MANCHESTER, Britain, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Conservative Party leader David Cameron on Thursday outlined his party's home and foreign policies and called for a change of government.

    "We all know how bad things are" under the current Labor government, Cameron told the Conservative Party's annual convention.

    "Our national debt has doubled in the last five years and our annual deficit next year will be over 170 billion pounds," Cameron said.

    To cut the soaring deficit, he said, "we'll freeze public sector pay for all but the one million lowest paid public sector workers ... for one year."

    To help push economic growth in Britain, Cameron said the Conservative Party has launched a plan to "Get Britain Working" and boost science, skills and self-employment.

    Cameron criticized Prime Minister Gordon Brown "who designed the system of financial regulation that help cause the financial crisis" and said "it needs to change."

    "That's why we will give back to the Bank of England its power to regulate the city powers that should never have been taken away," he said.

    The United Kingdom has been in recession since April 2008. The slump, one of Britain's sharpest declines in decades, has hit the government hard, with the treasury expecting deficits of about 12 percent of gross domestic product this financial year and next.

    If the Conservatives win the election, Cameron said, "the first and gravest responsibility I will face is for our troops in Afghanistan and their families at home."

    "So, our method should be clear .. send more soldiers to train more Afghans to deliver the security we need," he said. " Then we can bring our troops home."

    Cameron said Great Britain and the European Union should work together "on the things where the EU can really help, like combating climate change, fighting global poverty and spreading free and fair trade."

    The next British general election, which will be held before June, will be a steep climb "but the view from the summit will be worth it," Cameron said.

    The Conservatives are the current favorites to win the general election, which would mean a return to power for the first time since 1997.