Cameron rewrites credit card call

5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:53 ET

David Cameron will attempt to strike an upbeat note in his big speech

David Cameron has re-written part of his big Tory conference speech which appeared to call on households to pay off their credit card bills.

The prime minister’s aides insist the passage was due to “sloppy drafting” and the briefing of an unfinished speech to the media.

Mr Cameron – who begins speaking at 1430 BST – will insist Britain’s economy can be “turned round”.

Labour says the PM is “rattled by the failure of his austerity plan”.

‘Can-do’ attitude

The section of Mr Cameron’s speech released to the media on Tuesday read: “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with r debts. That means households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.”

He will now say: “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with r debts. That’s why households – all of us – are paying off the credit card and store card bills”.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was easy to understand the “sensitivity” of appearing to tell people to stop spending at a time of austerity and falling consumer confidence.

“It would not be just odd but, potentially, economically disastrous,” he added.

Mr Cameron will use his speech to call for optimism and a “can-do” spirit at the end of a conference overshadowed by the crisis in the eurozone.

He will reject Labour’s call to slow the pace of spending cuts and bring in temporary tax breaks to stimulate growth.

According to other pre-released extracts from the speech, Mr Cameron will say that ministers “need to tell the truth about the overall economic situation”.

‘Turn around’

“People understand that when the economy goes into recession, times get tough. But normally after a while things pick up. Strong growth returns, people get back into work.”

“This time, it’s not like that. And people want to know why the good times are so long in coming.

“The answer is straightforward, but uncomfortable. This was no normal recession. We’re in a debt crisis. It was caused by too much borrowing by individuals, businesses, banks and most of all governments.”

But he will also warn against becoming “paralysed by gloom and fear”.

“If we correct the mistakes and take on the vested interests of the past, I know we can turn this ship around,” he will say.

“Slowly, but surely, we’re laying the foundations for a better future. But this is the crucial point: it will only work if we stick with it.”

The prime minister will talk of the “spirit of Britain”, adding: “Some say that to succeed… we need to become more like India, China or Brazil. I say we need to become more like us. The real us.”

He will talk up Britain as a hard-working, creative and optimistic country with a “can-do” attitude.

Growth figures

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between April and June, less than the 0.2% estimated previously, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Output from the service sector grew by 0.2% in the quarter, compared with the previous estimate of 0.5% but industrial output fell by less than previously thought.

A Labour spokesman said: “We need a plan for growth, to create jobs, help struggling families and support small businesses, but the Conservatives are giving away hundreds of millions of pounds to the banks in corporation tax cuts – the wrong choice in a time of scarce resources.”

The conference speech comes as a new opinion poll suggests most voters are not impressed by Mr Cameron’s handling of the economy.

According to the ComRes survey for ITV News, 54% rated Mr Cameron’s leadership on economic matters “fairly or very poor” and 57% said the same of his efforts to manage the eurozone crisis to the UK’s advantage.

The prime minister did, however, receive positive reviews for his ability to appear statesmanlike, 51% saying he did that “fairly or very well”, and for his response to the riots (50%).

ComRes interviewed 2,047 adults online between 30 September 30 and 2 October and data was weighted to be demographically representative of all adults.

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