Mr William Hague yesterday launched his blueprint for government - the Common Sense Revolution - saying it marked "a step change" in the opposition Conservatives offered to what he termed Mr Blair's "arrogant and hypocritical government".
Some 60 policy proposals are headed by five key Conservative guarantees, promising:
parents the power to change school management that fails to deliver adequate standards;
to give every National Health Service patient a guaranteed waiting time based on their needs;
that taxes would fall as a share of the nation's income during the next Conservative government;
that benefits claimants who can work, but won't, will lose their unemployment benefit, and
that the Conservatives will oppose entry into the single currency at the next election as part of their manifesto for the next Westminster parliament.
He said the policy blueprint, containing over 50 guidelines for a possible future Conservative government, was the result of the "biggest listening exercise" ever carried out by a political party. It was proof "we learned the lessons of our defeat last time and that we have listened to the British people". He added: "The values and the priorities and the instinct of the British people are still the values and the priorities and the instincts of the Conservative Party."
The document contains one specific part on Northern Ireland, with no reference to the Belfast Agreement. It says: "The Conservative Party has always upheld the principle that Northern Ireland's future will be determined solely by democracy and consent and never by violence. As unionists, we value greatly the contribution Northern Ireland makes to the United Kingdom. We shall maintain Northern Ireland's position within the United Kingdom in accordance with the wishes of the greater number of its people. We shall continue to work towards the establishment of political stability and lasting peace."