Tories to attack sicknote culture

The Tories are set to promise to force hundreds of thousands off sickness benefits as the party battles to focus attention on its plans for government and away from a fresh row over Europe.

A £25-a-week state help cut for up to half a million claimants expected to be proved by tests to be fit for work is planned to help pay for plans to use more private firms to get people into jobs.

But David Cameron's bid to put employment at the centre of the party's annual conference in Manchester was dealt a blow when Irish voters' approval of the EU's Lisbon treaty renewed pressure on him over a promised UK referendum.

The party leader, who is only committed to holding a referendum as long as the treaty is not yet fully in force, refused to bow to Euro-sceptic pressure to commit to a public poll even if the treaty has been ratified by all states.

He insisted he was not prepared to speculate on that scenario for as long as the two remaining member states, the Czech Republic and Poland, had yet to complete the process.

Opponents were quick to capitalise on his dilemma, with Labour accusing him of "dithering" while the UK Independence Party said he lacked the "backbone" to go ahead with a referendum.

Tory Euro-sceptics such as backbencher Richard Shepherd insisted that having promised the people a vote, he must go ahead regardless and party chairman Eric Pickles caused surprise by stating it was likely the party would be able "to name the day of the referendum during the election campaign" as the ratification process would not be complete.

As the issue threatened to dominate the conference, the party set out plans to test every one of the 2.6 million people claiming incapacity benefit to see whether they really are too ill to work.

Switching them to Jobseeker's Allowance would, the party has calculated, pay the £600 million upfront costs of a massive welfare shake-up which will see far more private firms paid for getting people back into jobs.

Party leader David Cameron said the "tough and difficult" choice to subject all claimants to tests, even those who were clearly not able to work, was needed to stem the rising tide of recession-fuelled unemployment.