Eric Pickles' speech to Conservative Party conference in full

Here is the full text of the speech delivered by Eric Pickles, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham today:

"I want to thank everyone who has contributed to an interesting and important debate.

"Thank you Bill for setting out with such clarity just what a fragile asset our treasured countryside is, and for being a passionate anti-litter campaigner.

"It was a wise decision many years ago to strengthen our growing towns and cities by surrounding them with green belt, to halt the march of urban sprawl and provide a green lung around our towns and cities.

"Until recently, there was consensus across the political divide that the green belt would be protected

"That consensus is in tatters after ten years of Labour.

"Just over a year ago Gordon Brown said:-

"We can give you the assurance that we will not build on the Green Belt.".

"Just this week Labour Minister Caroline Flint revealed plans to bulldoze our green belt and let rip with the concrete mixer

"The housing market is highly competitive, complex and …… at the moment …… very fragile.

"Labour’s building plans would have looked old fashioned and dunderheaded to a soviet economist in the 1960’s. Its’ over reliance on the clunking fist of unattainable targets has resulted in a glut of flats that nobody wants and a shortage of decent family homes.

"Instead of working with councils, rewarding growth and ensuring that the infrastructure is in place Labour has relied on overbearing targets enforced by servile obedient quangos

"At about the same time, the prime minister was promising protection for our countryside.  He was also promising a ‘new politics’ with more power to Parliament and the people.

"But Gordon Brown keeps on taking power away from all of us.

"Labour has already forced through laws to transfer control over planning to a new quango

"‘National Policy Statements’ issued by Labour Ministers will decide the location of controversial developments like airports, power stations, motorways, and hazardous waste dumps

"You will have no say over what is built, and neither will Parliament.

"Labour loves appointments and patronage over democratic representation.

"The grandly entitled ‘Community Empowerment White Paper’ is their chosen cure to our democratic deficit.

"I have read this Paper on your behalf – all 157 pages of it.

"And guess what its’ solution to reinvigorate democracy is?

"Free Doughnuts!

"Turn up to vote and get a piece of complementary confectionary

Or a chance to win an Ipod in a raffle

"The Paper also addresses the role of councillors.

"Rather than the inconvenience of meeting a voter, councillors will vote from home in the comfort of their armchair

"This at least answers the question as to what philosophy is motivating Gordon Brown. Is it Adam Smith……Karl Marx…….working without leaving the armchair and free doughnuts………its obvious Homer Simpson

"Now I know I am a bit old fashioned, but I believe the true expression of democratic will is people having the power to change public policy through voting.

"Next month we will set out our plans to give more power to local Councils and through them directly to the people.

· Real power –
· Real control
· and real accountability.

"To start with, we will scrap a number of unelected, unaccountable quangos.

"I am not going to read out a long list.

"All you need to know about them is that they are
· Useless
· Pointless
· And they are going to go

"During this difficult time it is up to the Conservative Party to give leadership.

"Sometimes that means we have to challenge the current centre-left orthodoxy.

"We need to increase the amount of waste that is recycled

"Gordon Brown’s policies of bin cuts, bin fines and bin taxes are being imposed on local communities by Whitehall, leaving councils to take the blame.

"At the current rate of cuts, weekly collections will disappear from Britain by 2013.

"Ladies and gentlemen the lesser-spotted wheelie bin now faces extinction.

"But there is another way of increasing recycling, the progressive way, the Conservative way.

"We want to make it easier for families to go green.

"Conservatives believe that decent rubbish collections are a vital frontline council service to help protect the local environment and public health.

"We reject Labour’s army of bin bullies and bin taxes.

"That is why David Cameron has pledged that we will provide funding to allow all councils to introduce proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of recycling.

"Under a Conservative Government, the weekly bin collection will be back and recycling will go up.

"Taken on their own policies like scrapping Quangos, re-introducing weekly bin collections and freezing council tax will each do their bit to make life easier for hard-pressed families across the country.

"But taken together they show a clear direction for change, progressive, centre-right and trusting in people.

"Working together we can deliver the change that this country so desperately needs."