British Conservative leader stresses health system, intervention abroad

Conservative leader David Cameron pledged to boost support for the National Health Service (NHS) and humanitarian intervention abroad in his speech at the closing of the annual party conference here on Wednesday afternoon.

While promising to establish effective support for the NHS, Cameron blamed the Labor government for mis-organization in the health system. He said Prime Minister Tony Blair had doubled the spending on health but left the system in a mess.

The Conservative leader, who visited British troops in Afghanistan in July, said that his party favored humanitarian intervention abroad, such as what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He noted that by doing this, the troops are safeguarding British values and a way of life.

While stressing the importance of the links with their traditional ally, the United States, Cameron said Britain should be "steadfast, not slavish in how we approach the special relationship."

He said that he wanted to pursue a distinctly British foreign policy, while not being anti-American. "I am a liberal Conservative who believes in spreading freedom and democracy, and supporting humanitarian intervention," Cameron said.

The opposition party leader also said that his party could not stand by and watch further genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

In the Wednesday speech, which people described as an electoral campaign, Cameron urged all of society to help build a better life, a sounder economy and a better environment, and he described "social responsibility" as his solution to Britain's current problems.

Source: Xinhua