Tory pact will give us a seat at the top table

Northern Ireland needs change. The entire United Kingdom needs change. And Conservatives and Unionists are committed to delivering change.

The need for change is painfully obvious. Unemployment is now at a 15-year high across the UK. This week, Northern Ireland witnessed another increase in the jobless figure.

The rise in unemployment here over the last year has been the highest in any UK region.

It is not just unemployment that has risen under this Government. We now have the highest budget deficit that UK has ever seen during peacetime.

This year £42bn of taxpayers' money will go to pay off the mountain of debt racked up by Gordon Brown. That is £42bn that could have been invested in frontline public services - hospitals, schools, the brave men and women of our military.

Yes, tackling the deficit will mean difficult decisions - and those who attempt to deny this are seeking to mislead voters.

But families and businesses across the country are having to live within their means. If the Government doesn't do the same, interest rates will rise, homeowners will be further squeezed and recovery will be killed off.

In this election, the people of Northern Ireland have the opportunity to be more than mere spectators while others take decisions on these issues.

You can vote for candidates who will form part of a Government of the United Kingdom. The vote you cast on May 6 can - at last - actually go towards deciding who will be the next Prime Minister of our country.

And a Conservative and Unionist Government will deliver on restoring economic opportunity for all parts of the UK.

We will stop Labour's job tax, the increase in National Insurance proposed by Gordon Brown. Stopping this will benefit seven out of 20 working people.

We will reduce Corporation Tax across the UK for large and small firms to get the UK working again.

To encourage job-creation, we will exempt new businesses from paying National Insurance on the first 10 new employees hired by firms during the first two years of a Conservative Government.

Other parties can talk about the economy in this election, but in Westminster they will be powerless to deliver.

Conservatives and Unionists will deliver.

We are committed to delivering these measures which will encourage enterprise and job-creation.

Northern Ireland faces particular economic challenges. Our over-reliance on the public sector cannot continue.

We are the only part of the UK to have a land border with an economic competitor. To revitalise business in Northern Ireland and to reduce our reliance on the public sector, a Conservative and Unionist Government will bring forward plans to further reduce Corporation Tax for Northern Ireland businesses.

All political parties, business organisations and economists have previously supported this idea. Now Conservatives and Unionists are pledging to deliver.

This is the difference between being on the window-ledge of the Union, looking on as others debate real issues, and being at the heart of mainstream British politics.

This is the difference between fighting to be part of our national Government and fighting to be in opposition.

It can be seductive to think that the best thing for Northern Ireland would be a hung Parliament in which MPs from here join with the Scottish and Welsh nationalists to hold the UK Government to ransom.

That is a dangerous view.

It would prevent any Government taking the decisions that are necessary to get the recovery moving.

Instead of action, politicians would be locked in endless negotiations.

And it could hand over excessive influence to parties like the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru who are dedicated to tearing up the Union.

Some political parties have always been a step behind what Northern Ireland actually needs.

Some stood in the way of peace, some stood in the way of devolution and some are standing in the way of bringing Northern Ireland into the heart of the UK's economy.

The people of Northern Ireland deserve politicians that do not suffer from a poverty of ambition for the next generation.

Other parties in this election appear to believe in the fiction that vital public spending in Northern Ireland can be protected without tackling the deficit and restoring economic growth.

The people of Northern Ireland know better. We don't believe in a something-for-nothing society. We don't believe that governments can tax-and-spend without end.

We know that government has to live within its means. We know that those vital public services depend on a strong economy. And we know that hard-work should be encouraged and rewarded.

These are Conservative and Unionist values. These are the values for which the people of Northern Ireland can vote on May 6 - and help to get the United Kingdom working again with a Conservative and Unionist Government.