British Conservative Party leader Mr Michael Howard has set out his vision of "the British dream" to give people greater control over their own lives.
He pledged a Conservative government will hand people more control over local policing, healthcare and schools. And he has set out the "moral" case for cutting taxes.
Increased state interference has failed to deliver improvements promised by government, he said.
He says people now think public service failure is inevitable and treat politicians' promises like "a salesman's patter" - "pious words not to be taken at face value". The answer to that cynicism is to transfer power from politicians back to the people, he said.
He said: "Any government I lead will . . . mean more control for people. So you're in charge and you can follow your dream wherever it takes you."
Mr Howard said the state held people back with too much taxation and regulation. If people were too highly taxed, they felt their obligations to society were met simply by handing money over to government. Low taxes gave people the opportunity to make more of their own decisions, he said.
PA