It is often said that you should be in the business of politics to build something better, else you have no business being in politics at all. Quite right. Yet, that apathy remains shows that there is still work to be done.
Margaret Thatcher was one of the few politicians who grasped the concept that it is not good enough to merely articulate your vision for the country, you are judged only on your actions. Politicians have to prove that they are worth voting for. That they have a vision and that they are making that vision a reality.
Over the last few weeks, party leaders have been setting out their stalls. In the process, the battle lines have been drawn, not just for the 2015 General Election, but for the very future of the country that we call home. It is a battle between the Statism of the past and a vision for the future, between defeatists who think our best days are over and optimists who disagree, between those who think Britain is ‘just a small island that no-one pays any attention to’ and those determined to prove Putin wrong.
I unashamedly stand on one side of these battles. I went to a school bottom of the league tables, the son of two of Britain’s many shopkeepers. My fortunes however, were determined not by my background, but by my ambition, my determination and my hard work.
It is this land of opportunity that I want to see for all. A land where our children all have access to a world class education, where enterprise and business is valued for the jobs and chances they bring, where people are not just abandoned on welfare and where people keep more of their hard earned money – a land where everyone has the opportunity to be the very best that they can be.
This is not just a vision, it is one that we are proudly making a reality. A tax cut for 25m people, welfare capped, immigration down, crime down, the deficit down, 1.4 million new private sector jobs, standards in schools up, manufacturing up, new free schools giving our children a chance, Help To Buy giving homeownership a chance.
Britain has always stood proud as a land of opportunity. When the world wanted rights, Britain wrote Magna Carta. When they wanted representation, Britain built the first Parliament. When they seek freedom, tolerance or equality, it is Britain they look to. In an increasingly developed world, we have to ensure that it is Britain that they still look to for innovation, for trade and for enterprise.
Freedom and opportunity for all is the key to our future prosperity. This is our vision. Our actions are including everyone in delivering it.
