CRIME

The instinct to protect the people we love is so strong. Nearly two years ago it was that instinct - that love - that drove Fiona Pilkington to do something desperate.

When I first read her story in the paper I found it difficult to finish the article - it's one of the saddest things I've ever read.

Fiona was so driven to despair by the vile thugs that bullied her and her lovely disabled daughter Francecca and by the police that didn't answer her cries for help that she could only see one way out. She put her daughter in her car, drove to a lay-by, and set it on fire.

If no one would protect them then by ending their lives, she was keeping them safe.

No one could hurt them anymore. Just think about what we allowed to happen here in our country. This goes deep and it's been going on for years.

It is about a breakdown of all the things that are meant to keep us safe......a complete breakdown of responsibility.

A breakdown of morality in the minds of those thugs a total absence of feeling or conscience. A breakdown in community where a neighbour is left to reach a pitch of utter misery. And a breakdown of our criminal justice system.

Every part of it, the police, the prosecution services, the prisons......is failing under the weight of big government targets and bureaucracy. The police aren't on the streets because they're busy complying with ten different inspection regimes. The police say the CPS isn't charging people...because they have to hit targets to reduce the number of unsuccessful trials.

And the prisons aren't rehabilitating offenders...because they're focused on meeting thirty-three different performance indicators.

This all needs to change. I'm not going to stand here and promise you a country where nothing bad ever happens. I do not underestimate how difficult it will be to deal with this problem of crime and disorder.

We cannot rebuild social responsibility from on high. But the least we can do the least we can do is pledge to all the people who are scared, who live their lives in fear and who can't protect themselves, that a Conservative Government, with Chris Grayling, with Dominic Grieve, will reform the police, reform the courts, reform prisons. We will be there to protect you.

TERRORISM

We understand too the grave responsibility we will have to protect our people from terrorism. This party knows only too well the pain and grief that terrorism brings.

Twenty-five years ago, almost to the day on the Thursday night of our party conference in Brighton, the IRA exploded a bomb that injured and killed good friends and colleagues.

Today let us honour their memory and send our thoughts and best wishes to all those, including Margaret Tebbit, who still bear the scars of that terrible night.

SCHOOLS

To build a responsible society we need to teach our children properly. I come at education as a parent, not a politician.

When I watch my daughter skip across the playground to start her first term in year one, I want to know that every penny of the education budget is following her and the other children into that school and that classroom.

So when I see Ed Balls blow hundreds of millions on so-called "curriculum development" on consultancies, on quangos like the QCDA and BECTA like every other parent with a child at a state school I want to say:

This is my child, it's my money, give it to my headteacher instead of wasting it in Whitehall.

But it's not just about money. It's about values. We know that discipline is vital but we overrule head teachers when they exclude a disruptive pupil.

We know that every child has different abilities and different needs but too often we put them all in the same class so the brightest aren't stretched and those who are struggling fall behind.

We know that competitive sport is important but we've had minister after minister promising it and nothing ever happens.

Discipline. Setting by ability. Regular sport.

These are all things you find in a private school. Not because the Government tells them to do it, but because it's what parents want. Why can't parents in state schools always get what they want?

With us, they will, because our reforms will create more good schools and more school places. Yes, our plans will increase competition - and no, that is not a dirty word. It means that when a good new school opens down the road, the other ones around it will want to improve. Big government has totally failed in state education and with Michael Gove we will get the radical change we need.

COUNTRY

Family, community, country. In recent years we've been hearing things about our country we haven't heard for a long time. People saying they don't know what it is to be British, what this country stands for.

People in Scotland who want to leave the United Kingdom and people in England who say let them go.

I am passionate about our Union and I will never do anything to put it at risk. And because of the new political force we have created with the Ulster Unionists, I'm proud that at the next election we will be the only party fielding candidates in every part of the United Kingdom.

Britishness is not mechanical, it's organic. It's an emotional connection to a way of life, an attitude, a set of institutions.

Make these stronger and our national identity becomes stronger. To be British is to be open-minded.

We don't care who you are or where you're from, if you've got something to offer then this is a place you can call home.

But if we want our country to carry on with this proud, open tradition, we've got to understand the pressures of mass immigration and that's why we need to put limits on it.

To be British is to be generous. Whenever there's a disaster on the other side of the world, British people dig deep into their pockets and give their money. Comic Relief didn't raise less money this year because of the recession - it raised more.

That says big things about our country, and government should reflect that. That's why I'm proud that we've ring-fenced the budget for international development.

To be British is to be sceptical of authority and the powers-that-be.

That's why ID cards, 42 days and Labour's surveillance state are so utterly unacceptable and why we will sweep the whole rotten edifice away.

And to be British is to have an instinctive love of the countryside and the natural world. The dangers of climate change are stark and very real. If we don't act now, and act quickly, we could face disaster.

Yes, we need to change the way we live. But is that such a bad thing? The insatiable consumption and materialism of the past decade, has it made us happier or more fulfilled?

Yes, we have to put our faith in technologies. But that is not a giant leap. Just around the corner are new green technologies, unimaginable a decade ago, that can change the way we live, travel, work.

And yes, we need global co-operation. But that shouldn't be difficult. It just takes leadership, and that's what we need at the Copenhagen summit this December.

POLITICS

But if you care about our country, you've got to care about the health of our institutions. And today one of them, more than any other, is in a serious state of decline.

Our parliament used to be a beacon to the world. But the expenses scandal made it a laughing stock.

We apologised to the public, paid back the money that shouldn't have been claimed......and published all our expenses online to help stop this happening again.

We've led the way in other areas too......MPs' pay and pensions, cutting the cost of politics. But let me make something clear - this is not over.

We are just starting the job of building the new politics we need. Because the anger over expenses reflected something deeper. The sense that people have been left powerless by big government.

So it is time to shake things up. We need to redistribute power and responsibility. It's your community and you should have control over it......so we need decentralisation. It's your money and you should know what is being done with it......so we need transparency. It's your life that's affected by political decisions and the people who make those decisions should answer to you, so we need accountability.

EU

But if there is one political institution that needs decentralisation, transparency, and accountability, it is the EU.

For the past few decades, something strange has been happening on the left of British politics. People who think of themselves as progressives have fallen in love with an institution that no one elects, no one can remove, and that hasn't signed off its accounts for over a decade.

Indeed even to question these things is, apparently, completely beyond the pale. Well, here is a progressive reform plan for Europe.

Let's work together on the things where the EU can really help, like combating climate change, fighting global poverty and spreading free and fair trade.

But let's return to democratic and accountable politics the powers the EU shouldn't have.

And if we win the election, we will have as the strongest voice for our country's interests, the man who is leading our campaign for a referendum, the man who will be our new British Foreign Secretary: William Hague.

WHAT WE CAN PROMISE

Family, community, country.

Recognising that what holds society together is responsibility......and that the good society is a responsible society. That's what I'm about - that's what any government I lead will be about.

The problems we face are big and urgent. Rebuilding our broken economy......because unless we do, our children will be saddled with debt for decades to come.

Mending our broken society......because unless we do, we will never solve those stubborn social problems that cause the size of government to rise.

Fixing our broken politics......because unless we do, we will never reform public services......never see the strong, powerful citizens...who will build the responsible society that we all want to see.

This week you've heard about our plans, our policies, the changes we want to make and the team to put them in place.

But I know that whatever plans you make in Opposition, it's the unpredictable events that come to dominate a government.

And it's your character, your temperament and your judgment, not your policies and your manifesto - that really make the difference.

You can never prove you're ready for everything that will come your way as Prime Minister. But you can point to the judgments you've made. And you can learn from the mistakes that others have made.

I've seen what happens when you win and you waste your mandate obsessing about the 24 hour news cycle and fighting each day as if it's a new general election, ducking the difficult things that would have really made a difference.

That was Blair. And I've seen what happens when you turn every decision into a political calculation. That was - that is - Brown.

So I won't promise things I cannot deliver. But I can look you in the eye and tell you that in a Conservative Britain:

If you put in the effort to bring in a wage, you will be better off. If you save money your whole life, you'll be rewarded. If you start your own business, we'll be right behind you. If you want to raise a family, we'll support you. If you're frightened, we'll protect you.If you risk your safety to stop a crime, we'll stand by you. If you risk your life to fight for your country, we will honour you.

Ask me what a Conservative government stands for and the answer is this, we will reward those who take responsibility, and care for those who can't.

CONCLUSION

So if we cut big government back. If we move society forward.

And if we rebuild responsibility, then we can put Britain back on her feet.I know that today there aren't many reasons to be cheerful.

But there are reasons to believe. Yes it will be a steep climb. But the view from the summit will be worth it. Let me tell you what I can see.

I see a country where more children grow up with security and love because family life comes first. I see a country where you choose the most important things in life - the school your child goes to and the healthcare you get. I see a country where communities govern themselves - organising local services, independent of Whitehall, a great handing back of power to people.

I see a country with entrepreneurs everywhere, bringing their ideas to life - and life to our great towns and cities. I see a country where it's not just about the quantity of money, but the quality of life - where we lead the world in saving our planet. I see a country where you're not so afraid to walk home alone, where you're safe in the knowledge that right and wrong is restored to law and order.

I see a country where the poorest children go to the best schools not the worst, where birth is never a barrier.

No, we will not make it if we pull in different directions, follow our own interests, take care of only ourselves.

But if we pull together, come together, work together - we will get through this together.

And when we look back we will say not that the government made it happen...

...not that the minister made it happen...

...but the businesswoman made it happen...

...the police officer made it happen...

...the father made it happen...

...the teacher made it happen.

You made it happen.