20 things Cameron forgot in his conference speech

Yesterday David Cameron stood up in Birmingham to set out his vision to the country. He announced £7.2 billion of spending commitments. Shockingly, however, he totally forgot to tell us where the money to pay for them would come from. Even now we are waiting to find out how he will fund his pledges.

Until he recovers his memory and tells the country, this will fundamentally undermine any claim to economic credibility the Tories may seek. But this wasn’t all. David Cameron omitted other major issues from his speech – issues which go to the heart of everyday working people’s lives and living standards.

Here are just some of the things David Cameron forgot:

1. £1,600. Away from Tory conference, back in the real world, wages are £1,600 a year down since 2010. David Cameron didn’t mention this.

2. Childcare. Costs have risen by 30% since 2010 – five times faster than wages. David Cameron seems not to have noticed, or if he has, he didn’t say so in his speech.

3. Energy bills. Since 2010, families have seen their energy bills rise by more than £300 and businesses say energy is the second biggest cost they face. Labour will freeze people’s bills for two years while reforming the market to make it work for consumers. David Cameron said nothing about bills yesterday.

4. Millionaires. Strangely, while seeking to position himself on the side of working people, David Cameron forgot to say that while millions are struggling under the cost-of-living crisis millionaires have been given a huge tax break by his Government.

5. Hedge funds. David Cameron stands up for the privileged few because they bankroll his party. Hedge funds have given the Tories £45million and received a tax cut worth £145million – and yet David Cameron forgot to mention it.

6. GPs. David Cameron claimed to support the NHS and yet failed to mention that it is now harder to see your GP.One in four patients waits a week or more for a GP appointment. Today we learn that up to 600 GP surgeries could close over the next year – something that was completely absent from Cameron’s script.

7. Waiting times. Another omission from the health section of David Cameron’s speech was waiting times. Was this because they are now over three million for the first time in six years in England and the number of people waiting over four hours to be seen in A&E has almost trebled (to almost one million people) under the Tories?

8. Sure Start. David Cameron talked about young people’s futures but forgot to mention that there are 628 fewer Sure Start centres thanks to decisions his government has taken.

9. ‘Tens of thousands’. We heard some lukewarm words on immigration yesterday, but the infamous target of getting net migration down to the ‘tens of thousands’ was missing. Could this be because immigration is going up not down under the Tories?

10. Bonuses. For some reason David Cameron didn’t mention George Osborne’s efforts to protect bankers’ bonuses.

11. 1920s. This was the last time house-building levels were so low. But David Cameron didn’t mention that.

12. Foodbanks.  There has been a huge rise in the number of food banks across the UK, with the Trussel Trust reporting that almost one million parcels were handed out last year. This is something which should horrify anyone with a sense of decency, and yet David Cameron didn’t mention it.

13. Foreign aid. When David Cameron was trying to convince us he was a moderniser, he travelled the world and pledged that 0.7 per cent of the country’s total income would be spent on overseas aid. Not only has he still not done it, but this wasn’t mentioned at all yesterday, in further confirmation that compassionate conservatism is a thing of the past.

14. VAT. David Cameron raised VAT after promising not to. He didn’t mention this yesterday. Perhaps another rise will pay for his £7.2billion black hole?

15. Tuition fees. The Tories trebled these, but David Cameron forgot to say so. Now one of his policy advisers is saying they may need to go up again. Is this why Cameron didn’t mention it?

16. ‘Cost of living’. This may be the voters’ number one issue, but it’s not David Cameron’s. He didn’t mention it once.

17. Self-employed workers. Ed Miliband used his conference speech to champion the rights of self-employed workers. David Cameron forgot they exist, it seems, as he didn’t mention them.

18. ‘Granny tax’. Some of the many tax rises implemented by the Tories were forgotten…

19. Westminster. Ed Miliband said in his conference speech that he wouldn’t put up with any ‘Westminster stitch-up’. Voters  are disillusioned with ‘politics as usual’. David Cameron didn’t mention the very place that most needs a cultural shake-up.

20. £7bn. As a reminder…the main thing David Cameron forgot was the cost of his policies. In forgetting this he has sacrificed his credibility.

Michael Dugher is Labour’s shadow minister for the Cabinet Office