill tried to deny equal access to fertility treatments on the NHS for lesbians and gay men. This leads many to claim you are still the Section 28 Tories underneath.

No, the party is made up of a large number of people. David Cameron has done a lot to change the party and the party has changed.

The fact that we did support civil partnerships and we took a different stance on the Section 28 issue, all of these issues, the fact that we are a party that is engaging with groups like the EHRC and are willing to support a new equality bill, that we have supported the legislation for positive action for women to get into positions.

All those are real, practical signs that the party is delivering on change, rather than just talking about it or trying to look changed.

Obviously the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is a free vote issue for people in Parliament.

People’s consciences will take them in different directions. I would have voted differently from some of my colleagues on some of the abortion issues, for example.

I understand that, but the fact that on an issue of conscience, the vast majority of your MPs felt that equal access to fertility treatment was not the way to go, indicates that the leadership may have changed but the rank and file of your 200 MPs are not supportive of the equality agenda.

Well, all I would say about that is that there are individual decisions within the agenda, which people will take particular views on.

What I think is important is that from the party’s point of view the overall direction of the party has changed, the sort of issues that the party is willing to support and look at actively have changed. The approach we have taken in relation to our candidates has changed.

What you can look at is the overall direction of the party. It is not the case that David Cameron is just saying ‘well we will sign up to this, at this point in time, and then go back to something else.’ That is not on the agenda.

What is on the agenda is to change the party, to take a different direction on theses issues overall. That stays.

It’s great to be here in the Symphony Hall. But it’s even better to know that in this party, everyone: the Shadow Cabinet, the Members of Parliament, the council leaders and all our candidates and colleagues. Everyone is playing the same tune.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Today the financial crisis means that all eyes are on the economy and the financial markets and that is absolutely right. As I said yesterday, on this issue, we must put aside our differences and work together with the government in the short-term to ensure financial stability.  I am pleased that our proposal to increase the protection for depositors to £50,000 has been taken up.

I’m pleased that the European regulators are looking at our proposal to bring stability to the banking system. I repeat: we will not allow what happened in America to happen here, we will work with the government in the short term in order to protect our economy.

But as I also said yesterday, that must not stop us telling the truth about the mistakes that have been made.  It is our political duty and if we had a written constitution I would say constitutional duty to hold the government to account, to explain where they went wrong, and how we would do things differently to rebuild our economy for the long-term.

So we must not hold back from being critical of the decisions that over ten years have led us to this point.  We need to learn the lessons, and to offer the British people a clear choice. It is our responsibility to make sense of this crisis for them, and to show them the right way out of it.

We started to do that in Birmingham this week. We’ve had a good conference this week, an optimistic conference – but a sober one. We understand the gravity of the situation our country is in. And our response is measured, proportionate and responsible.

The test of a political party is whether it can rise to the challenge of what the country requires and what the times demand. I believe we have passed that test this week and I want to thank George Osborne, William Hague, all my team in the Shadow Cabinet and all of you for making this conference a success.

The reality of government is that difficulties come not in neat and predictable order, one by one and at regular intervals. Difficulties come at you from all sides, one on top of the other, and you’ve got to be able to handle them all. So amidst this financial crisis let us not forget that we are also a nation at war.

AFGHANISTAN

In Afghanistan today, our armed forces are defending our freedom and our way of life as surely and as bravely as any soldiers in our nation’s history.

Let us be clear about why they are there: if we fail in our mission, the Taliban will come back. And if the Taliban come back, the terrorist training camps come back. That would mean more terrorists, more bombs and more slaughter on our streets.

That is why we back our troops’ mission in Afghanistan one hundred per cent. I’ve been to visit them every year since I’ve been doing this job. Earlier this month, up the Helmand River in Sangin I met a soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment, Ranger Blaine Miller.

He’d just turned eighteen years old. He was the youngest soldier there. He’s not much more than a boy and he’s there in the forty-five degree heat, fighting a ferocious enemy on the other side of the world. I told him that what he was doing was exceptional. He told me he was just doing his job.

Every politician says it’s the first duty of government is to protect our country, and of course that’s right. But today we are not protecting the people, like Blaine, who protect us – and that is wrong.

In Afghanistan, the number of our troops has almost doubled but the number of helicopters has hardly increased at all. American soldiers start their rest and recuperation the day they arrive back home, our troops have to count the days they spend getting home.

We’ve got troops’ families living in sub-standard homes; we’ve got soldiers going into harm’s way without the equipment they need we’ve got businesses in our country that instead of welcoming people in military uniform and honouring their service choose to turn them away and refuse them service.

That is all wrong and we are going to put it right. We are going to stop sending young men to war without the equipment they need, we’re going to stop treating our soldiers like second class citizens we will do all it takes to keep our country safe and we will do all it takes to protect the heroes who risk everything for us.

GURKHAS

And today there are a particular group of heroes that I have in mind. They fought for us in the slit trenches of Burma the jungles of Malaya and the freezing cold of the Falklands.

Yesterday the courts ruled that Gurkhas who want to come and live in Britain should be able to. They risked their lives for us and now we must not turn our backs on them. I say to the government:

I know there are difficult questions about pensions and housing but let’s find a way to make it work. Do not appeal this ruling.

Let’s give those brave Gurkha soldiers who defended us the right to come and live in our country.

VALUES AND CHARACTER

These are times of great anxiety.  The financial crisis.  The economic downturn.  The cost of living. Big social problems. I know how worried people are. They want to know whether our politics, and let’s be frank, whether our politicians – are up to it.

In the end, that’s not really about your policies and your plans. Of course your plans are important but it’s the unexpected and unpredicted events that can dominate a government. So people want to know what values you bring to big situations and big decisions that can crop up on your watch. And people want to know about your character: the way you make decisions; the way that you operate.

RESPONSIBILITY

My values are Conservative values. Many people wrongly believe that the Conservative Party is all about freedom. Of course we care passionately about freedom from oppression and state control.

That’s why we stood up for Georgia and wasn’t it great to have the Georgian Prime Minister with us here, speaking today? But freedom can too easily turn into the idea that we all have the right to do whatever we want, regardless of the effect on others. That is libertarian, not Conservative – and it is certainly not me.

For me, the most important word is responsibility. Personal responsibility. Professional responsibility. Civic responsibility. Corporate responsibility. Our responsibility to our family, to our neighbourhood, our country. Our responsibility to behave in a decent and civilised way. To help others.

That is what this Party is all about. Every big decision; every big judgment I make: I ask myself some simple questions. Does this encourage responsibility and discourage irresponsibility? Does this make us a more or less responsible society? Social responsibility, not state control. Because we know that we will only be a strong society if we are a responsible society.

CHARACTER

But when it comes to handling a crisis when it comes to really making a difference on the big issues it’s not just about your values. There’s something else people want to know. When people ask: “will you make a difference?” they’re often asking will you – i.e. me – will you make a difference? You can’t prove you’re ready to be Prime Minister – and it would be arrogant to pretend you can.

The best you can do is tell people who you are and the way you work; how you make decisions and then live with them.

I’m a forty-one year old father of three who thinks that family is the most important thing there is.  For me. For my country. I am deeply patriotic about this country and believe we have both a remarkable history and an incredible future.

I believe in the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and I will never do anything to put it at risk. I have a simple view that public service is a good way to channel your energy and try to make a difference.

I am not an ideologue.  I know that my party can get things wrong, and that other parties sometimes get things right. I hold to some simple principles.  That strong defence, the rule of law and sound money are the foundations of good government

But I am also a child of my time.  I want a clean environment as well as a safe one. I believe that quality of life matters as much as quantity of money. I recognise that we’ll never be truly rich while so much of the world is so poor.

I believe in building a strong team – and really trusting them. Their success is to be celebrated – not seen as some kind of threat. Thinking before deciding is good. Not deciding because you don’t like the consequences of a decision is bad.

Trust your principles, your judgment and your colleagues. Go with your conviction, not calculation. The popular thing may look good for a while. The right thing will be right all the time. Tony Blair used to justify endless short-term initiatives by saying “we live in a 24 hour media world.”

But this is a country not a television station. A good government thinks for the long term. If we win we will inherit a huge deficit and an economy in a mess. We will need to do difficult and unpopular things for the long term good of the country. I know that. I’m ready for that.

EXPERIENCE

And there is a big argument I want to make – about the financial crisis and the economic downturn, yes but about the other issues facing the country too. It’s an argument about experience.

To do difficult things for the long-term or even to get us through the financial crisis in the short term what matters more than experience is character and judgment, and what you really believe needs to happen to make things right.

I believe that to rebuild our economy, it’s not more of the same we need, but change. To repair our broken society, it’s not more of the same we need, but change.

Experience is the excuse of the incumbent over the ages. Experience is what they always say when they try to stop change.

In 1979, James Callaghan had been Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor before he became Prime Minister. He had plenty of experience. But thank God we changed him for Margaret Thatcher.

Just think about it: if we listened to this argument about experience, we’d never change a government, ever. We’d have Gordon Brown as Prime Minister – for ever.

Gordon Brown talks about his economic experience. The problem is, we have actually experienced his experience. We’ve experienced the massive increase in debt. We have experienced the huge rise in taxes.

We experienced the folly of pretending that boom and bust could be ended. This is the argument we will make when the election comes. The risk is not in making a change. The risk is sticking with what you’ve got and expecting a different result.

There is a simple truth for times like this. When you’ve taken the wrong road, you don’t just keep going. You change direction – and that is what we need to do. So let’s look at how we got here – and how we’re going to get out.

HOW WE GOT HERE

At the heart of the financial crisis is a simple fact. The tap marked ‘borrowing’ was turned on – and it was left running for too long. The debts we built up were too high.  Far too high. The authorities – on both sides of the Atlantic – thought it could go on for ever.

They thought the days of low inflation and low interest rates could go on for ever. They thought the asset price bubble didn’t matter. But it’s not just the authorities who were at fault. Many bankers in the City were quite simply irresponsible.

They paid themselves vast rewards when it was all going well and the minute it went wrong, they came running to us to bail them out. There will be a day of reckoning but today is not that day.  Today we have to understand the long-term policy mistakes that were made.

In this country, Gordon Brown made two big mistakes. His first big mistake – and his worst decision, sowing the seeds of the present financial crisis was actually contained within his best decision: to make the Bank of England independent.

Let me explain. At the same time as giving the Bank of England the power to set interest rates he took away the Bank of England’s power to regulate financial markets. And he took away the Bank of England’s power to blow the whistle on the total amount of debt in the economy.

He changed the rules of the game, but he took the referee off the pitch. Eddie George, who was the Bank of England Governor at the time, was only given a few hours notice of this massive decision.   He feared it would end in tears – and it has.

Gordon Brown’s second big mistake was on government borrowing. After a prudent start, when he stuck for two years to Conservative spending totals, he turned into a spendaholic. His spending splurge left the government borrowing money in the good times when it should have been saving money.

So now that the bad times have hit, there’s no money to help. The cupboard is bare.

HOW WE’RE GOING TO GET OUT

So the question is, how are we going to get through this crisis? How are we going to rebuild our economy for the long term? Now I’ve studied economics at a great university. I’ve worked in business alongside great entrepreneurs.

And as Gordon Brown never stops reminding people, I’ve been inside the Treasury during a crisis. But when it comes to handling the situation we’re in, none of that matters as much as some simple things I believe to be true.

SOUND MONEY

First of all, I believe that government’s main economic duty is to ensure sound money and low taxes. Sound money means controlling inflation, keeping spending under control and getting debt down.

So we will rein in private borrowing by correcting that big mistake made by Gordon Brown, and restoring the Bank of England’s power to limit debt in the economy. That will help give our economy the financial responsibility it needs. But we need fiscal responsibility too.

So we will rein in government borrowing. You know what that means. The country needs to know what that means. And it has a lot clearer idea now, thanks to that fantastic speech by George Osborne on Monday, one of the finest speeches made by any Shadow Chancellor.

Sound money means saving in the good years so we can borrow in the bad. It means ending Labour’s spendaholic culture it means clamping down on government waste and it means destroying all those useless quangos and initiatives.

So I will be asking all my shadow ministers to review all over again every spending programme to see if it is really necessary, really justifiable in these new economic circumstances. But even that will not be enough.

The really big savings will come from reforming inefficient public services, and dealing with the long-term social problems that cause government spending to rise. To help us stick to the right course, we’ll have an independent Office of Budget Responsibility.

There will be no hiding place, no fiddling the figures – for all governments, forever. It’s not experience that will bring about these long-term changes. Experience means you’re implicated in the old system that’s failed.

You can’t admit that change is needed, because that would mean admitting you’d got it wrong. We propose a major shake-up in the way the public finances are run and we have the character and the judgment to scrap the discredited fiscal rules and make this vital long-term change.

LOW TAXES

It’s a change that will help us get taxes down. I believe in low taxes – and today, working people are crying out for relief. Like the young couple I met in York three weeks ago, who both work seven days a week and still struggle to make enough to pay the mortgage.

But I am a fiscal conservative. So is George Osborne. We do not believe in tax cuts paid for by reckless borrowing.

So let me say this to the call centre worker whose mortgage has gone up by four hundred quid a month but his salary’s gone down. To the hairdresser who’s a single mum doing another job on the side to try and make ends meet and pay for childcare. To the electrician whose fuel bill, rent bill and food bill have all gone up and he’s trying to work out which one to pay when the tax bill’s gone up too.

I know it’s your money. I know you want some of it back. And I want to give it to you. It’s one of the reasons I’m doing this job.

But we will only cut taxes once it’s responsible to do so once we’ve made government live within its means. The test of whether we’re ready for government is not whether we can come up with exciting shadow budgets.

It is whether we have the grit and determination to impose discipline on government spending, keep our nerve and say “no” – even in the teeth of hostility and protest. That is the responsible party we are and that is the responsible government I will lead.

ENTERPRISE

Sound money; low taxes. Simple beliefs with profound implications. And here’s something else I believe about the economy. I believe that people create jobs, not governments. I understand enterprise. I admire entrepreneurs. I should do – I go to bed with one every night.

And today, Labour’s taxes and regulations are making life impossible for our entrepreneurs.

Just this week, the exodus of business from Labour’s Britain continued as WPP announced it was moving to Ireland. A man called Steven Ellis Cooper emailed me at the end of last month. You know him, this conference heard his story on Sunday.

He’s from Worcestershire – and with his wife and two daughters he’s been running his business for nearly twenty years. He saw it grow into something he described as “magical”, employing five people and contributing to the economy. And then along came Labour .

Now he’s down to his last employee and he says “I am sat at my desk now in tears as I’m so sad that what I have spent such a long time trying to build up is being so systematically smashed into the floor and the Labour Government are to blame.”

What an outrageous way for a government to treat someone who’s trying to do their best, trying to make a living for their family, trying to create opportunity for others. So here’s what we’re going to do.

We’ll start by dealing with the nightmare complexity of our business taxes. We’ll get rid of those complex reliefs and allowances and use the savings to cut corporation tax by three pence.

BEYOND FINANCE

But I don’t believe that the government’s role in the economy is just about tax and spend and sound money and finance. I have never believed in just laissez-faire. I believe the government should play an active part in helping business and industry.

So when our economy is overheating in the south east but still needs more investment in the north the right thing to do is not go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow but instead build a new high speed rail network linking Birmingham, Manchester, London, Leeds let’s help rebalance Britain’s economy.

But the problems this country faces go far beyond financial crisis and economic downturn. In the end I want to be judged not just on how well we handle crises, but on two things how we improve the public institution in this country I care about most, the NHS and how we fulfil what will be the long-term mission of the next Conservative government: to repair our broken society.

NO TIME FOR MORE STATE CONTROL

Now there is a dangerous argument doing the rounds about how we do that. You may have heard it. I have to tell you, Labour are clutching at it as some sort of intellectual lifeline. It goes like this. In these times of difficulty, we need a bigger state.

Not just in a financial and economic sense, but in a social sense too. A Labour minister said something really extraordinary last week. It revealed a huge amount about them.

David Miliband said that “unless government is on your side you end up on your own.” “On your own” – without the government. I thought it was one of the most arrogant things I’ve heard a politician say.

For Labour there is only the state and the individual, nothing in between. No family to rely on, no friend to depend on, no community to call on. No neighbourhood to grow in, no faith to share in, no charities to work in.

No-one but the Minister, nowhere but Whitehall, no such thing as society – just them, and their laws, and their rules, and their arrogance. You cannot run our country like this.

It is why, when we look at what’s happening to our country, we can see that the problem is not the leader; it’s Labour.

They end up treating people like children, with a total lack of trust in people’s common sense and decency. This attitude, this whole health and safety, human rights act culture, has infected every part of our life.

If you’re a police officer you now cannot pursue an armed criminal without first filling out a risk assessment form. Teachers can’t put a plaster on a child’s grazed knee without calling a first aid officer.

Even foreign exchanges for students…you can’t host a school exchange any more without parents going through an Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau Check.

No, when times are tough, it’s not a bigger state we need: it’s better, more efficient government. But even more than that we need a stronger society. That means trusting people. And sharing responsibility.

NEW POLITICS

But no-one will ever take lectures from politicians about responsibility unless we put our own house in order. That means sorting out our broken politics. People are sick of it.

Sick of the sleaze, sick of the cynicism. Copper-bottomed pensions. Plasma screen TVs on the taxpayer. Expenses and allowances that wouldn’t stand for one second in the private sector.

This isn’t a Conservative problem, a Labour problem or a Liberal Democrat problem.  It is a Westminster problem, and we’ve all got to sort it out.  In the end, this is about the judgment to see how important this issue is for the credibility of politics and politicians.

And it’s about having the character to take on vested interests inside your own party.

That’s what I have done. The first to say: MPs voting on their pay, open-ended final salary pension schemes, the John Lewis list – they have all got to go. And it’s no different in Europe.

We’ve drawn up a hard-hitting code of conduct for our MEPs. With European elections next year, the message to them is simple: If you don’t sign, you won’t stand. And while we’re on this subject, there’s one other thing that destroys trust in politics.

And that’s parties putting things in their manifesto and then doing the complete opposite. Next year in those European elections we will campaign with all our energy for that referendum on the European constitution that Labour promised but never delivered.

Taking responsibility is how we will mend our broken politics. And sharing responsibility and giving it back to professionals is how we will improve our public services.

NHS

Let’s be straight about what’s happened to our NHS. Money has been poured in but maternity wards and A&E departments are closing. Productivity is down. The nurses and doctors are disillusioned, frustrated, angry and demoralised.

I know from personal experience just how brilliant and dedicated the people who work in the NHS are. But they have been terribly, terribly let down.

Instead of a serious long-term reform plan for the NHS working out how we can deliver a free national health service in an age of rising expectations and rising healthcare costs, never mind the rocketing costs of social care, we’ve had eleven years of superficial, short-term tinkering.

Top-down target after top-down target, with another thirty seven targets added last year. Endless bureaucratic re-organisations, some of them contradictory, others abandoned after just a few months.  Labour have taken our most treasured national institution, ripped out its soul and replaced it with targets, directives, management consultants and computers.

In August, I got a letter from one of my constituents, John Woods. His wife was taken to hospital.  She caught MRSA and she died. Some of the incidents described are so dreadful, and so degrading, that I can’t read you most of the letter.

He says the treatment his wife received “was like something out of a 17th century asylum not a 21st century £90 billion health service.” And then, as his wife’s life was coming to end, he remembers her “sitting on the edge of her bed in distress and saying ‘I never thought it would be like this’.”

I sent the letter to Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary.

This was his reply.

“A complaints procedure has been established for the NHS to resolve concerns…

“Each hospital and Primary Care Trust has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service to support people who wish to make a complaint…

“There is also an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service…

“If, when Mr Woods has received a response, he remains dissatisfied, it is open to him to approach the Healthcare Commission and seek an independent review of his complaint and local organisation’s response…

“Once the Health Care Commission has investigated the case he can approach the Health Service Ombudsman if he remains dissatisfied….”

A Healthcare Commission. A Health Service Ombudsman. A Patient Advice and Liaison Service. An Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. Four ways to make a complaint but not one way for my constituent’s wife to die with dignity. We need to change all that.

But here is the plain truth. We will not bring about long-term change if we think that all we have to do is stick with what Labour leave us and just pump some more money in. Instead of those targets and directives that interfere with clinical judgments we’ll publish the information about what actually happens in the NHS.

We’ll give patients an informed choice about where to go for their care so doctors stop answering to Whitehall, and start answering to patients. This way, the health service can at last become exactly that: a service not a take it or leave it bureaucracy.

I’m afraid Labour have had their chance to show they can be trusted with the NHS, and they have failed. We are the party of the NHS in Britain today and under my leadership that is how it’s going to stay.

SOCIAL REFORM

But if you want to know what I really hope we will achieve in government. If you want to know where the change will be greatest from what has gone before. It is our plan for social reform.

The central task I have set myself and this Party is to be as radical in social reform as Margaret Thatcher was in economic reform. That’s how we plan to repair our broken society.

BROKEN SOCIETY

I know this is a controversial argument. Some say our society isn’t broken. I wonder what world they live in. Leave aside that almost two million children are brought up in households where no one works. Or that there are housing estates in Britain where people have a lower life expectancy than in the Gaza Strip.

Just consider the senseless, barbaric violence on our streets. Children killing children. Twenty-seven kids murdered on the streets of London this year. A gun crime every hour. A serious knife crime every half hour. A million victims from alcohol related-attacks.

But it’s not just the crime; not even the anti-social behaviour. It’s the angry, harsh culture of incivility that seems to be all around us.

When in one generation we seem to have abandoned the habits of all human history that in a civilised society, adults have a proper role – a responsibility – to uphold rules and order in the public realm not just for their own children but for other people’s too.

Helen Newlove spoke to us yesterday. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been moved by working with Helen over the past year.

This woman, whose husband Gary was brutally kicked to death on her own doorstep This woman, who had to explain to her beautiful children that their father was not coming home from the hospital, not ever, because he had dared to be a good, responsible citizen.

Helen Newlove knows our society is broken. But she believes we can repair it – and so do I. The big question is how.   And here is where we need some very plain speaking.

There are those who say – and there are many in this hall – that what is required is tough punishment, longer sentences and more prison places.  And to a degree, they’re right.

We’ll never mend the broken society without a clear barrier between right and wrong, and harsh penalties when you cross the line.

But let’s recognise, once and for all, that such an approach only deals with the symptoms, picking up the pieces of failure that has gone before. Come with me to Wandsworth prison and meet the inmates.

Yes you meet the mugger, the robber and the burglar.   But you also meet the boy who can’t read and never could.  The teenager hooked on heroin.The young man who never knew the love of a father.

The middle aged failure where no-one in the family has known what it’s like to go out and work for two generations or maybe more.

Miss the context, miss the cause, miss the background and you’ll never get the true picture of why crime is so high in our country.

There are those who say that all of this – mending the broken society – will require state action, state programmes and state money.  And to a degree, they are right too. We are not an anti-state party.

In the twentieth century, state-run social programmes had real success in fighting poverty and making our society stronger. Pensions, sickness benefits, state education: I honour those men and women of all parties and none who created these safety nets and springboards.

But today, the returns from endless big state intervention are not just diminishing, they are disappearing.  That’s because too often, state intervention deals with the symptoms of the problem. I want us to be different: to deal with the long-term causes. That will be the test of our character and judgment.

FAMILIES

First, families.  If we sincerely care about children’s futures, then all families, however organised, need our help and support. So I don’t have some idealised, rose-tinted view of the family. I know families can be imperfect. I get the modern world.

But I think that in our modern world, in these times of stress and anxiety the family is the best welfare system there is. That’s why I want to scrap Labour’s plans for a new army of untrained outreach workers so we can have over 4,000 extra health visitors and guarantees of family visits before and after your child is born. To those who say this is some sort of nanny state I say: nonsense.

Remember what it was like the first few nights after your first child is born, the worry, the uncertainly, the questions.   Health visitors are a lifeline – and I want more of them. It’s because I want to strengthen families that I support flexible working.

To those who say this is some intolerable burden on business, I say “wrong”.  Business pays the costs of family breakdown in taxes – and isn’t it right that everyone, including business, should play their part in making Britain a more family-friendly country?

Do you know what, if we don’t change these antiquated business practices then women half the talent of the country are just put off from joining the workforce.

We will also back marriage in the tax system.  To those who say…why pick out marriage why do you persist in aggravating people who for whatever reason choose not to get married?

I say I don’t want to aggravate anyone, but I believe in commitment and many of us, me included, will always remember that moment when you say, up there in front of others, it’s not just me anymore, it’s us, together, and that helps to take you through the tough times and that’s something we should cherish as a society.

SCHOOLS

When families fail, school is the way we can give children a second chance. My passion about this is both political and personal. After the 2005 election, shadow education secretary was the job I asked for in the Shadow Cabinet and Michael Howard kindly let me have it.

I’m not sure my reshuffles work quite like that, but there we are.

He’s a very kind man and was a great leader of our party. But it’s personal because I’m the father of three young children – and I worry about finding good schools for them more than anything else.

There’s nothing quite like that feeling when you watch your children wandering across the playground, school bag in one hand, packed lunch in the other, knowing they’re safe, they’re happy, they’ve got a great teacher in a good school.

But the straightforward truth is that there aren’t enough good schools, particularly secondary schools, particularly in some of our bigger towns and cities. Any government I lead will not go on excusing this failure.

That’s why Michael Gove has such radical plans to establish 1,000 New Academies, with real freedoms, like grant maintained schools used to have. And that’s why, together, we will break open the state monopoly and allow new schools to be set up.

And to those who say we cannot wait for structural reform and competition to raise standards I say – yes, you’re right, and we will not wait.

The election of a Conservative government will bring – and I mean this almost literally – a declaration of war against those parts of the educational establishment who still cling to the cruelty of the “all must win prizes” philosophy and the dangerous practice of dumbing down.

Listen to this.

It’s the President of the Spelling Society. He said, and I quote, “people should be able to use whichever spelling they prefer.”  He’s the President of the Spelling Society. Well, he’s wrong.  And by the way, that’s spelt with a ‘W.’

And then there’s the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. These are the people who are officially supposed to maintain standards in our school system. You pay their wages. And do you know what you get in return?

They let a child get marks for writing “F off” as an answer in an exam. As Prime Minister I’d have my own two words for people like that, and yes, one of them does begin with an ‘F’. You’re fired.

WELFARE

If strengthening families is the first line of defence against social breakdown, and school reform is the second – then welfare reform is the full, pitched battle. This problem goes very deep – and dealing with it will be very tough.

There are almost five million people in Britain of working age who are out of work and on benefits.   That’s bad for them.  It’s bad for our society.  And it’s bad for our economy.

Decades ago, when we had a universal collective culture of respect for work, a system of unconditional benefits was good and right and effective. But if we’re going to talk straight we’ve got to admit something.

That culture doesn’t exist any more.  In fact, worse than that, the benefit system itself encourages a benefit culture, and sends some pretty perverse messages.

It’s not even that it’s picking up the pieces and treating the symptoms, rather than providing a cure. Today, it is actively making the problem worse.

So we will end the something for nothing culture.  If you don’t take a reasonable offer of a job, you lose benefits.   Go on doing it, you’ll keep losing benefits.

Stay on benefits and you’ll have to work for them. I spent some time recently sitting with a benefit officer in a Job Centre plus.

In came a young couple.  She was pregnant.  He was the dad.  They were out of work and trying to get somewhere to live.  The benefit officer didn’t really have much choice but to explain that they would be better off if she lived on her own.

What on earth are we doing with a system like that? With the money we save by ending the something for nothing welfare culture we will say to that couple in that benefit office: Stay together, bring up your kid, build your family, we’re on your side and we will end that couple penalty.

PROGRESSIVE ENDS, CONSERVATIVE MEANS

In all these ways, and with the inspiring help of Iain Duncan Smith, we have made the modern Conservative Party the party of social justice.

The party that says yes: we can build a society where anyone can rise from the bottom to the top with nothing in their way but only if we put in place radical Conservative school reform to do it.

Yes: we can build a society where we end the scandal of child poverty and give every child the decent start they deserve but only if we have radical Conservative welfare reform to achieve it.

This is the big argument in British politics today, an argument through which we show that in this century as we have shown in the centuries that went before with Peel, with Shaftesbury, with Disraeli, when the call comes for a politics of dignity and aspiration for the poor and the marginalised, for the people whom David Davis so vividly described as the victims of state failure, when the call comes to expand hope and broaden horizons it is this Party, the Conservative Party it is our means, Conservative means that will achieve those great and noble progressive ends of fighting poverty, extending opportunity, and repairing our broken society.

READY FOR CHANGE

Progressive ends; Conservative means. That is a big argument about the future. That is a big change. And it is because we had the courage to change that we are able to make it.

We changed because knew we had to make ourselves relevant to the twenty-first century. You didn’t pick more women candidates to try and look good you did it so we wouldn’t lock out talent and fail to come up with the policies that modern families need.

You didn’t champion green politics as greenwash but because climate change is devastating our environment because the energy gap is a real and growing threat to our security and because $100-a-barrel oil is hitting families every time they fill up their car and pay their heating bills.

You didn’t take international development seriously because it was fashionable but because it is a true reflection of the country we live in, a Britain that is outward-looking, internationalist and generous and because this Party that has always believed in one nation must in this century be a Party of one world.

This is who we are today and those who say the Tories haven’t changed totally underestimate the capacity this Party has always had to pick itself up, turn itself around and make itself relevant to the challenges of the hour.

Those who say we haven’t changed just show how little they have changed.

A UNITED PARTY

We are a changed party and we are a united party. We are making progress in the north in the south in the east and in the west. The first Conservative by-election gain from Labour in thirty years. The first Conservative metropolitan council in the North East in thirty four years.

And the first Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. We are a united party, united in spirit and united in purpose. And we know that our task is to take people with us. Rebuilding our battered economy.

Renewing our bureaucratised NHS. Repairing our broken society. That is our plan for change. But in these difficult times we promise no new dawns, no overnight transformations. I’m a man with a plan, not a miracle cure.

A UNITED COUNTRY

These difficult times need leadership, yes. They need character and judgment. The leadership to unite your party and build a strong team.

The character to stick to your guns and not bottle it when times get tough. The judgment to understand the mistakes that have been made and to offer the country change. Leadership, character, judgment. That’s what Britain needs at a time like this and that’s what this party now offers.

I know we are living in difficult times but I am still optimistic because I have faith in human nature in our remarkable capacity to innovate, to experiment, to overcome obstacles and to find a way through difficulties whether those problems are created by man or nature.

We can and will come through. We always do. Not because of our government. But because of the people of Britain.

Because of what you do – because of the work you do, the families you raise, the jobs you create because of your attitude, your confidence and your determination. So because we are united…

Because we have had the courage to change. Because we have the fresh answers to the challenges of our age.

I believe we now have the opportunity, and more than that the responsibility, to bring our country together.

Together in the face of this financial crisis. Together in determination that we will come through it. Together in the hope, in the belief, in the knowledge that better times will lie ahead.

Speaking at the party’s conference in Birmingham, David Cameron attacked the Prime Minister’s claim to have the experience to see the country through tough economic times.

“Experience is the excuse of the incumbent over the ages. Gordon Brown talks about his economic experience,” he said.

“The problem is, we have actually experienced his experience.

“We’ve experienced the masssive increase in debt, We have experienced the huge rise in taxes. We experienced the folly of pretending the boom and bust can be ended.”

Mr Cameron spoke from a lectern, in contrast to last year when he wandered the stage and spoke without notes.

He said that the Prime Minister made two mistakes: removing the Bank of England’s power to regulate financial markets and “government borrowing money in the good times when it should have been saving.”

Mr Cameon, addressing delegates in the Birmingham Symphony Hall, said that sound money and fair taxes would be restored if his party is elected.

He spoke about the Armed Forces’ work in Afghanistan and said that if we “fail in our mission, the Taliban will come back. He attacked the government for “treating our soldiers like second class citizens.”

Mr Cameron said that responsibility is the what the Tory party is all about.

“I am a 43 year old father of three who thinhks that the family is the most important thing there is,” he told delegates.

“I am not an ideologue. I know my party can get things wrong, and other parties sometimes gets things right.

“Good government thinks for the long term.”

He attacked the Labour party as believing only in the state and the individual.

“No family to rely on, no friend to depend on, no community to call on. No one but the minister, nowhere but Whitehall, no such thing as society, just them, their laws, their rules and their arrogance. You cannot run our country like this.”

The Tory leader said that he is a “fiscal Conservative” who believes in low taxes.

“I know it’s your money. I know you want some of it back. And I want to give it to you. But we will only cut taxes when it is responsible to do so once we make the government live within its means.”

He pledged to cut corporation tax by 3p to encourage enterprise and small businesses.

The Tory leader also claimed that “Labour have had their chance to show they can be trusted with the NHS, and they have failed. We are the party of the NHS in Britain today.”

He also defended his claim that British society is broken, referring to the “angry, harsh culture of incivility” and said that state intervention and state money is needed to mend it.

“Miss the context, miss the cause, miss the background and you will never get the true picture of why crime is so high in our country.”

Mr Cameron defended his support for marriage through tax breaks, calling the family “the best welfare system there is.”

“To those who say ‘why pick out marriage, why do you persist in aggravating people who for whatever reason choose not to get married.’

“I say ‘I don’t want to aggravate anyone, but I believe in committment and many of us, me included, will always remember that moment when you say, up there in front of others, it’s not just me anymore. it’s us, together, and that helps to take you through the tough times and that’s something we should cherish as a society.’”

The Conservative leader said these “difficult times” need leadership, character and judgement.

“That’s what Britain needs at a time like this and that is what this party now offers.”
PinkNews.co.uk Editor Tony Grew reports from the Conservative Party Conference

It is more like a big pep rally than a place were policy is formulated.

But despite appearances, there have been some fierce fringe events alongside the socialising.

Last night Shadow Minister for Women Theresa May appeared at a meeting organised by Channel 4 and The Hansard Society asking if Parliament is representative of Britain.

Ms May, whose shoes have made headlines at previous conferences, bemoaned the way that the media obsesses over what female politicians wear.

A good point well made, but the bright orange raincoat Ms May wore to the fringe is worthy of a mention, And the silver suit she is wearing today is stunning.

More on male Tory fashion later, but the signature word is tailoring,

—-

Tiggerish Shadow Jusctice Secretary Nick Herbert hung round after yesterday’s Stonewall fringe to chat to gay and lesbian activists – mostly gay as only a handful of women attended.

He was pleased as Punch that he had not only met Olympics hero Dame Kelly Holmes but had procured an autograph for his partner Jason, who is by all accounts a massive athletics fan.

—-

A spirited demo by the Unite union outside the Birmingham International Conference Centre this morning raised some smiles.

Around 20 protesters chanted, cheered and shouted ‘loads-a-money!’ at delegates as they arrived for the last day of conference.

Several wore T-shirts claiming: ‘Cameron’s cronies caused credit crunch.’ One was even wearing a pig mask. Ouch. And they say class warfare is dead.

—-

One thing the Tories excel at is partying, and the bar at the main conference hotel was still packed at four this morning.

Just like last week’s Labour conference, a rumour was running round the room like wildfire. Nothing as exciting as a resignation, unfortunately.

Just the frankly bonkers idea that Jeremy Clarkson, the Top Gear presenter who is some sort of god to middle aged heterosexual men, will be standing as a candidate for the Tories. Against Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.

Wiser heads pointed out that Mr Clarkson’s stance on the environment is unlikely to endear him to the Tory leader.

—-

It has been said of Tory conference that the delegates are either under 25 or over 70.

Like many cliches it contains some truth, and there are plenty of both on show. But the party has attracted a large contingent of 26 to 69 year olds of late.

Some of the old school were on show last night at an event with Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Mr Phillips was on grand form, dealing with questions about the Black Police Association and other incendiary topics with aplomb.

He also urged the Tories to “open its doors to a wider range of people.”

An interesting statistic arose in the course of the discussion.

There are 7,500 faith schools in England and Wales but “fewer than five or six” are Muslim schools receiving state funds.

State schools, not faith schools, are where real problems of segregation lie, Mr Phillips claimed.

—-

The tension and excitement inside the convention centre is rising ahead of the Leader’s speech this afternoon.

The talk of the bars and cafes is whether David Cameron will go “lectern free” as he did last year, or if the serious economic crisis that has overshadowed the conference requires a more statesmanlike image.

Gordon Brown opted for a lectern last week at his conference – will DC follow suit?

We will find out at 14:30.

The event, organised by gay equality organisation Stonewall, was standing room only as more than 100 delegates turned up to hear Margot James, the Tory candidate for the Stourbridge parliamentary constituency and Nick Herbert, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice.

Ms James claimed that gay taxpayers should have “more angst than anyone else” at the present government’s handling of the economy, as “they tend not to have young families.”

“There is so much going wrong that gay people have a duty to vote Conservative,” she joked.

Ms James admitted “lots of Tory MPs do not have a good record” on gay rights but insisted the party is changing and described Conservative leader David Cameron as “a great convert to our cause.”

She pointed out that several target seats for the party had picked openly gay candidates such as herself and that many of the other candidates have “progressive views” on gay rights.

The competing demands of the faith community and the gay community could prove a point of conflict in any future Tory administration, she said.

The meeting was chaired by Jean Eaglesham, the chief political correspondent for the Financial Times.

She challenged Ms James over the percetion that the Conservative party’s change of position on gay rights is cosmetic, a “rhetorical positioning” by David Cameron that does not reflect the views of the party at large.

“You can’t rewrite history, but you underestimate what David Cameron has done,” Ms James replied.

“If it was all just superficial you would not get gay candidates selected.”

Ms James claimed that change over the last decade was driven by a small group of people in the Labour party, and that not all party members are so committed to the gay rights agenda.

She revealed that after she was selected for Stourbridge, she was the target of a “systematic letter writing campaign” in the local newspaper.

Some letters questioned her suitability for the seat.

“One person said ‘how can she as a lesbian be on board with David Cameron;s family agenda’ and that really made me angry, because I am so family conscious,” she said.

“I have no doubt that has come from my local Labour party, I am putting that to you as evidence that the blatant homophobia that still exists in the political life of this country is not confined to the Conservative party.”

Mr Herbert said the Tories had made “enormous strides” in the past three years, and that accpetance of gay, lesbian and bisexual people “permeates” the membership and the party’s MPs.

He cited homophobic bullying in schools, homophobia in sport and the international situation for gay people as on the agenda for any future Conservative government.

“We do need to do more to demonstrate that sexuality is not an issue in the Conservative party,” he said, adding that as a “modern, outward-looking” party they will continue to work with Stonewall.

On the issue of religious rights versus gay rights, Mr Herbert warned “let us ourselves be aware of intolerance,” but admitted that faith schools that are funded by the state may prove a challenge to acceptance of gay people.

Mr Herbert said that a first he was reluctant to be a “gay MP” but realised over time that it matters to other gay people, especially those who want to become candidates or work for the party.

“I think in ten year’s time we will not be talking about this stuff,” he added.

Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, spoke to the fringe meeting about the benefits of the upcoming Equality Bill and the success of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme.

One in seven workers in Britain is now employed by a company that is a member of the scheme.

In July the British Army became the 400th member of the programme.

It promotes best practice and gives organisations guidance and advice on how to create equality in the workplace.

The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are already members, alongside companies such as Barclays and IBM and many public sector bodies.

PinkNews.co.uk Editor Tony Grew is in Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference

In a keynote speech to the party conference in Birmingham, George Osborne faced off those who want a reduction in the taxes with a blunt assessment of the state of the nation’s finances.

“We built an economy on the engines of finance and housing and government spending, and the government never stopped to think what would happen if the engines stalled,” he told delegates.

“Now the credit has dried up, the engines of the economy have stalled, the party is over.”

However, he did unveil a freeze on council tax. Labour accused him of stealing the idea from the Scottish National Party.

Council tax, which is highly unpopular with voters, will be pegged for two years under the policy, which will save a typical Band D household more than £200.

“Instead of council tax bills that rise year after year under Labour, millions of families will get help at the time they need it most. Conservatives will not leave people to struggle with the credit crunch alone.”

The Tories said that the money would come from central government spending.

“The spend on consultants and advertising will be reduced by £500 million in the first full year of government, and by £1 billion in all subsequent years,” he said.

“As families across the country tighten their belts and live within their means, so should the government,” he said.

“We will bring fiscal responsibility to our government. And we will bring financial responsibility in our economy. We will make sure that this mess never happens again.”

Mr Osborne took a critical stance on the credit crisis.

Earlier today it was confirmed that Bradford and Bingley, a leading UK bank, has folded.

Abbey will take control of its branches and savings accounts, but its mortgage operation is to be nationalised.

“I am not going to blame everything on the bankers alone,” Mr Osborne said.

“But nor am I going to excuse them of their responsibility, or allow them to think that things can carry on as before.

“I am not going to do what the left has done, and use the crisis as an excuse to abandon the free-market economy that has made our country more prosperous.

“But nor am I going to pretend that the crisis doesn’t raise the most profound questions about our financial system and how we regulate it.

“I am not going to claim that this problem only exists in Britain or that it is all the fault of the current government.

“But nor am I going to let them forget who sat there in the Treasury for 10 years while the regulation failed, the debt soared and no one called time on the ‘age of irresponsibility’.”

Yesterday the Tory leader David Cameron welcomed delegates from around the country and said that people are “crying out for change.”

“Today the Conservative Party is so united that we don’t have to spend time talking about ourselves or talking about our issues, we can spend all of our time talking about the problems that people face in our country and talking about the challenges that we want to meet as a party and, if we’re elected, a Government,” he said.

“That is the task before us.”

Mr Cameron described the Tories as “a party that believes that free and open economies are good” and warned that “sounding off against financial markets or open economies or free markets, I don’t think that will get us anywhere.

“It’s not going to pay a single mortgage, it’s not going to keep anyone in their job, it’s not going to put food on anyone’s table.”

He claimed the party “have a very clear plan about what we want to do to help get out of this difficult situation and we’re going to tell people what we’ll do in the short term to deal with the symptoms and what we will do in the long term to deal with the causes.”

Mr Cameron set out the agenda for this week.

“My message to Gordon Brown is this. You have had your boom and your reputation is now bust,” he said.

“So let us show them what we’re made of this week.

“Let us show them how we’re going to rebuild our economy after the decade of debt.

“Let us show them how we’re going to rebuild our National Health Service after all the top down targets and all the bureaucracy.

“Let us show them how we’re going to repair our broken society after the decade of failed education reform, failed welfare reform and violent crime.”

Earlier the Tory party chairman, Caroline Spelman, opened the conference, which runs until Wednesday.

She said it had been a “great” year for the party:

“They said we couldn’t break a 40% share of the national vote – and we have.

“They said we couldn’t win London – and we have.

“They said we couldn’t make gains in the North – and we have.

“And behind each and every success is an army of activists and volunteers.

“You’re out pounding pavements, leafleting, canvassing in all weathers, and we owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

“Together, we’re coming back.”

Ms Spelman set out “five steps to success” in the next general election.

Never be complacent; stick to the centre ground; stay united; have a clear plan for change and “fix our broken society as well as our broken economy.”

On Wednesday gay equality organisation Stonewall will be holding a fringe meeting at the Tory conference.

Labour’s general secretary Ray Collins said the trans inclusion motion had the support of the party’s National Executive Committee.

The Labour rule book is the party’s governing document and contains provisions for party governance and principles.

“This is a ringing reminder of how seriously the Labour party respects LGBT rights,” said Mr Collins.

Craig Nelson, LGBT Labour conference delegate spoke to the motion and called on the Labour membership to:

“Keep Labour at the forefront of LGBT rights following 12 years of progress achieved by this Labour government.

“The Labour government successes, whether they be abolishing Section 28, the Gender Recognition Act and civil partnerships proves that Labour has delivered for LGBT people in the country, this rule change will protect trans members in the party and beyond.”

98.43% of delegates backed the motion.

The party’s conference in Manchester ended yesterday with a speech from Harriet Harman in which she attacked the Conservatives, who have been leading Labour in the polls for the best part of a year.

“The Tories are breathtaking in their arrogance,” she said.

“They smirk in photoshoots of what they describe as the Cabinet in waiting.

“We know that because they put the photos in the Tory house magazine – none other than The Tatler.

“Conference – no party should take the voters for granted like that.”

The announcement in the early hours of Wednesday morning that Ruth Kelly is to stand down at the next reshuffle shocked the conference.

The Secretary of State said she was leaving to spend more time with her four children, all of whom were born since she was first elected in 1997.

However, it has been widely reported that she was unhappy with the direction of the government under Gordon Brown.

Ed Balls, who is likely to remain in post in the imminent Cabinet reshuffle, said that all incidents of bullying should be properly recorded in every school.

“No child should be bullied or held back because of their race, their disability or their sexuality,” he said.

Mr Balls told conference that “we have acted” on bullying of every kind in every school.

“To tackle bullying of children with disabilities and special educational needs,” he said.

“To crack down on cyberbullying with mobile phones and on the internet – not just bullying of children, but teachers too – and we have published our first ever guidance to help schools tackle homophobic bullying.”

Stonewall was commissioned to write the groundbreaking online guidance in partnership with EACH (Education Action Challenging Homophobia). It was officially launched in January.

It gives teachers, head teachers, school governors and support staff practical advice on how to recognise, prevent and respond to homophobic language and physical abuse.

It follows on from Stonewall’s wide-ranging study into homophobic bullying published in June 2007, entitled The School Report.

It found that nearly two thirds of LGB students reported instances of homophobic harassment.

That figure jumps to 75% of young gay people attending faith schools.

The survey of more than 1,100 young people found that only 23% of all UK schools explicitly condemn homophobic bullying.

92% of gay, lesbian and bisexual pupils have experienced verbal abuse, 41% physical bullying and 17% have been subject to death threats.

30% of pupils reported that adults have been responsible for incidents of homophobic bullying in their schools.

Nearly every interviewed student had heard phrases like, ‘You’re so gay’, and remarks like ‘poof’ and ‘dyke’ in UK schools.

In her speech at the close of conference yesterday Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour party, emphasised the key pledges made by the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

“We have important plans for the future,” she told delegates.

“Free nursery places for two year olds, free prescription charges for people with cancer, new plans to help older people stay in their own homes, protection against the costs of care for older people and free health checks when you’re over 40.

“We’ve talked this week about all the things that we will do. Now let’s talk about the one thing we will not do. We will not be taking advice from the Tories

“The Tories write the British economy off. But they are wrong. Britain is made of sterner stuff.

“The Tories write the Labour Party off. But they are wrong. This Labour Party is made of sterner stuff.

“The Tories are breathtaking in their arrogance. They smirk in photoshoots of what they describe as the Cabinet in waiting.

“We know that because they put the photos in the Tory house magazine – none other than The Tatler.

“Conference – no party should take the voters for granted like that.”

Ms Harman also accused Tory leader David Cameron of pledging “support to lesbian and gay groups – but he voted to keep Section 28- and it was on a free vote.

“He’s the kind of man your mother used to warn you about.

“You know the kind of man I’m talking about.

“He’ll promise you the world. Promise to make all your dreams come true.

“But if he got his wicked way with – you in the ballot box – you’d never hear from him again.”

Ms Harman declared: “Labour’s fightback has begun.”

The Conservative party conference begins on Sunday in Birmingham.

Ruth Kelly told delegates it had been “the greatest honour of my life to play a part.”

News of her decision to stand down surprised party activists gathered in Manchester.

Ms Kelly, 40, has been an MP since 1997.

She has four children under 12 and said that she wanted to spend more time with her family.

“This will be my last time addressing you as a member of the Cabinet,” she said.

“I told Gordon before the summer of my decision to leave the Government for family reasons at the next reshuffle.

“This was not a decision I took lightly. I was still in my 20s as Labour was given the honour of leading the country.

“And I have been particularly proud as a minister at the Treasury to be able through our proposals on the Child Trust Fund. At Education, opening up school choice for parents, At Communities recasting our policies on violent extremism and devolving more power to local government.

“In transport, I was delighted it was Labour that secured the deal on Crossrail.

“It’s also been a tremendous privilege to have worked with both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – two towering figures in the Labour Party, Government and on the world stage.

“But Conference, as well as a front line politician, I am also proud to be a mother and wife. To be able to hold these jobs, I have relied on the support of my husband and family.

“So I ask for your understanding when I say that I now owe it to my children and family to put them first. If I do not, then I know that this is something I will come to regret deeply.

“Conference, while we have not always agreed on every issue, I am enormously proud of all that we have achieved together over the past decade.

“And I am confident that Labour has the values, vision and determination to see this country through difficult times.”

Ms Kelly’s resignation comes ahead of an expected reshuffle which could happen as soon as this weekend.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “There are no political issues between Ruth and me.

“Ruth has been an MP all the time that her children have been growing up.

“This is the decision that every parent faces. It is nothing to do with politics. Sometimes we have got to make decisions that are difficult.”

His assertions that there is no difference between himself and Ms Kelly has not scotched rumours that she left because she was unhappy with the direction of the government.

Gay rights activists objected to her appointment to the post of Minister for Equality in 2006.

A member of controversial Roman Catholic group Opus Dei, she had never voted in favour of gay rights.

She was heavily criticised for delaying the implementation of the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

Ms Kelly has refused to say whether or not she personally regarded homosexuality as sinful.

Earlier this year she was one of three Roman Catholic Cabinet ministers who voted against equal access to fertility treatment for lesbians and gay men.

Sky News reports that Ruth Kelly has decided to stand down ahead of a reshuffle by the Prime Minister.

Labour party sources told PinkNews.co.uk that she is leaving over the Embryology Bill currently before Parliament, which has been vociferously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.

However, Sky said that Ms Kelly, the mother of four children, is resigning for family reasons.

The BBC said she is “understood to be denying reports her decision had anything to do with her objections to the Embryology Bill.”

Ms Kelly is a devout Roman Catholic.

In May she voted in favour of an opposition amendment to the bill that would have retained a requirement on doctors to consider the need for a father when assessing women for fertility treatment.

The government argued that the consideration has been used to discriminate against lesbians and single women, and they defeated the amendment, which was proposed by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The Daily Mail reports that Ms Kelly told friends she was ‘disgusted’ by the Prime Minister’s speech to the party conference today, in which he said that the UK should be leading scientific research.

The government won a vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in the Commons in May. It approved human-animal embryos for the harvesting of stem cells.

MPs were given a free vote on several clauses and three Roman Catholic cabinet ministers, Ms Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy, voted against the government.

The Commons also approved the creation of so-called ‘saviour siblings’ and proposals that will allow lesbians and single heterosexual women equal access to IVF and fertility treatments.

Ms Kelly’s appointment to the post of Minister for Equality in 2006 outraged gay equality activists.

A member of Opus Dei, she had never voted in favour of gay rights.

She was heavily criticised for delaying the implementation of the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

Ms Kelly has refused to say whether or not she personally regarded homosexuality as sinful.

A major row broke out in Cabinet in 2007 over plans to give Roman Catholic adoption agencies an opt-out from the Sexual Orientation Regulations, which outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation when accessing goods and services.

Ms Kelly and former Prime Minister Tony Blair were said to support a faith-based exemption, but MPs and Cabinet colleagues defeated the idea.

The revelation that she is to step down came just hours after Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled his plans for government in his well-received speech to the party conference in Manchester.

Sky News political correspondent Joey Jones said:

“It’s come as a huge shock… on the evening after what has been viewed as a successful day for Mr Brown, the news will be greeted by dismay from many Labour loyalists.

“She has four young children and wants to spend more time with them.

“She had decided this is the time to leave.

“The problem for Gordon Brown that his big day will be overshadowed by one of his key allies. The timing couldn’t be worse.”

A leading Roman Catholic leader in Scotland summed up the mood of many of the church’s adherents when he attacked the Labour party during Glasgow East by-election in July over its support for the Embryology Bill.

“Christian people have not changed. It is Labour that has broken its pack with Christian voters,” Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, wrote in a letter to all MPs representing Scottish constituencies.

“What are we to do when our religion is attacked and our conscience outraged?

“When one considers the self-inflicted injuries this Labour Government has visited upon itself, one could be forgiven for thinking it had some kind of death wish.”

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is expected to complete its final parliamentary stages after the summer recess.

Ms Kelly has been MP for Bolton West since 1997.

Undeterred by a small band of fundamentalist Chrisian protesters outside the conference venue, more than 60 people attended the fringe meeting, which was organised by gay equality organisation Stonewall and LGBT Labour.

The gay Labour group’s co-chair Katie Hanson accused the Conservative party of “misusing and abusing our issue” and said the “culture of homophobia” in schools must be addressed.

She said that LGBT Labour’s efforts had ensured that human rights and homophobia abroad, health inequality and committments to tackle HIV and AIDS were now included in party policy documents.

Health minister Ben Bradshaw praised Stonewall’s work on the new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and equal access to fertility services for gay men and lesbians, which forms part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill currently before Parliament.

He attacked the Conservative party leader David Cameron for “using the gay agenda to detoxify the Tory brand” and accused the Liberal Democrats of being “all over the place.”

Mr Bradshaw also lamented the present arguments in the Church of England over gay people, saying it was a “depressing situation.”

He made reference to the successful campaign to stop the deportation of a gay Iranian man, Medhi Kazemi, and said the UK government must internationalise the fight for gay rights.

Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, said that he was hopeful the remaining parliamentary stages of the Embryology Bill would be quick and accused members of the House of Lords who oppose gay rights of being “obsessed with what we do in bed.”

He looked forward to the Equality Bill, which will require public bodies to actively promote equality for gay people. It is expected to be introduced in the Queen’s Speech in December.

Mr Summerskill cited recent Stonewall research that found one in five gay, lesbian and bisexual people had been the victim of homophobic crime in the past three years and 70% of them did not report it, as evidence of a need to change the culture in public services.

He expressed “anxiety” that the proposed bill does not address concerns about the lack of representation of LGB people in public office and called on the government to consider the issue.

At present there are only two out gay men in the House of Lords and one out lesbian in the whole of Parliament.

The Leader of the Lords, Baroness Ashton, told the meeting that fairness is a core Labour value and she found it unfortunate that some peers and MPs do not feel able to come out.

She pointed out that the average age of peers is 68 and as only 29% of the Lords take the Labour whip, the government has had to build coalitions to get gay equality legislation through the House.

Baroness Ashton pledged to get the Equality Bill through the Lords and said a fourth term in office was needed as David Cameron’s party remains “strongly opposed” to gay rights.

Treasury minister Angela Eagle told the meeting that the Equality Bill will deliver “deeper rights” for gay men and lesbians and that while the basic structure of the lesiglation is in place, there is a lot of work to be done.

She said the bill would enforce the rights won under Labour and claimed that gay equality was one of two issues hijacked by the Tories, the other being the environment, in order to change the voters’ perceptions of them.

“They talk the language of equality, but we have a progressive majority in Parliament, without which we would not have made gains on the Embryology Bill.”

Ms Eagle said that the recent case of a registrar who won an employment tribunal over her right not to perform civil partnership ceremonies “does not seem to be equal access to me.”

She condemned a “cabal of bishops” who had managed to negotiate and exemption from employment regulations on sexual orientation.

Deputy Labour Leader Harriet Harman paid fulsome tribute to Stonewall, calling them a study in how to make progress and “the model of an organisation of influence.”

She also said the party had a series of “sleeper” ministers in various government departments, such as Vera Baird at Justice, looking out for gay rights.

Ms Harman paid tribute to former Labour MP Leo Abse, who died last month. His private member’s bill led to the decriminalisation of gay sex 41 years ago.

She said that residential care for elderly people was a good example of where the Equality Bill will have an impact, as public providers would be required to consider the needs of LGBT service users.

Ms Harman, who is Secretary of State for Equalities, said that faith schools and the issue of education authorities could be problematic with regard to the bill, but stressed that “cultural views” must not be allowed to cut across the “absolutes” of people’s rights.

She said that gay rights around the world is a priority for the government and recalled the incident at Pride London in July when gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell “did a demo on me.”

That confrontation led to a meeting between Mr Tatchell, Ms Harman and Home Office officials to discuss his concerns about the treatment of LGBT asylum seekers.

Ms Harman accused the Tories of “lurking around” gay groups and said Labour must work to “expose” them.

“They don’t all look like Ann Widdecombe, but their views are the same,” she said, and branded the Opposition “false friends of the gay community.”

There was discussion of the recent Fathers 4 Justice breakaway group, who protested at the constituency office of Health minister Dawn Primarolo with a banner criticising “lesbo dads,” a reference to the Embryology Bill.

Ms Eagle commented that Fathers 4 Justice always seem to target women ministers.

Gay and lesbian people were urged to become school governors as a way of fighting homophobic bullying and making sure the gay community is represented in society.

The meeting ended with a moving contribution from a 75-year-old conference delegate.

He told the fringe meeting about his childhood, in particular a memory of an 18-year-old pit lad from the coal mining village where he grew up who had committed suicide because he was gay and had no-one to turn to.

He said that while he himself is straight and “happily divorced,” he was so proud of what Labour had done for gay equality.

“Before I die I want to know there is no child today who will gas himself because he has no-one to talk to,” he said.

Stonewall will be co-hosting fringe meetings at the party conferences of all three major parties.

As we gather here today I know people have real concerns about the future of the country, the future of the economy and people in this hall have concerns about the future of our party too.

And so I want to answer your questions directly, to talk with you about how amidst all the present difficulties we should be more confident than ever that we can build what I want to talk to you about today. A new settlement for new times. A fair Britain for the new age.

But let me start with something I hope you know already.

I didn’t come into politics to be a celebrity or thinking I’d always be popular. Perhaps, that’s just as well. No, 25 years ago I asked the people of Fife to send me to parliament to serve the country I love.

And I didn’t come to London because I wanted to join the establishment, but because I wanted and want to change it.

So I’m not going to try to be something I’m not.

And if people say I’m too serious, quite honestly there’s a lot to be serious about – I’m serious about doing a serious job for all the people of this country.

What angers me and inspires me to act is when people are treated unfairly.

So when people share with me stories about the hard time they’re having with bills, I want to help, because I was brought up seeing my parents having to juggle their budget like the rest of us.

And when I talk to parents about schools, I’m determined that every child should have a good school, because while I got my break in a great local secondary, not all my friends got the chance to get on.

And when I speak to victims of crime I get angry – because like them I know the difference between right and wrong.

And so here I am – working for this incredible country, while trying as far as possible to give my children an ordinary childhood. Some people have been asking why I haven’t served my children up for spreads in the papers. And my answer is simple. My children aren’t props; they’re people.

And where I’ve made mistakes I’ll put my hand up and try to put them right. So what happened with 10p stung me because it really hurt that suddenly people felt I wasn’t on the side of people on middle and modest incomes – because on the side of hard-working families is the only place I’ve ever wanted to be. And from now on it’s the only place I ever will be.

And so I want to give the people of this country an unconditional assurance – no ifs, no buts, no small print – my unwavering focus is taking this country through the challenging economic circumstances we face and building the fair society of the future.

The British people would not forgive us if at this time we looked inwards to the affairs of just our party when our duty is to the interests of our country.

The people of Britain would never forget if we failed to put them first – and friends, they’d be right.

And because this is a time of greater than ever change around us, it must be a time of higher ambition from us. And because the world of 2008 is now so different from the world of 1997 I want to talk about the new settlement we must build for these new times.

You know, each generation believes it is living through changes their parents could never have imagined – but the collapse of banks, the credit crunch, the trebling of oil prices, the speed of technology, and the rise of Asia – nobody now can be in any doubt that we are in a different world and it’s now a global age.

In truth, we haven’t seen anything this big since the industrial revolution. This last week will be studied by our children – as the week the world was spun on its axis – and old certainties were turned on their heads.

And in these uncertain times, we must be, we will be, the rock of stability and fairness upon which people stand.

And friends, it’s a calling that summons us because in every time of profound change those with great wealth and privilege have always been able to look after themselves.

But our duty, what gives us moral purpose, is serving the people who need us most- Britain’s vast majority – people on middle and modest incomes who need to know that they are not on their own amidst this change – we are on their side.

Where there are new risks and new pressures our duty is and will be security for all. And where there are new opportunities, our duty is and will be fair chances for everyone matched by fair rules applied to everyone.

And insuring people against the new risks and empowering people with new opportunities is the mission of the hour. And those who say that governments should walk away when people face these risks and need these opportunities will be judged to be on the wrong side of history.

And when the country is asking their government to meet these new challenges I say to our opponents: those who don’t believe in the potential of government shouldn’t be trusted to form one.

So this is a defining moment for us – a test not just of our judgment but of our values. Today once again we are called to apply our enduring beliefs to completely new conditions.

New Labour has always been at its best when we have applied our values to changing times. In the 1990s Tony and I asked you to change policy to meet new challenges.

We are and will always be a pro-enterprise, pro-business and pro-competition government. And we believe the dynamism of our five million businesses large and small is vital to the success of our country.

But the continuing market turbulence shows why we now need a new settlement for these times – a settlement that we as a pro-market party must pursue.

A settlement where the rewards are for what really matters – hard work, effort and enterprise.

A settlement where both markets and government are seen to be the servants of the people, and never their masters,

Where what counts is not the pursuit of any sectional interest but the advancement of the public interest – and where at all times we put people first.

Let us be clear the modern role of government is not to provide everything, but it must be to enable everyone.

And just as we know that governments cannot and should not do everything, so too we know markets cannot deliver it all on their own.

And just as those who supported the dogma of big government were proved wrong, so too those who argue for the dogma of unbridled free market forces have been proved wrong.

And so it falls to this party and to this government, with its commitment both to fairness and to business, to propose and deliver what after recent events everyone should now be willing to accept – that we do all it takes to stabilise the still turbulent financial markets and then in the months ahead we rebuild the world financial system around clear principles. And friends the work begins tomorrow.

I and then Alistair will meet financial and government leaders in New York to make these proposals:

First, transparency – all transactions need to be transparent and not hidden.

Second, sound banking, a requirement to demonstrate that risks can be managed and priced for bad times as well as good.

Third, responsibility – no member of a bank’s board should be able to say they did not understand the risks they were running and walk away from them.

Fourth, integrity – removing conflicts of interest so that bonuses should not be based on short term speculative deals but on hard work, effort and enterprise.

I know that the British people think it’s hard work, effort and enterprise we need to reward.

And fifth, global standards and supervision because the flows of capital are global, then supervision can no longer just be national but has to be global.

And if we make these changes I believe London will retain its rightful place as the financial centre of the world.

And we know that the challenges we face in this new global age didn’t begin in the last week, or in the last months, but in fact reflect deeper changes in our world. For all its benefits, the global age has revealed not just financial instability but another major pressure – a rising global population demanding more energy.

So the new settlement also requires another great and historic endeavour to end the dictatorship of oil and to avert catastrophic climate change, a transformation in our use of energy. New nuclear power, an unprecedented increase in renewables and investment in clean coal.

And I am asking the climate change committee to report by October on the case for, by 2050 not a 60% reduction in our carbon emissions, but an 80% cut – and I want British companies and British workers to seize the opportunity and lead the world in the transformation to a low carbon economy and I believe that we can create in modern green manufacturing and service one million new jobs.

And it’s not just our duty but our basic philosophy that we do everything we can to help families through the world downturn. And while the Conservatives did nothing to help people with their gas and electricity bills in the last world downturn, this winter, millions of people will receive the help with heating bills, insulation, social tariffs – help they never received from the Conservatives.

But you know, when it comes to public spending you can’t just wave a magic wand to conjure up the money – not even with help from Harry Potter.

And so there are tough choices and I have to say that as a result of the events of recent weeks there are going to be tougher choices we will have to make and priorities we will have to choose. And just as families have to make economies to make ends meet, so this government must and will ensure that we get value for money out of every single pound of your money that is spent. But I say to you that we will invest it wisely, continuing our record investment in schools, Sure Start centres, transport and hospitals.

And if we make the right decisions to take people through the world downturn fairly we will find that, despite the current troubles, British firms and British workers can reap the rewards of a world economy set to double in size.

With Britain’s great assets – our stability, our openness, our scientific genius, our creative industries, and yes our English language – I know that this can be a British century and I’m determined it will be.

But my argument today is that the new settlement for the global age must do even more to empower people with new opportunities insure people against new risks and as a result value hard work effort and enterprise. It’s the economy that’s been making the headlines, but there are other big changes too.

People feel their communities are changing before their eyes and it’s increasing their anxiety about crime and anti-social behaviour. And so we will be the party of law and order.

And for the first time ever we’ve got more British pensioners than British children – more people living longer on fixed incomes and worried about whether they’ll need long term care. And so we will be the party that will ensure security and dignity for pensioners.

And there are new pressures on parents – worrying about balancing work and family life but also about advertising aimed straight at their children and what their children are watching or downloading from the internet. And so we will be the party of the family.

And so the new settlement for our times show how Britain can meet all these challenges too and its more than about a fair prosperity – it must be about fair chances and fair rules too.

You know some people say that there’s an inevitable political cycle in this country – as sure as night follows day. I don’t agree. The challenge of these new times demands a truly progressive government to help people cope with the new risks and make the most of the new opportunities. That’s why I believe that now more than ever – even more than in 1997- this country needs a Labour government.

You know to govern is to choose – and it’s what a government chooses to do when it’s tested that demonstrates its priorities and reveals its heart.

It is not the arithmetic of statistics but the fabric of people’s lives.

When we talk about three million more people in work since 1997 – that’s not just a number, that’s a life that’s been changed – three million times over. That’s the young woman laid off in the mid 90′s who’s now built a booming business of her own. Three million new jobs not by accident, but by our actions. And in the years to come we will demonstrate again that real power of Labour to change lives.

And when we talk about the one million small and medium-sized businesses set up in the last eleven years, that’s not just a number – that’s the entrepreneur who can treat her parents to a summer holiday, and the local businessman who’s taken on two local teenagers as apprentices. One million new businesses demonstrating yet again the real power of Labour to change lives.

And when we talk about one million people benefiting from new Labour’s minimum wage that’s not just a number – that’s a dad doing security shifts who can now afford a birthday party for his child and it’s a mum who doesn’t have to go to a loan shark to pay for her kids’ Christmas. One million people freed from exploitation- and now the minimum wage rising year on year – that’s the real power of Labour to change lives.

And when we talk about the 240,000 lives that are saved by the progress Labour’s NHS has made in fighting cancer and heart disease, that’s not just a number – that’s the dad who lives to walk his daughter up the aisle and the gran who is there to clap and cry at her grandson’s graduation. 240,000 families still together – and now thousands more with new and better treatments from an expanding NHS — we’re changing the world the only way it can ever really change – one life, one family, one hope at a time. That’s the real power of Labour to change lives.

And why do we always strive for fairness?

Not because it makes good soundbites.

Not because it gives good photo opportunities.

Not because it makes for good P.R.

No.

We do it because fairness is in our DNA.

It’s who we are – and what we’re for.

It’s why Labour exists.

It’s our first instinct, the soul of our party.

It’s why when things get tough, we get tougher. We stand up, we fight hard – for fairness. We don’t give in, and we never will.

For me fairness is treating others how we would be treated ourselves. So it isn’t levelling down but empowering people to aspire and reach ever higher. And to take advantage of all the opportunities of the global economy I want to unleash a new wave of rising social mobility across our country.

For too long we’ve developed only some of the talents of some people – but the modern route to social mobility is developing all the talents of all the people….helping those who are working their way up from very little and lifting up those in the middle who want to get on. It means supporting what really matters – hard work and effort and enterprise. This is not just the new economic necessity, it is the modern test of social justice and the radical centre ground we occupy and will expand.

And fairness is why Harriet is introducing the first ever equalities bill. And let me thank her for her tireless work as deputy party leader.

Fairness is why Ed Miliband is ensuring that community and third sector organisations can play their proper part in every neighbourhood.

And it is why our whole party is leading the fight against the British National Party.

Fairness is why John Denham is extending university access, why Ruth Kelly has introduced for the first time free bus travel for pensioners and why John Hutton and our Labour Members of the European Parliament but are fighting to free agency workers from the scourge of exploitation.

But fairness for the future also means a big change that I want to explain today. We have always stood for public services that are universal, available to all. Now we must stand for public services that are not only available to all, but personal to each.

For me, the fairer future starts with putting children first – with the biggest investment in children this country has ever seen. It means delivering the best possible start in life with services tailored to the needs of every single precious child.

In 1997 there were no Sure Start centres and nursery education for only the few. Today, thanks to the work of Beverley Hughes there are children’s centres opening in every community to serve 3 million children who a few years ago had nothing, and free nursery education for every three and four year old.

But our ambitions must be greater still. I want Britain to take its place among the leading nations in pre-school services, and so I pledge here today in Manchester starting in over 30 communities, and then over 60, we will, stage by stage, extend free nursery places for two year olds for every parent who wants them in every part of the country backed by high quality, affordable childcare for all.

That’s the fairness parents want – and that’s the fairness every Labour party member will go out and fight for.

And because child poverty demeans Britain, we have committed our party to tackle and to end it. The measures we have taken this year alone will help lift two hundred and fifty thousand children out of poverty. The economic times are tough of course that makes things harder- but we are in this for the long haul – the complete elimination of child poverty by 2020. And so today I announce my intention to introduce ground-breaking legislation to enshrine in law Labour’s pledge to end child poverty.

And Ed Balls and I will never excuse, explain away or tolerate low standards in education. So we will keep up the pace of reform: more academies, trust and specialist schools, more of the brightest and best graduates becoming teachers, more investment in building schools for the future – state of the art schools for world class schooling.

Fairness demands nothing less than excellence in every school, for every child. So today I guarantee to parents two fundamental rights:

Because every child should leave primary school able to read, write and count, any child who falls behind will not be left behind – but will now have a new guaranteed right to personal catch up tuition.

And because all parents should see their children taught in schools which achieve good results at GCSE, our pledge today is that any parents whose local state school falls below the expected standard will have the right to see that school transformed under wholly new leadership, or closed and new school places provided.

And we want to enable all families to use the internet to link back to their children’s school – and so Jim Knight is announcing that we will fund over a million extra families to get online, on the way to our ambition of Britain leading the world with more of our people than any other major economy able to access the internet and broadband.

And now as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS let me on behalf of all of us here, and all the people of the country – thank all the NHS staff – the cooks and cleaners, the paramedics and porters, the doctors and midwives and nurses.
You have served our country and served a great ideal – the principle that in a fair society health-care should not be a commodity to be bought by some but a right to be enjoyed by all.

Labour is the party of the NHS – we created it, we saved it, we value it and we always will support it.

And you know already that for me, this isn’t a political agenda but a personal mission. Last year in Bournemouth I told you how when I was 16, I got injured playing rugby and lost the sight forever in my left eye. I knew I couldn’t play football or rugby anymore. But I could still read.

But what I didn’t tell you last year was that then one morning I woke up and realised my sight was going in my good eye. I had another operation and lay in the darkness for days on end. At that point my future was books on tape.

But thanks to the NHS, my sight was saved by care my parents could never have afforded. And so it’s precisely because I know and have heard from others about the miraculous difference a great surgeon and great nurses and great care can make that I’m so passionate about the values of the NHS and so committed to reforming it to serve these values even better.

That’s why in just one year in the fight against hospital infections, we have doubled the number of matrons and achieved a 36 percent reduction in MRSA.
And let us remember what a Labour government has now achieved: the lowest ever waiting times in the whole history of the NHS.
And now to respond to new times and higher aspirations we want to make the National Health Service more personal to people’s needs – patients more involved in their own health care with more choice and more control than ever before.

And I’ve always found it unfair that we cannot offer on the NHS the comprehensive services that private patients can afford to buy. And so in April a Labour Britain will become the first country in the whole world to offer free universal check ups for everyone over 40.

And I say that there is no vested interest, no matter how powerful, that we are not prepared to take on when change is needed for the sake of the nation’s health.
We have already made it easier for busy families to go to the doctor. Whilst a year ago only 1 in 10 patients had access to GPs at weekends and in the evening. Now almost half of all practices are open and by the end of next year the majority will be open even longer.

And today I want to show how this government will pursue what I believe to be one of the noblest and boldest contributions of this country to our shared human fortunes.

Since the war nearly one third of Britain’s Nobel prizes have been for our genius in medicine. We should now aspire to stretch the boundaries of human knowledge and human health ever further.

I want Britain to lead the world in beating the diseases which cause so much heartbreak for families. Over the last few years we’ve made major breakthroughs in research relevant to cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and strokes and many more.

But these are yet to be turned into treatments from, which we can all benefit from. And so let me tell you today that the unprecedented 15 billion pounds we are investing in medical research will be directed to turning the major advances of the last few years into actual treatments and cures for NHS patients.

Over the next decade we can lead the way in beating cancer and other diseases – a great endeavour worthy of a great country: proud because we have a health service focused on 21st century needs.

A NHS that is available to all and personal to each means meeting another challenge of the future: offering, for the first time, every patient with a long term condition their own care plan.
But alongside new patient responsibilities will be new rights. And because we know that almost every British family has been touched by cancer, Alan Johnson and I know we must do more to relieve the financial worry that so often goes alongside the heartache. And so I can announce today for those in our nation battling cancer from next year you will not pay prescription charges.

And this is not the limit of our commitment to a fair NHS in a fair society. As over the next few years the NHS generates cash savings in its drugs budget we will plough savings back into abolishing charges for all patients with long-term conditions. That’s the fairness patients want and the fairness every Labour party member will go out and fight for.

And in a fair society the fact that older people are living longer should be a blessing for their families not a burden. We are committed to linking pensions to earnings.
And I am proud that we will now be implementing for the first time equality for women in their retirement.

No-one should live in fear of their old age because they worry their social care will impose financial burdens they could never afford to face and that the minute they need care puts the family home at risk.

The generation that rebuilt Britain from the ashes of the war deserves better and so I can tell you today that Alan Johnson and I will also bring forward new plans to help people to stay longer in their own homes and provide greater protection against the costs of care – dignity and hope for everyone in their later years.
That’s the fairness older people deserve – and the fairness every Labour party member will go out and fight for.

So when people say in these tough times there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing higher to aim for, no great causes left worth fighting for, my reply is our ideas are the ideas that will realise the hopes of families for a better future. Providing free nursery care for more children who need it is a cause worth fighting for.

Providing better social care for older people who need it is a cause worth fighting for. Delivering excellence in every single school is a cause worth fighting for. Universal check-ups and new help to fight cancer – these are all causes worth fighting for. This is the future we’re fighting for.

And in this world of vast economic and social change, new opportunity for all must be matched with a new responsibility from all. Our aim is a something for something, nothing for nothing Britain. A Britain of fair chances for all, and fair rules applied to all.

So our policy is that everyone who can work, must work. That’s why James Purnell has introduced reforms so that apart from genuine cases of illness, the dole is only for those looking for work or actively preparing for it. That’s only fair to the people pulling their weight.

And let me be clear about the new Labour policy on crime; taking action on the causes of crime will never mean indulging those who perpetrate it. Fairness demands that we both punish and prevent.

Jacqui Smith and Jack Straw are introducing a landmark reform in our justice system – to put victims first. In consultation with victim support we will create an independent commissioner who will stand up for victims, witnesses and families – the people the courts and police exist to serve. And Damilola Taylor’s father Richard is with is here today.

He’s an inspiring example of the determination to see some good come out of personal tragedy. Last weekend he led thousands on a march through our capital, sending a united message. We will take the knives off our streets.

And justice seen is justice done – so you will be seeing more neighbourhood policing on the street, hearing more about the verdicts of the court, able to see the people who offended doing community payback which will be what it says; hard work for the public benefit at the places and times the public can see it. That’s only fair to the law abiding majority.

Nobody in Britain should get to take more out of the system than they are willing to put in. I am proud that Britain will honour our obligations to provide refuge from persecution. And we recognise the contribution that migrants make to our economy and our society, but the other side of welcoming newcomers who can help Britain is being tough about excluding those adults who won’t and can’t. That’s why we have introduced the Australian-style points-based system, the citizenship test, the English language test and we will introduce a migrant charge for public services.

That’s only fair to the public who play by the rules and to the new citizens who uphold the rules.

So across the board, we will create rules that reward those who play by them and punish those who don’t. That’s what fairness means to me.

You know our party so often in its history has been home to the big ideas – ideas later taken for granted, but revolutionary in their time. Just think, the vote for working men, and then for women, the NHS, legal protection from race or sex discrimination. These are no longer just Labour policies, they are established British values – they are the common sense of our age.

And we should never forget one thing – that every single blow we have struck for fairness and for the future has been opposed by the Conservatives.

And just think where our country would be if we’d listened to them. No paternity leave, no New Deal, no bank of England independence, no Sure Start, no devolution, no civil partnerships, no minimum wage, no new investment in the NHS, no new nurses, no new police, no new schools.

And so let’s hear no more from the Conservatives – we did fix the roof while the sun was shining.

And just think if we’d taken their advice on the global financial crisis. Their policy was to let northern rock fold and imperil the whole financial system, our Labour government saved northern rock so not a single UK depositor lost out.

Their policy said, in this week of all weeks, that speculative short selling should continue. We acted decisively to end reckless speculation.

And the conservative policy would mean that at this very moment, there would be no regulation at all to protect homeowners. We are the party of protecting of homeowners rights.

Do you know what their Shadow Chancellor really said? In the week that banks were collapsing the man who wants to run our economy not only said: this is not a problem caused by the financial markets but went on to say and, I quote, “that it’s a function of financial markets that people make loads of money out of the misery of others.”

Just imagine where we’d be if they’d been in a position to implement their beliefs – no rescue of Northern Rock, no action on speculation, no protection for mortgages, doing nothing to stop banks going under.

What has become clear is that Britain cannot trust the Conservatives to run the economy.

Everyone knows that I’m all in favour of apprenticeships, but let me tell you this is no time for a novice.

But I believe in giving credit where it’s due. The Conservative leader’s team are smart – they’ve got a plan, and they are implementing it ruthlessly.

Their strategy is to change their appearance, to give the appearance of change, and to conceal what they really think.
And when salesmen won’t tell you what they are selling, it’s because they are selling something no-one should buy.

But I’m a man for detail and I’ve discovered some clues about what would be in store in a Conservative Britain.

They want us to believe that, like us, they now care about public services. But when Mr Cameron actually talks to his party about their spending plans he says the difference between Labour and Tory levels of public investment will be “dramatic” and “fundamental”.

They want to tell us we’re all progressives now but the day that Hazel Blears and Caroline Flint were announcing a one billion pound package to support millions of homeowners, the Conservatives were confirming that their first tax priority is to take that one billion pounds from hard working families and hand it over to the 3,000 richest estates in Britain.

And they want to tell us they now believe in investing in education, but they are committed to slashing 4.5 billion from the schools building programme, axing the educational maintenance allowances that help poorer students stay on and opposing the raising the education leaving age to eighteen and stopping training programmes. And yes friends, they would even take away Sure Start from infants and their parents. One of our greatest gifts to the future – one of the first priorities for Tory cuts.

The Conservatives may want to represent the future, but whether its Europe or energy, planning or tax credits, university places or 42 days, whenever they are tested on substance they have nothing to offer to meet the big challenges of tomorrow, because they are prisoners of their past.

If you look beneath the surface, you’ll see that the Conservatives might have changed their tune, but they haven’t changed their minds.

The Conservatives say our country is broken – but this country has never been broken by anyone or anything. This country wasn’t broken by fascism, by the cold war, by terrorists.

Of course there are problems, but this is a country being lifted up every day by the people who love it.

We’ve got 4 million people helping neighbourhood watch, 6 million sports volunteers and over 5 million people doing amazing work as carers.

And just as we celebrated our national triumph when we won the 2012 games for London, so too were Andy Burnham, Tessa Jowell and I, along with all of you, filled with pride this summer as our Olympic and Paralympics heroes showed British brilliance at its best.

That’s why for all the challenges, I don’t believe Britain is broken – I think it’s the best country in the world. I believe in Britain.

And stronger together as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland we can make our United Kingdom even better.

And ours is a country full of heroes.

And we pay special tribute to the heroism of our armed forces, as Des Browne said yesterday – to their service and sacrifice in Iraq and in Afghanistan and in peacekeeping missions around the globe. Quite simply the best armed forces in the world.

The whole lesson of the new world I described earlier is that we must work together to meet the great shared challenges vital to our future.

And unlike the Conservatives who are extremists and isolationists on Europe, we will work with our partners in the European Union and we will work with America not just to deal with the immediate security challenges in Georgia and in Iran.
And I tell you that what we do together for the poor and vulnerable is an act of compassion, but it is more than that. It is what will determine whether this new global society succeeds or fails.
And David Miliband, Douglas Alexander and I will do everything in our power to bring justice and democracy, to Burma, to Zimbabwe and to Darfur.

And I promise you I will work with other countries to bring a permanent settlement – a secure Israel and a viable Palestine – to deliver peace for the people of the Middle East.

And this week at Britain’s request the United Nations has summoned the leaders of the world to a special summit on what we know is a global poverty emergency.

You know, in the museum in Rwanda which commemorates the millions who lost their lives as the world looked the other way, there is a picture of a young boy called David – a ten year old who was tortured to death. His last words were “don’t worry – the United Nations will come for us”.

But we never did. That child believed the best of us only to discover that the pieties repeated so often meant in reality nothing at all. The words “never again” became just a slogan and not what it should be – the crucible in which are values are tested. I tell you, this Labour government will not allow the world to stand by as more than 20,000 children die today from diseases we know how to cure. We will not pass by as 100 million men, women and children face a winter of starvation.

So the poor will not go unheard tomorrow at the United Nations, because we the British people will speak up for them and for justice.

The fair society. Fairness at home. Fairness in the world – that’s the new settlement for new times.

I know what I believe.

I know who I am.

I know what I want to do in this job.

And I know that the way to deal with tough times is to face them down.

Stay true to your beliefs.

Understand that all the attacks, all the polls, all the headlines, all the criticism, it’s all worth it, if in doing this job I make life better for one child, one family, one community.

Because this job is not about me, it’s about you.

And I’ll tell you what else I’ve learned – that tough times don’t weaken the determination of people who believe in what they’re doing but strengthen our resolve.

You know when I talk to the people who do the tough jobs – nurses, teachers, police officers, soldiers, carers – about why they do what they do, so often they say to me “because I want to make a difference”.

And doesn’t each of us want to say of ourselves:

That I helped someone in need.

That I come to the aid of a neighbour in distress.

That I will not pass by on the other side.

That I will give of myself for something bigger than myself.

And each of us can make a contribution – but together we are even more than that.
United we are a great movement led by hopes not fears, gathered person by person – one individual, and then a few more, then hundreds, then thousands, then finally millions strong, a movement where I want each of us to say to each other:
This is our country, Britain. We are building it together, together we are making it greater;

Together we are building the fair society in this place and in this generation.

The mission of our times- the fair society, the cause that drives us on – and we will win, not for the sake of our party, together we will win for the future of our country.

Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party addressed the Labour Party conference in Manchester this afternoon.

Gordon Brown told delegates that he is “serious about doing a serious job for all the people of this country,” and claimed that only Labour truly cares about equality.

He was introduced by his wife Sarah, who said she is so proud that “every day he is motivated to work for the interests of people all around the country,” and a video montage of Labour’s achievements, featuring testimonials from Democratic candidate for President of the United States Barack Obama and businessman Sir Alan Sugar.

In a confident speech lasting more than an hour, Mr Brown declared that “this will be the British century,” and unveiled new policies for a “global age.”

He also mounted a defence of Labour’s decade in office and accused the Tories of being untrustworthy.

“Fairness is in our DNA, it is who we are, it is what we are for, it is why Labour exists,” he said.

Mr Brown cited civil partnerships as an example of something that would not have come about under the Tories.

The Prime Minister also acknowledged mistakes over the abolition of the 10p rate of tax, and insisted he is on the side of “working families.”

He also told delegates that “our duty is to the whole country and not just the party,” a clear reference to calls for him to stand aside.

Mr Brown promised that one million more disadvantaged homes would be connected to the internet, announced a new victims commissioner, reform of benefits and free nursery places for every two year old in the country.

He also said that cancer patients would no longer have to pay for prescriptions.

The speech was well received by delegates, but it has not stopped some in the party calling for him to leave office.

It has been reported that members of the Cabinet have given Mr Brown nine months to turn around the party’s dire performance in opinion polls.

Movin’ On Up by M-People is playing, perhaps a sign of what we can expect from the Prime Minister in what some are uncharitably predicting could well be his last speech as party leader.

The talk among delegates is the extent to which he will build on his TV interview on Sunday when he said he could “do better” and how much blame he takes for the party’s dire opinion polls.

He also needs to energise the party grassroots ahead of potentially disastrous European elections next year.

Mr Brown, despite his troubles, is still well-liked by the rank and file, and if he can avoid lecturing his audience he should be warmly received.

The music has now moved to Sit Down by James – time to take my seat.

Harriet Harman was asked to explain why she had appointed a controversial Evangelical Christian preacher as an Equality and Human Rights Commissioner.

Joel Edwards’ appointment angered many in the gay community because of his role in the Evangelical Alliance, a group that has consistently opposed equality for the lesbian, gay and bisexual community.

In an unanimous decision at their annual Congress in Brighton earlier this month the TUC, which represents 6.5 million members in the UK, condemned his appointment and demanded he be removed.

Speaking at last night’s fringe event, organised by LGBT Labour, Treasury minister Angela Eagle, the only out lesbian in Parliament, questioned Mr Edwards’ appointment and called on Ms Harman to “have a look” at the TUC motion and his conduct and “consider what should happen.”

“I think it is important that those who become commissioners actually believe that it is not right to balance bigotry with our human rights. They should believe in the human rights of everybody,” she said.

“I know there has been a great deal of anger and hurt in the gay community because of his appointment and his behaviour, saying that somehow LGBT people can have their rights to equal access to goods and services balanced against an Evangelical view of exceptionalism.

“We do not want to get into a position where one of the important groups of people that need protection are worried about whether they can trust the work that the commission is doing.”

Ms Harman was later challenged from the floor by an activist as to why she had appointed Mr Edwards.

“The point about the EHRC is that it has got to champion human rights,” she said.

“That is what the mode, style and cuture of the commission has got to be, not just not be against people’s human rights, it’s got to be championing them.”

After the meeting Ms Harman declined to explain why she had appointed Mr Edwards.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission was established by the Equality Act 2006 and began work last October.

It brought together the three existing UK equality commissions – the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission.

The EHRC incorporates four new human rights strands – age, sexual orientation, gender identity and religion and belief.

The

“Never Kissed A Tory – never will.”

This has provided endless amusement to the party’s gays, with many admissions of liaisons with the opposition.

LGBT Labour co-chair Katie Hanson has reassured her socialist colleagues.

“It is more of an aspiration,” she told their fringe meeting last night, “it does not have to be true for you to buy the T-shirt!”

—–

Some confusion at the conference centre yesterday as LGBT Labour’s fringe had been mislabelled “KGB Labour” by the facilities crew.

Were there any confused spies being treated to Ben Bradshaw and Angela Eagle talking gay rights?

Stonewall were co-hosting the event, and chief executive Ben Summerskill said they were considering presenting Ms Eagle, a junior Treasury minister, with a magnum of champagne, in honour of her civil partnership ceremony this weekend.

However, he thought better of it.

Given the current financial turmoil, it may have sent the wrong message. Is champagne socialism dead?

—-

Huge turnout at the Labour Friends of Israel reception last night, where the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary both spoke. Though they were not in the room at the same time.

There was much discussion of David Miliband’s “Blair hand” – when speaking he has a tendency to gesture and pause in a way eerily remisicent of the former PM.

—-

All eyes on the PM today as he gives his big Leader’s speech to conference. Given his recent contrition (“I must do better”) it may be as much mea culpa as messianic.

The HOPE NOT HATE campaign from the Mirror and Searchlight is designed to stop the racist, homophobic BNP from gaining support.

Former Deputy Leadership candidate Jon Cruddas was there, and he told PinkNews.co.uk that there is a serious chance the BNP could win a seat in next year’s Euro elections.

“It’s really important that people go out and vote,” he said.

Among the guests were former Health Secretary Frank Dobson, a whole brace of senior union leaders and Cabinet minister Hazel Blears.

She told the assembled throng that “every single vote counts” next year if the BNP is to be prevented from taking seats in the European parliament.

“UKIP did very well in the 2004 elections, but their issues aren’t really top of the agenda this time. There is a chance Nick Griffin (BNP leader) may win a seat and the London UKIP MEP could well lose out,” one disheartened Labourite told PinkNews.co.uk.

“Turnout in Euro elections is always dire as it is, and they are usually used as a referendum on the government.”

This evening Harriet Harman is scheduled to speak at the Stonewall fringe event – we can expect her to be tackled over the recent deportations of gay asylum seekers back to countries where they could face violence and even death because of their sexuality.

Alongside the usual suspects such as the trades unions, Labour Students and the Fawcett Society are some odditites.

The Acropolis, for example. Yes, the one in Athens. They have a stall at conference this year, alongside internet giant YouTube and the formidable Bolivia Information Forum.

“The Future is Knowsley” proclaims one stand.

Labour Friends of Iraq is another, but even it cannot compete with the eye-popping Tameside Metropolitan Borough, which has a Wizard of Oz theme, complete with lifesize figures from the movie, all topped with a rainbow.

From a distance it looks like the gayest stall ever. Click here for pics.

I assumed it was LGBT Labour – their fund to encourage more gay and lesbian people to stand as parliamentary candidates is called Dorothy’s List.

—-

It seems that I misheard a passionate GMB delegate’s speech to conference. His constant references to rent boys were infact references to Remploy, the employment service for disabled people.

Ms Rowling, who is worth more than £550m as a result of the success of her series of novels about the boy wizard, attacked the Tory party’s family policy in a statement explaining why she had made the donation.

“I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative party,” she said.

“Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice.

“The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty.

“David Cameron’s promise of tax perks for the married, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent.

“It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times.”

Last year the Tory leader set out his support for tax incentives to encourage people to get married, and faced down anti-gay critics in his own party:

“To those who think, even in 21st century Britain, that commitment and responsibility cannot be embraced by all, I say: you will not find a stronger supporter of marriage but why not also recognise the commitment that gay couples make to each other in civil partnerships?” he said.

“That’s modern Conservatism.”

Under the Civil Partnership Act, all benefits offered to married couples must be offered to gay and lesbian couples in civil partnerships.

The Prime Minister said he was “delighted” that JK Rowling, “one of the world’s greatest ever authors,” and a close personal friend of Mr and Mrs Brown, had donated to the Labour party for the first time.

“I thank her for supporting the Labour Party and our values of social justice and opportunity for all,” he said.

The party has debts of almost £18m, much it from the 2005 election, the most expensive Labour ever fought.

Labour general secretary Ray Collins was in an upbeat mood when he addressed conference yesterday.

He was appointed in June, months after the last holder of the post resigned amid the scandal surrounding donations.

In December he was named the 27th most influential LGBT person in British politics.

Peter Watt resigned as general secretary in November 2007 in the wake of the Abrahams scandal after claiming he did not know that third-party donations are illegal.

In his speech to conference yesterday, his first in his new role, Mr Collins said:

“It was our Labour government that made possible the civil partnership I entered in 2005.”

He also attacked the Conservatives and acknowledged the party’s parlous finances.

“Conference, we cannot dispute the Tories’ polling numbers, but let us be clear: there is no fundamental ideological shift towards them,” he said.

“Nearly half of all voters say the Tories are uncaring.

“And nearly half say they can’t be trusted.

“Yet I do not want to pretend the task ahead is an easy one.

“Since 1997, we have lived from election to election, and while this has served us well at the ballot box, it has now caught up with our bank balance.

“Our financial position remains difficult.

“And I want to thank all the members, unions, affiliates, and individual donors who have contributed to Labour this past year.

“The motives of those who give money to our Party are too often called into question, and make no mistake, without these donations, we would have no chance to compete with Lord Ashcroft’s billions.

“As general secretary, I promise you that I will put the long-term future of the Party front and foremost, spending your money where it needs to be spent to ensure victory at the next election, but also building an organisation that will endure as the only progressive force in British politics for the decades to come.”

Mr Collins, a former trade union official, said he will make the equalities agenda “my personal responsibility as General Secretary, not just because it is right but because it is crucial to our electoral success across all our communities.”