In Britain, Bloomberg Turns Up Criticism Of U.S. Conservatives

BLACKPOOL, England, Sept. 30 — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has been more openly criticizing President Bushs policies in recent months, lashed out on Sunday at American conservatives who he said engaged in the lunacy of creating deficits for future generations to pay.

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Portraying himself as a fiscal conservative despite having increased spending more than any other New York mayor in almost 30 years, Mr. Bloomberg sought to define his own political ideology, telling delegates at the Conservative Party conference here that the key to success was balancing budgets, avoiding deficits, delivering services more efficiently and staying away from politics.

The Conservative Party in the U.K. is much more fiscally conservative than many American politicians who call themselves conservative, he told the crowd at a ballroom at the Winter Gardens. Too many of our conservatives in the United States want to run up enormous deficits and hope that some way, somehow, someone else will pay for it. Thats not conservatism, thats alchemy at best, or if you like, lunacy.

The president, Mr. Bloomberg said after the speech, has, I think, never vetoed a budget. He added, On the other hand, Congress has passed a lot of very big budgets that we cant afford.

Mr. Bloomberg has often been criticized by right-leaning policy experts for increasing spending and raising taxes during his administration. But in laying out his theory of good government, he defended his fiscal record, arguing that tax increases were sometimes necessary and that he had been prudent with the citys money, saving surplus revenue for future costs like employee health care.

At the same time, Mr. Bloomberg said, it was important to spend money to improve quality of life and to create the conditions that attract private-sector investments to diversify and boost the economy.

Mr. Bloomberg has been intensifying his criticism of the Bush administration, mainly for what he calls a go-it-alone approach to the Iraq war that he says has severely damaged the United States reputation abroad.

A White House spokesman, Blair Jones, said on Sunday that the president had threatened vetoes on spending bills, but did not have to use them when he had the cooperation of a Republican Congress to hold the line on spending.

In the last three years, the deficit has declined $200 billion and were on a path to balance the budget within five years, Mr. Jones said. Were accomplishing all this while keeping taxes low and protecting our nation.

Mr. Bloomberg appeared at this downtrodden seaside resort at the invitation of David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, and the mayors remarks went over well, including several jokes. In preparing for this speech, my biggest dilemma was not what to say, but what to wear, Mr. Bloomberg said near the start, adding that he decided to go with a conservative blue suit, appropriately enough. He added: I decided to leave my pink suit home just in case Im ever invited to No. 10, a reference to the media stir Margaret Thatcher created on a visit to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, at 10 Downing Street. She wore pink, which was seen as too close to the Labor Party red rather than the Conservative Party blue.

Mr. Bloombergs presence, part of a four-day swing through France and England, fueled interest in his presidential aspirations, which he denied having, as usual.

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