Monday watching - live blogging (kind of)

Man in a Shed will be watching the conference from his Shed today - so no slouching and falling at the back in the audience you here ....

Just watching Grant Shapps MP - he's doing a good job on attacking Labour's housing record.
Oh he's just announced that Garden Grabbing is out - Man in a Shed is very pleased about this. He has recently been offered a lot of money to buy his garden - but we like our Garden. We would be sad if our neighbours sell out, but the amount of money is hard to refuse.

10:20 Michael Grove just announcing support for new schools from community groups. That they can open anywhere. He's exposed the problem in educational performance, but I haven't heard a real analysis of why this happens. The solution is to be more money to schools that take disadvantaged pupils. I personally would feel better if he had an analysis of what is wrong.

He's mentioning discipline right now - putting heads in complete control of discipline. A good move - but not one that explains why individuals fail.

He suggest he'll empower teachers to maintain order. All good stuff. Anonymity for teacher accused of abuse being announced - quite right.

His calls to reign back the health and safety bureaucrats is getting shouts of approval a cheers from the hall.

He's just announced the end of the closure of special school. This is something close to my heart as my son is autistic. He is managing in his local school, but its good to know that if things don't work out there will be a good alternative. I've visited our local autistic school, when deciding where he should go, and I can tell you the people who work there are fantastic and do a wonderful job for the kids there.

10:31 There's supposed to be a Q&A session now - but the questioner is delivering a speech from the floor. Not sure this is what they had in mind. The questioner has suffered the awful loss of her daughter to breast cancer so we can't be harsh. But good TV it ain't. ( Turns out to be the idea of how this debate is to work - really a set of mini speeches from the floor - on those terms Mrs Jones has done well. ) Hold on its not her fault - they next guy, Steve Mastin, is doing the same thing. It must be the plan.

Its a shame - the mini-speeches were fine.

Here comes blogger Vicky Ford fighting "for the NHS". Even managed a riskey joke on sleeping with her husband. She's going on about the Conservative MP's who are in Grodon Brown's biug tent. She's talking about the NHS cuts in Grantham - take that Quentin !

Hold here;'s a request for educational vouchers from Lindsey Hall, Cllr in Westminster. Looking forward to the answer on that one !

Michael Grove is answering - talking about the gap between primary and secondary school. He's not going to offer vouchers.

Now its Rachel Joyce (another Tory blogger) - giving good example of how Labours targets in fact lead to damage in the NHS. She has some moral outrage - and quite right too. We need more of this. The public need to have the damage of socialism explained in more detail. Well done Rachel.
10:57 Now we have Andrew Lansley explaining the commitment to the NHS. The key phrase here is I think local NHS. That's a theme that develops well against the top down targets from Labour.

I have to say that the Q&A session didn't really come of with the armed chairs. But its a minor point - the floor speeches were good.

10:05 Andrew is talking about strokes and how we don't do the effectuve things, get worse outcomes, but spend more. One of the members of my local church had a stoke 6 months ago and his story of just being left in a bed is appalling.

He's talking about trusting manager s and staff against targets. Hayek would be proud.

Coffee break - of up the garden ... think its Scotland and Wales next.

Anyone know what the music being played in the break is ? I rather like it.

Here we go - well looks like I got it wrong. The next debate is economic competitiveness.

Alan Duncan on now. He's someone I admire as one of the parties deep thinkers. He is also a kind man, who when my Father was in the last stages of his heart failure came round to the house, rather than making him come into the office to discuss a problem he was having with disabled parking.

He's having a go at regulations. 56 billions pounds a year in cost to British business he quotes. We'll that's a lot of money.

He's just accused Gordon Brown of using the economy to promote his own career. He's just stated that "Prudence" is on the game. He's having a go at his budgets and small point.

He's talking about selling our gold reserves under priced, against advice. ( I wonder if he could be sued for that if he was acting against his own advisers ? ).

He's now talking about Gordon Brown in Orwellian terms. He's going for the deceit of the government. "Everything is a cynical contrivance ".

Gordon Brown is a utterly shameless user of propaganda, says Duncan.

He's called the government wicked - when propaganda is more important that effective policy. Where is your moral compass now Mr Brown.

I think its the shameless tag that sticks - and will resonate with the public.

Yes that's it - we should go with the simple message Gordon Brown is shameless.

Phillip Hammond is now going to give a presentation on the policy review - I have often wondered why politicians don't use presentations more - everyone else does !

2/3rds of new jobs in Britain have gone to migrant workers ! Wow I had never heard that one.

We can't see the overheads which I assume exist. He's pointing out how our competitiveness has dropped from 4th to 10th in the world.

A fierce small speech from the floor is coming from Melanie Hampton, Totting. She says she couldn't start her business under today's regulations. Alan Duncan is just agreeing with that being the most important point know ( I did type the other sentence first honest ).

James Hockney is giving a small speech - the word ashamed comes out again. I think this is a clear line of attack on Gordon Brown - shame.

Antonia Cox has just given a small speech talking about the damage that Northern Rock has done to UK banking - and our image round the world. She's an ex banker - so knows what she talking about. The depositor protection scheme from Alistair Darling is being changed as I type. If you have money in Northern Rock I would get out now.

Lee Rotherham is just making the case for Tax cuts - and attacking the government spending gravy train. A point well made with a few imaginative examples.

12:25 Here comes the speech from George Osborne.

He says Gordon Brown can never be the change the country needs. I suspect that will be an underlying theme of any Conservative general election campaign.

He's just repeating that he will put stability first. ( Good this is the way to communicate with the electorate - simple message repeated. )

"An economy built on debt is living on borrowed time" - quite right.

"37 billion pounds to go from Wanless to clueless" - great line.

He's laying into Gordon Brown the nation's Bank manager - lets start queuing round the corner to close our account - he says.

He says that the burden of taxation will switch from income to pollution.

"No more stealth taxes ".

The speech is going well.. good joke at Gordon Brown's expense on his alleged speech plagiarism - saying he's read it and its so bad he's sure Brown wrote it himself ;-)

Here comes the stamp duty reduction for first time buyers. ( the number of first time buys at its lowest for 37 years ).

And now inheritance tax. This is, in my view, and election winner.

Raising the inheritance tax threshold to GBP 1million pounds. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This gets the biggest round of applause I've heard.

Today's sounds the death knell of the death tax - fantastic.

This is a potential election winner.

He accusing Labour of taxing a generation out of home ownership - good line.

Talks about Labour penalising couples who stay together.

That's the speech over - David Cameron joins him on stage to congratulate him - and remind him to wave.

Well its lunch break now but I have to say this all puts a spring in my step. ( Had some of the speech times wrong - it is remarkably difficult to get the agenda of the internet right now - lots of 2006 or 2005 information. )

Turns out to be here - not very easy to find from a search engine, though a little more straight forward from the home page of the Conservative party web site.

Things seem to be late in starting - I'm going to need to get some work done this PM, so will probably just listen in. The BBC Parliament's lift music is vastly inferior to the Conservative party. perhaps Guido has been helping the party out with its mix.


14:47 Chris Grayling on now - he's really laying into the dishonesty of Gordon Brown.

Its strong stuff - but completely deserved.

He's talking now about the Pension scandal - people who worked for 40 years who lost their pension.

He's promised the first pension compensation payments within three months of taking office.

Hello the background colour's just gone blue - can't be part of the plan then.

Criticism of the benefit system that provides incentives for couples to break up.

Nearly one household in 5 is dependant of welfare benefits with work less parents.

I hadn't realised that - its really bad.

He has called Gordon Brown's statement about solving youth unemployment a lie. No messing about - Gordon has lied.

Again the fact that most of the created jobs have gone to immigrants, rather than the UK unemployed.

"Same Labour, same failure, same Brown" ( echoes and response to the same old Tories jibe.)

Again I'm impressed with the moral outrage being shown here. I think that is an underlying theme to what I've seen today. Labour have failed, Labour have lied, Labour have no idea of how to change.

Phillipa Stroud on now, PPC for Sutton and Cheam. She has real experience of the problems helping out with a homeless shelter. She is explaining how the pattern of family breakdown leads to many of the social problems we have.

( The BBC has just focused on the first - post liquid lunch - sleeping delegates, you knew it was coming ).

She is speaking with real belief. We can either deal with the results of the breakdown in society or we can deal with the causes. If we have the courage. Good speech - she was clearly nervous to start with but really got going - I think as the conviction over came the nerves.

A question session now with a few quotes:

Charities think outside the box
Grass roots up not top down

I really can't do justice to this section of the session. I wish I had it on video and could show it to people when out canvassing. Its shows a alternative to the state organised top down approach of Gordon Brown.

Now Samantha Callan is talking about the impact of family breakdown and its impact on our other problems. 15% of all children born into families with no present father.

She's talking about how the welfare system encourage family breakdown. She retells how in talking to a social worker who told her that none of the children a social worker had worked with in her career had come from a married couple family.

"Marriage provides a meaningful and beneficial life script , especially for men. People tend to enter marriage with very different behaviours and attitudes to cohabitation. It tends to produce the most favourable outcomes for children One in two cohabities split up before their child's 5th birthday compared to 1 in 12 marrieds." - this is a key quote from Dr Samantha Callan.

She's now listing the problems that come from children from broken up families. ( Man in a Shed should declare an interest ere - as his parents split up twice when he was growing up and divorced. )

She is arguing for prevention, rather than dealing with the end results. Policies could help to create changes.

Again a great speech - with plenty to think about. The passion is again noticeable.

The BBC camera men are looking for someone picking their nose or asleep. They keep zooming in on peoples faces in a way that would have a CCTV camera operator sacked. You get the feeling that they somehow want to distract from the message.

David Burrowes MP is talking now, explaining the costs of these breakdowns. Government policy has become party of the problem.

I'm actually more excited by this analysis and subject than the morning. It might now win the election, but it can save the country.

Dave Sharples is on now giving a very heart felt story about how to help. He's criticising how we look at our inner cities. Criticising how we and the media portray the inner cities.

He's pointing out that we need to care - as well as spending money. ( The deliver is edgy and Geldofesq - if that's a word ).

He's got a standing ovation. There's some more about the Christian organisation Dave Sharples is involved with here - with some of the challenge they face and how the organisation he's involved, Kidz Klub, with helps.

( My brother has some similar experiences, also in Toxteth as I've said before - actually that may have gone in a comment on another blog ).

I think the key thing here is getting things done by people who are empowered to act and care about the outcome. The state is very bad at that.\ I have an Aunt who spent much of her life in social work ( and is a strong Labour party supporter) who says that almost the worse thing that can happen to anyone is to be put into care.

This is a wider subject for a post at a future time - but let me say now our party has really moved onto something important here.

Ok going to skip the last session - as some work must be done today ...