Rt hon David Cameron MP

Leader of the Conservative Party

Trust in politicians is at an all-time low after the scandal of MPs’ expenses – but David Cameron has led the way in cleaning up the system and rebuilding trust in politics.

In a survey of voters for the Guardian newspaper, most said that the Conservative leader had handled the affair well, while over two-thirds said that Gordon Brown had handled it badly Now David Cameron says that to cut the cost of politics he will

scrap taxpayer subsidies for food and drink, cut the number of MPs, slash and freeze the pay of ministers, and ban MPs from using public funds to send out party propaganda. These measures will save up to £120 million a year. In addition, the public are to be given greater say over decisions that affect them. Under Conservative proposals for more direct democracy, local residents will be able to veto excessive council tax rises and elect their own police chiefs. And members of the public who get a million people to sign an online petition will even be able to have their own laws debated in Parliament.

David Cameron said: “There’s a huge amount more to do if we want to rebuild trust. So let’s try and make this election year the moment to start fixing our broken politics. Let’s bring real change to Westminster and the whole political system.”